I had never experienced the
presentation of sex while I was in school. Going to a Catholic school my entire
life, Sex Ed was not in the cards for me. Although this was my school
environment I was lucky enough to have a home environment that was very open and
loving. I had “the birds and the bees” talk with my mom when I asked her what
sex was and they always taught me that love was love, it did not matter who it
was between. I have gay and lesbian friends who I love very much and I
recognized some of them in these readings.
Like
in Anderson’s article, a close friend of mine, who I grew up with, struggled
with an identity crisis. He had a wicked temper when we were young and it
always looked as if he was having an internal debate whenever we did something,
even just playing outside. Years later we talked about it and he knew that
those years were his toughest. He knew that he was fighting with the fact that
he was, “joining to a stigmatized group” and he had no idea what to do about it
(Anderson, 2005, p. 4). When we were young I just thought he was being annoying
and that he would get out of his funk eventually, I never imagined it was
something so important for him. Now I am glad I was able to be there for his
experiences and learn from him and what he went through.
One
of my roommates is someone else I have learned a great deal from. She is a
lesbian, and as she likes to call herself “boyish.” She is more comfortable
with short hair and looser clothing, but that is not who she is. I watch as
people give her a questioning look at school or out somewhere, but she does not
even give those people the time of day. She has overcome so much adversity in
her life that she does not worry about the looks. And there are many people out
there that have to deal with this struggle of judgment, not just gays or
lesbians, but from being around my friends I see how much it can be a nuisance.
Students need to learn about all different types of love, I feel, because if
they do not, they will be the ones starring. We cannot change everyone’s mind,
but I feel that we owe it to students to make the world a little more caring
and a little less judgmental.
I
also really liked a point that Fine and McEllend made, that desire is
everywhere (Fine &McEllend, 2006). She mentions different social medias and
television channels that plaster adolescent desire as the main focus. Students
cannot escape the fact that sex sells and that it is becoming a large part of
society. Sadly, they can “’Google’ for information about the average young woman’s
age of ‘sexual debut,’ if she used a condom, got pregnant, the number of
partners she had, if she aborted or gave birth, and what the baby weighed”
(Fine & McEllend, 2006, p. 4).
It is not just Google that is becoming a problem, but young adults these
days do not understand the idea of privacy (I know I sound like I’m old, but
really!). Girls will post pregnancy photos on social media websites and apps
like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Boys will talk about the “girl they
smashed” last night. There are no boundaries anymore for adolescents and
someday they might wish they never put that out there for everyone to find.
I
just hope that eventually all students will have some understanding and
appreciation for all types of people, whether you’re GLBTQ?, black, white,
purple, or blue. There needs to be some level of caring between young adults so
that they can learn from one another and carry what they learn with them into
future experiences.
Anderson, D. (2005). Lesbian and Gay Adolescents: Social and Developmental
Considerations. In E.R. Brown & K.J. Saltman (Eds.). The Critical Middle School Reader. New York : Routledge, 338-344.
Fine, M. & McClelland, S.I. (2006). exuality Education and Desire: Still Missing After
All These Years. Harvard Educational Review, 76(3), 297-338.
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