Final Blog Post

Although I have heard that most rapists aren’t strangers, it is hard to believe sometimes. I think the results of these studies should be displayed by the media. The news tends to only show the most extreme cases of women who were abducted, beaten, and raped at gunpoint by a stranger. This gives society a false image of what it’s actually like. Yes, these scenarios do happen—but it is a slim percent of the cases. As stated in the article, the vast majority of rape or attempted rape assaults are done by someone the victim already knows and without a weapon. I think the media (newspapers, television, radios, and magazines) should let the public know about these non-stranger rapes as well. This would help victims be able to protect themselves and hopefully prevent some of these attacks. They might become more aware of their so-called “friends” advances, which gives them a hint to be more careful. Women don’t assume that people they know will try and do these harmful things to them because most women don’t know how common it really is. If the media would give an accurate representation of rape then maybe it would be less likely to happen. Maybe women would stop getting so drunk and high in an unfamiliar environment. Since most scenarios involve drugs or alcohol, this might prevent a controllable situation. Yes, rape will still happen- but maybe the numbers would decrease.

As a society, we are still scared and uneasy talking about sexual topics sometimes. Because lots of women are uncomfortable talking about sex, they are less likely to report these assaults. A cultural change needs to occur: make sex an easier topic to discuss. Incorporate classes into more high schools and encourage parents to talk about these awkward topics with their children at a younger age. The more comfortable they are with the topic, the more likely they will at least go to someone about the incident. Whether it is a friend or family member, someone would be willing to help. It’s not that people don’t want to help—it’s that most victims don’t speak up because they are scared or uneasy in my opinion.

Overall I found this a very interesting and significant article with lots of great information. In conclusion, I feel that it is everyone’s job to let society know the truth about rape cases. The media needs to display these results and the reality of rape incidents so that prevention and protection plans can be established. Parents and friends need to be more educated and open to discussing the issues to make victims more willing to report the cases that do happen from an acquaintance or while they were intoxicated—without being judged. Most people think it is not going happen to them but it reality everyone could potentially be at risk and most are unaware of this. 

The Complex Human Example-- Special Topic Post

Human Sexuality is complicated. Our society today still thinks it is inappropriate to talk about sex, sexual orientation, and identity openly which is why there are so many misconceptions surrounding these topics. This video from  http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?s=sex summarizes everything we have learned this semester about sex-related topics in an elementary-like form. It gives you an easy visual to be able to distinguish between sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexual behavior. Today, people assume that we should classify ourselves based on our sex. I feel that our world is so naïve with this concept. Many people all over the world today don’t classify themselves based on their sex. Some of us may think that is weird or strange, but it is actually more common than we think. Every person is different and unique in their own way. Assigning all of these crazy labels and classifications to each human is a relatively new aspect. People several hundreds of years ago would not understand these terms and probably consider them to be somewhat absurd. Is there really a need for all of these labels? Are they doing more harm than good? In my opinion there is no need and that they are more harmful. All of these classifications—male, female, bisexual, heterosexual, homosexual, transsexual, transgender, etc, complicate our lives more and makes it even harder to discuss sex on a mature level. I feel that these labels are making our society more judgmental each day. People won’t get to know you if you are “strange” or “weird” or different than them. If people would put these negative labels and classifications aside, you might open yourself up to an entirely new world. You would be able to meet so many more people and actually be able to know and understand someone on a deeper level. If we as a society can look past a few meaningless labels then this could become the norm. Although this is a far-fetched proposal, it is not impossible. Back in the old days there was no such thing. Focusing our time and effort and money into trying to get others to accept us for who we are is ridiculous. Who cares who you like? Who cares how you classify yourself? Are any of these things really going to be important in the far future or after life? Probably not. I think it is just a big waste of time.

In the video, he shows the complex human example. He first puts a dot over the person’s “private part” and classifies this as a person’s sex. If you have a penis you are a male, If you have a vagina then you are a female. Then he proceeds to say that there are also intrasex individuals—making them sound strange and abnormal. Does what parts they were born with make them any less of a  human? I would hope not.

Next he highlights the brain to prove that our gender identity is decided there and that our gender identities are separate from our sex (although that is hard for our society to understand).

Next is the heart. The heart is where our sexual orientation is decided. This is where we put a title on ourselves based on who we are sexually attracted to. I also thought it was neat how he also did a “romantic orientation” as well to show how relationships aren’t always about solely sex.

Lastly he describes sexual behavior as when other people get involved.

All of these titles that he describes come together to create a person’s gender role, which is constructed by society.

In the video, he makes it a point to distinctively separate each category. He states that each of these are independent from each other and that there is a continuum —which is true, but should it really matter?

