Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Gender and Sexuality Essay

Gender and Sexuality Essay

Sexuality and gender questions have never been as hotly discussed as they are today. Yet in many cases the relationship between what is taught and what is practiced is as little understood as ever. (Nelson) There is usually not as much confusion about the gender question as there is about sexuality. Gender, in addition to age, is a universal dimension that the status differences are based on. Unlike sex, which is a biological concept, gender is a social compound that is specifying the different roles given to men and women. (Gender and Sexuality) The concept of gender directly influences our lives and how we relate to the members of the society that are around us. (Midure) The question of gender and gender equality is frequently raised because we are living in the era of personal freedom and emancipation. However some inequality still does exist though it is being addressed all over the world on regular basis.

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It seems that the modern culture is obsessed with sex and sexuality, still there are too many social pressures around sex. We can see that people in liberal areas are pushed into sex too early. Many conservative groups deny sex or sex education for too long. Both are unhealthy because they go against human nature and prevent people from developing naturally. It has been proved that people are ready for different sexual experiences at different timings and they should not be either pushed or kept away from sexuality. So the factors which force the issue are harmful to a person’s healthy and normal development.

Seeming rather small the structure of sexuality and gender in fact links to the broader social structures. To discuss sex as only a supplementary part of life, isolated from other fundamentally sexual and nonsexual realities, is wrong. Sex simply cannot be understood unless we take into consideration the context in which it comes about. There is a broader concept to sexuality. Sex exists because there are two genders, and this fact is related to sexual long for reproduction and family life. Therefore we speak of a “sexual system”, by which we mean that there is a logical relationship between the following four elements: the distinction between genders, the “dynamics of lust”, human reproduction, and the family. (Melton)

Around the age of three children start asking sexual questions because they want to know about their world and figure things out. (Westheimer) The earlier a child starts asking questions the better it is because sex is a crucial part of growing up. Judith Levine makes a strong argument and goes even further, giving a point in her book that the attempt to protect children from sex is unsuccessful, pointless and may even be harmful. (Levine)

Nowadays more and more schools all over the world and in Australia in particular take up teaching sexual education. Australian teachers currently enjoy a positive climate for teaching sexual education, as do many European and American ones. Being aware of the importance of sexual education for children is vital for teachers. Learning to address sexual issues with comfort, teachers also learn how to relate with the students as well as being open and trustworthy. Yet, a teacher should teach a class on gender and sexuality only if she/her herself/himself is one completely comfortable with and clear about the topic. (Milton, J., Berne, L., Peppard, J., Patton, W., Hunt, L., Wright, S.)Sexuality and gender is a fascinating topic, still a very delicate one, and it may be understood by students only if correctly presented.
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