Reference no: EM133661528

Assignment: Human Sex

You have three choices for your project (choose one project below) on which you will base your paper:

I. Create a sexual family tree: Create a family tree going back to your grandparents. Trace what you know about how your family has experienced sexuality and relationships: marriages, divorces, affairs, sexual violence, domestic violence, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender roles, attitudes and beliefs toward sex including religious beliefs, and anything else you feel is relevant. Pay attention to strong patterns and overall themes you see in your family tree, and what you notice has directly and indirectly impacted your own experiences with sexuality.

II. Keep a sex diary: Keep a sex diary for one week, in which you keep a record for every time you think about sex and sexuality, and every time you engage in an act you consider sexual. Write down whatever those thoughts and experiences are and how you feel about them, questions you have about your experiences, etc. Pay attention to your internal conversations, your beliefs and attitudes, and the feelings that arise for you as you record your experiences.

III. Interview a close family member or friend: Choose someone close to you that you feel comfortable interviewing about their experiences with their sexuality. Ask questions like: Where did you learn about sex and sexuality? When did you know how you identified (in terms of sexual orientation, gender identity, etc.)? What were some of the pivotal moments for you in defining your sense of sexuality? What do you wish you had been taught growing up about sex and sexuality? Pay attention to your personal reactions and take note of similarities and differences between your interviewee and yourself.

I will not be reading any of these actual projects; they are your private conversations with yourself and others and I want to respect the highly personal nature of these projects. The product that you submit, however, will be a 5-page paper that you write in response to the project of your choice.

f you are interested in completing a project/paper of a different variety, I am open to your creative thoughts.

Questions to address in your paper:

1. What project did you complete? What did you gain from doing your project?

2. What material from class (textbook, other readings, videos, conversations with classmates) prompted you to think about sexuality (yours, or in general) in a new way? Why? Has anything changed or solidified for you regarding how you think about sex, sexuality, and/or relationships?

3. From whom did you learn messages about sexuality in general and about your sexuality in particular? What were those messages? How have you carried those messages into adulthood? What values do you hold about sexuality?

4. Have you had any critical moments, experiences, or relationships that have made you question your values about sexuality? What were they and what were their impacts on you?

5. Can you identify larger systems (media, school, religion, economic, political, etc) that have impacted your experience and relationship with your body and with other people's bodies?