As a second semester senior, I needed one more credit to finish up my degree, and after digging through classes on one tab and rate my professor in the other, I found a course that sparked my interest and had amazing teacher reviews. The name of the class is Sexuality and Society. Not really sure what to expect, I walked into class on a Tuesday, to all different kinds of naked people dancing around on the screen; that’s when my curiosity began.
When Dr. Roach began to talk and use jarring words like masturbation, porn, slut-shaming, orgasm, etc. it caused a revelation in all of us students, that these words are simply that; just words. Why do we have such a hard time talking about taboo things that religions, cultures, geographic backgrounds, political beliefs, have enforced on us to be “shameful”?
Why is it awkward for women to take their birth control pills around men, talk about having a period, or talk about masturbation? What stigma have we learned that makes it not acceptable for these things to be talked about, even to our closest friends. We need to find a way for social lubrication on the topic of sex. How can we expect to learn if we see these things as awkward or embarrassing, and why do we see it that way?
One of the most interesting things Dr. Roach has asked so far in her lecture was in a discussion about sexual education. She asked how many people, when they were learning about sex as a child or teenager, had heard the word pleasure. Nearly two people raised their hands. When she called on these two students one had said that they learned “pleasure was a sin” and that they would die if they had sex, which luckily for us, it isn’t the case. The next question she asked really was an eye-opener, “How many of you have ever been taught about pleasure for women?” and no one raised their hands. She went on to explain how women have a clitoris which is the only organ in the human body that’s singular function is just that: pleasure. So why have we learned nothing about it?
Sexual education has a bad habit of telling kids NOT to do something instead of giving them the information they need to be safe and prepared. When children are told not to do something, that just makes them want to do it even more. Sexuality is a central human concern that affects everyone. People need to be equipped to make positive and informed decisions for their sexual wellbeing.
Dr. Catherine Roach is such an educated and interesting woman. She really listens to her students no matter their background or beliefs and gives every student an opportunity to express themselves. She has over twenty- five years of experience in researching and teaching. She is the author of
- Good Sex: Transforming America through the New Gender and Sexual Revolution
- Happily Ever After: The Romance Story in Popular Culture
- Knight of Love
- Master of Love
Comprehensive sex education is what we should be talking about. Every person one day will have to make dire decisions regarding their sexual and reproductive health. People lack the knowledge to make responsible sexual choices and end up making mistakes. We need an inclusive education plan that includes contraception, reproductive choices, transgender, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and other important things like anatomy of our bodies, and development. This is the way to properly educate our youth so they are more prepared and equipped to handle their future choices.