Our role as a student over the course of this class was to challenge ourselves and think critically about the topics presented. Our main goal was to make connections between our learning in SMF 310 and other experiences.
On the first class when I was presented with the questions what is sex? And what is ethics? I was very unsure of what to write down on my paper. I had never personally thought to conceptualize sex and ethics. I really thought I knew what the terms meant, but after the questions were presented to me, I really struggled to come up with even the slightest thought.
I wrote down the following about what I thought sex was:
• Penis inserted into vagina
• Oral sex
• Kissing/touching
• Intimacy between partners whether heterosexual or homosexual
• Showing someone you love them
• Dark side: rape, prostitution, pornography etc.
Reflecting on what I wrote down, I knew that what I do know about sex is influenced by people around me as I grew up, i.e. friend’s school and family. I thought about sex in a very traditional and very narrow way. I realized this after we had a class discussion and I heard what others had to offer on the topic. Some other things that came up in the class that struck my interest were: physical beauty and appearance, weapon/tool/trade, vulnerability, way to excerpt power and control, security, fantasies/fetishes, and lastly, consent. These things got me thinking a little bit more about sex, and how I really didn’t know how to conceptualize it.
My personal goal for myself of the course of the semester was to really think about what I thought sex was and how it played a role in my life.
I wrote down the following about what I thought ethics was:
• Rules
• Guidelines
• Laws
• Protection of people
• Defines what is right and what is wrong
• Taboo’s
• The common idea of a group or culture
• Norms of a culture
Again with the question what is ethics? I really struggled. I had never once thought about ethics in my life. What I wrote down was basically influenced by media, i.e. television shows that may have had some ethical dilemma in it. I knew I was really going to have no idea of what sexual ethics was.
For the question what is sexual ethics? I wrote the following:
• Rules and guidelines for sex
• What sexual acts are considered right and wrong with regard to culture
• Roles of men and women who are sexually involved
• Everything combined
• Being responsible and respectful of own and other’s sexuality and sexual lives.
• A moral code that determines what acts are appropriate for sexual beings.
Although I came up with a few ideas I really had no clue as to what sexual ethics meant.
Why do I believe the above? I feel that my answers are a reflection of what most of society would believe on the subject. I have also really had no other experience other than very traditional, narrow, conceptualizations of sex and ethics from the influence of people around me growing up.
Why is this my perspective and how was it shaped? This is my perspective because it is what I believe about sexual ethics on a personal level, and also on a level believed by people around me, i.e. friends and family.
After reflecting on the first class, I really felt my views and beliefs were narrow, and a personal goal was to really open up what I thought about sexual ethics, and broaden my conceptualization. I knew that week by week in the course I was going to learn new things and that hopefully learning/experiencing new things would broaden my conceptualization.
Over the course of the 10 weeks in SMF 310, I have written down week by week how I conceptualized sexual ethics. The rest of my blog will show how I have developed my conceptualization, and ultimately what I think about it after the course finished.
