Module 2 Unit 2

[Angel]

Choose one of these topics and find one resource and share that resource and your thoughts about it in the response. How does this topic intersect with sex positivity? Why might you need to be aware of this topic to educate on sexuality?

Fatphobia

Homophobia

Transphobia

Rape Culture

• This topic was modified 3 months, 3 weeks ago by Angel.
• This topic was modified 3 months, 3 weeks ago by Angel.
• This topic was modified 2 months, 1 week ago by Angel.

[Jenn W]

I chose the Transphobia topic to improve my understanding of what it is and how I can learn more about it. I have included an article for reference from Healthline for further reference and information. https://www.healthline.com/health/transphobia

One of the main points that resonates with me in this article was “unintentionally” being Transphobic or giving the impression of being Transphobic out of ignorance. I try to always come from a place of love and kindness. Unfortunately, being human, sometimes mistakes happen and we cause hurt, unintentionally. I am an information seeker, and I ask lots of questions. It occurred to me, this could be causing hurt. As I am not transgender, I can never truly understand what it means for those living this truth. What I can do, is learn and continue to show compassion, empathy and support while on my journey to educate on sex positivity. By being more informed, I can hopefully share with others, so they too may understand and come from a place of kindness and compassion. I expect to meet many diverse people in my life and on my journey. I would like to have a solid understanding so I am able to provide support and information in a positive and respectful manner.

[Angel]

Thanks Jenn for that! I agree, it can be challenging to figure out when it is ok to ask questions and when it is not.

For us at ASPECC we tend to let the person we are curious about set the tone. If they are the one teaching about that topic, then to some degree they have consented to being asked qeustions and to teaching us more about it. If they are socializing with us, and they say “I am _________, if you have questions I am happy to answer” then we ask questions. Otherwise we educate ourselves through reading, videos, courses. For me, it is about honouring the emotional labour of the other person, not expecting them to do that labour and being grateful when they do.

[Kim]

The article I have chosen to use is the following https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/voices/stop-using-phony-science-to-justify-transphobia/#

People tend to look for sources that validate their own personal biases. Even if those sources aren’t all that accurate, if they make a person feel more secure in their currently held beliefs, they tend to listen to that source even over more proven or scientific sources. As such when you get people who are uncomfortable with trans people, or were raised to feel that way, they may ignore actual research showing how harmless trans people are in order to justify the beliefs they’ve held for most of their life. As transphobia worsens, articles that paint trans people as predatory, or sick, or anything else like that also increase, which increases the amount of articles people can use to justify their bigotry. Similar things can happen with just about any topic, and sex is far from an exception. Society perpetuates the idea that not being ashamed about sex makes you a pervert at best, and a predator at worst. And there’s plenty of articles that support these claims, although the majority of them have little to no actual research put into them.

[Angel]

HI Kim,
I love that yoyu are bringing up that echo chamber challenge! I think we all tend to want to have our biases (core beliefs) validated, and that until something happens to allow us to expand our window of tolerance for doing that work of unpacking those beliefs-we can really get stuck.
Great job!

[theo]

I chose fatphobia. I found an interesting study from 1993. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8293029/

My thoughts are conflicted. The fact that we knew fatphobia was a problem back in the early nineties, and did nothing about it really gets me angry. Researchers even developed a treatment program to reduce fatphobia in participants.

It’s sad that mostly women who are of average weight are fatphobic, but it makes sense. The constant pressure to remain “attractive” is relentless.

To intersect this with sex positivity, I believe that all bodies can be attractive and capable of pleasure. This is a core part of sex positivity!

We must be aware of fatphobia for sex education! Besides assuring people that their weight has no bearing on their ability to find partners and enjoy themselves, there are resources, tips and tricks, and even assistive devices that can help facilitate more comfortable pleasure!

[Angel]

Theo, great job!
I love the vulneraiblity in your response, your self-reflection skills are showing.
I love Allison Tunis’s work on fatphobia, and for folks in Alberta there isa group on facebook called Fatties of Yeg that if you are fat (small fat or large fat) you can join. Its amazing.

I would add that body size is morally neutral.
That we are not our bodies. Our bodies are just the suit we wear, and they change over time, and often those changes are out of our scope of control-that we are allowed to be fat and still enjoy food for pleasure, that we are allowed to be fat and not focus on exercise. That being fat is not something we need to apologize for.

[Author]

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