- my own reflections on the topics discussed
- concept maps
- my group research project
- précis assignments.
- Video clips on: consent, prostitution, and bug chasing
On a week by week basis, I determined where I stood with a variety of topics.
In the beginning
In the earlier weeks of the course, you will find that I had a very narrow focus of what sexual ethics is. I basically said that sexual ethics is an influence of family, friends, school, and religion. From these influences, the only thing I really thought of when I thought of sexual ethics was that people were to be in a monogamous relationship. I didn’t really consider other topics such as the ones we discussed later on in the course, i.e. pornography, prostitution, etc.
My goal over the course of the term was to be able to broaden my conceptualization of sexual ethics. Week by week you will see how I have achieved this goal. I asked questions, and tried to answer them, some of them easier than others. The readings were all very interesting and they really helped me look at certain topics in a new light i.e. homosexuality, which I will take with me for the rest of my life. In fact, with this course I will think differently and more critically about a lot of things in my life. This blog was a very good way to showcase how my conceptualization changed for some things and stayed the same for others.
In the end
The last few weeks of the course I was able to think of other things related to sexual ethics beside monogamous relationships. Near the end of the course I really saw that sexual ethics is determined a lot of the time by context. Determining whether something is moral/immoral depends on the context, i.e. the culture, the gender, the age, the era, etc. This also applies to consent. In the beginning of the course I basically thought that if there was consent involved by both partners in a sexual act, than it was considered moral. However, after class discussions and the movie Kids, I now know that consent can be a very blurred thing. For instance someone may consent, however they may have previously been forced or pressured into saying yes.
The main things that I now consider in my conceputalization of sexual ethics is:
- Context- what is the context of the situation?
- Consent- is it mutual or is one person pressured?
- Gender/sexuality- depends on the gender and sexuality of the individual
- Society- society will always play a huge role in deciding what is "normal"
- Is the issue moral/natural? immoral/unnatural? or moral/unnatural?
- Most issues are in the eye of the beholder
I could go on and on about all of the topics we talked about, because I believe I could come up with so many different contexts in which something is moral or immoral. However I look at this blog as a start to something I will now consider thinking about for the rest of my life. It really taught me to think critically and not just to take things for how they are. I will take this knowledge with me throughout the rest of my school career, work career, and any social interactions I have in the future. I really want to go into social work when I am done my undergrad. I feel that having a broader idea of sexuality and its ethics will help me with my future career path.
I really enjoyed creating this blog and I hope you enjoy it also!
