Honestly? I hesitated to write this.
Number One: it’s an opinion. Number Two: it’s a bit inflammatory depending on who you’re talking to. But I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to professors, and I’m talking about a pattern I’ve seen repeated to the point of it being kinda strange.
It seems that in every non-math class I’ve been to in the past year, sex just has to be awkwardly brought up at least three times. Got a part in the English book we’re reading that has a cool shipwreck, monsters and magic? Gotta talk about the phallic symbols for twenty minutes. A character of one gender gives the time of day to a character of the opposite gender? They must definitely be sexually attracted to that character. They must definitely want intercourse. And professors seem to bring these (sometimes really far-fetched) conclusions up… Every. Single. Class.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. I picked these classes, what did I expect? But that’s not the point. I’m not offended by their words at all – I’ve been happily married for almost three years, I know all about the birds and the bees.
What I’m getting at is that they shouldn’t feel the need to bring up sex – not romance or flirtation, but Sex with a capital S – every single class, multiple times. They’re better than that. There are many other things that will get the attention of millennials. Sex doesn’t have to be the box these professors check off every class in order to keep us engaged. I hope that’s the case, at least, or I would consider most of them sex-obsessed and worry about their fulfillment outside the classroom!
I invite teachers to find other ways to make their assigned texts interesting (that don’t involve making me kind of super concerned for them for 50 minutes). Or, if they must absolutely bring sex up, make it short and discreet (like it’s presented in the texts themselves). If there’s romance in the story – we know. We’re not kids anymore, we can figure it out ourselves.
I’m basically left with two conclusions to choose from: they really don’t think we’re picking up on it, or they’re trying to keep our attention. And, frankly, neither one is a great thought for me. One is patronizing, and one is… Patronizing.
I hope that professors can one day see past their go-to realm of sexual topics and find other ways to make stories ‘cool.’ I would much rather enter a class discussion about a character’s strengths and weaknesses than one about a poem possibly being about a penis. Like I said, I’m better than that. And so are you, and so are professors. I’ve been in countless classroom situations where professors try to get the students to admit to things bearing phallic or genitalia-oriented symbols. Guys, everyone can see it. You don’t need to explain it, or try and force some poor, brave soul to say the word ‘penis’ in class.
To me, it doesn’t make you a cooler teacher.
I encourage teachers to look above what is literally man’s basest, most primitive urge and instead engage us in more discussions about character development, plot structure and cultural significance of the work itself. You don’t need to go there. You’re better than that.