It is sad that a person has to make a diagram and graphs to explain these concepts, concepts which are supposed to be natural. He discusses a spectrum or range of each category. Adding all of these technical terms make it more complicated than it needs to be. Just a thought…

WGS Insight

One lesson I will take with me from now on is to not be so judgmental. I have always been one to assume things and consider them wrong if the situation didn't agree with my views. Half of the time I would not even listen because I was so pessimistic. I am much more open-minded about certain situations now, and will give people a chance to state their point of view. This is already helped me in many of my relationships. I don't snap back so angrily at my parents and actually listen to my boyfriend's side of things when we get in a fight. This goes for all lessons we have learned in class. For example--homosexuality. I am now much more open with the topic and understand it a lot better. I'm less quick to judge. The same goes with transgender individuals. I didn't realize how naive I was with some of these topics. I didn't know that some people were born with different chromosomes or with extra private parts. I guess I just let my religion and parents' views get in the way sometimes when trying to understand people different than me. This goes for abortion also. I was always pro-life but I can now understand the other side too after being forced to read and watch articles that oppose my view. It's amazing how much you can learn from simply listening. All of the exercises we do in class were difficult at first. Having to listen without saying anything or defending your side was a hard concept for me, although it has got much easier as the semester progressed. I thoroughly enjoyed this class and learning about concepts that are so prevalent in our world today. I've never had a class where I was able to talk, read, and learn about sexuality. I found it very interesting!!
This open-mindedness and listening will definitely help me in the future. I plan on becoming some sort of doctor and have always been interested in the medical field. With this profession, I will be encountering patients, families, and co-workers with different views, gender, races, sexuality, and class. Understanding them and not letting my biased opinions get in the way will help me to have a more successful future as a doctor.

My Friend’s Horrific Experience—Rape (Trigger Warning!!)

I have always had strong views on abortion and conception. Most of this is due to my family and our religious beliefs. I had always been taught that abortion is wrong and should not be tolerated. I was highly pro-life and believed that life began at conception.  The thought of killing an innocent unborn child was awful to me. I was very opinionated and closed-minded when it came to abortion. I would often dismiss the topic because I didn't want to hear any pro-choice advocate’s reasoning. I can now say that one significant experience opened my eyes and made me “think twice” about my pessimistic ways.

One of my mom’s friend’s daughters had to go through a traumatic experience. One night her and some friends had went to some guy’s apartment to pre-game for the night then they were going out. Yeah, she was a little drunk but nothing she couldn't handle. At the bar, one of the guy’s they were with offered to buy her a drink—she gladly accepted. Little did she know that this drink would be the end to her good night. Shortly after drinking the drink she remembers feeling dizzy but thought it was just because she was drunk. Turns out she didn't have any recognition of what happened later in the night… The next morning when she woke up she was in an unfamiliar shed type building with blood on her pants and severe pain. She immediately called for help and eventually made her way to the hospital where she had an examination and rape kit test done on her. She was given a Plan B type pill (not sure actually what kind). . Long story short, she did not end up pregnant from this experience, but it definitely made me think twice. What if she would have? Carrying that baby through pregnancy would have been a constant reminder of that horrific experience. Why should any girl have to be forced to carry this unwanted child? Being drugged and raped is in itself a big enough issue, without the added stress of pregnancy. So this situation made me think twice. I would have probably considered abortion just as many others would have. I can truthfully say I am much more open-minded on the topic now. 

Objectification

Ever since I can remember, my parents raised me to stand up for myself. I was told never to instigate or start a fight, but to be the one to finish it. I was raised to not let others walk all over me. Because of this, I have grown to be a very straight-forward and headstrong person. In a case of objectification, my reaction typically depends on the situation. Most of the time though if I'm the one being objectified, I fire back (typically in a rude way). For example, if someone yells something at me on the street and isn't trying to say it in a rude way or derogatory tone, then I would just ignore it. No need to start a confrontation if it wasn't offensive or intentionally derogatory. BUT, most of the time this is not the case. Majority of the time when I am street harassed  it is vulgar, provocative, offensive, and dehumanizing. I have had people say very inappropriate comments before. In this instance, I would definitely stand up for myself and fire back with an equally degrading comment. I'm pretty quick on my feet so normally this shuts them up.
In contrast, if I am not the one being objectified, normally I just keep my mouth shut. Especially if I don;t know the person then I normally would not say anything. I don't feel that it is my place to say something. I'm not going to fight other people's battles for them. However, if it is someone I'm very close with such as a friend or family member then I might intervene. Again, it depends on the context of how severe the situation is. If it happens repeatedly  and I witness my friend or family member being walked all over then I will stand up for them.
I haven't had a particular situation that stands out to me. Most of the time they never really amount to anything. They say a comment, I fire one back then move about my business.