Sociology of Sexual Health

Instructor: Penny Harvey Email address:

Class Times: _____Room ______​ ​CRN #____ Term: ______

Office Hours: _______ or by appointment _________

Course Description
This course will be focused on three key questions: What is sexual health? How do our cultural biases,
power positions and institutional frameworks influence how we understand sexual health? How can we
address sexual health from a sociological framework? In this course, we will critically examine the way
power works to institutionalize and legitimate certain forms and expressions of sexual desire and
sexuality while stigmatizing others - as it relates to our concept of sexual health. We will address norms
of sexuality in connection with the oppression and violence that such hegemonic norms justify. We will
interrogate concepts of prescribed sexual identities, and their categorization into “normal” or “deviant”
sexualities or sexual manifestations and behaviours. Through taking this course students will gain an
introduction to: the history for sexuality, how sexuality is approach scientifically, how cultural moments
have impacted our understandings and relationships with sex and sexual health, and how this relates to
the knowledge produce for sex education for a variety of different groups from adolescents to health
care providers. We will finish the semester by connecting a variety of local providers of sexual health
care from CDC researchers to healthcare professionals to sexologist and sex educators.

Goals and Objectives of Sociology of Sexual Health

1. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of what a Sexual Health is, what good
Sexual Health practices consist of, how Sexual Health issues occur, how Sexual Health research
is conducted and how Sexual Health issues are linked.
2. Students will look at Sexual Health through a Sociological lens.
3. Students will examine the links between Sexual Health Issues and Sociological theory.
4. Students will learn how Sexual Health can affect individuals’ life experiences and
outcomes as well as community relationships.
5. Students will assess the differences and similarities of Sexual Health issues from both micro and
macro perspectives using empirical data and Sociological research.
6. Students will look at how Sexual Health issues can be addressed, reduced or solved through a
variety of different social policies, research, medical practices, activism and social change.
Goals and Objectives of the study of Sociology
1. This class aims to enhance your critical thinking skills.
2. This class aims to promote social and collaborative learning.
3. This class aims to introduce you to Sociological thinking and the application of sociology in
everyday life.
4. This class aims to facilitate your ability to think of innovative ways you can engage in social
activism in your community.
 Assessments

Break Down of Assessment

Participation 5 points

Attendance 5 points

Reading Maps 10 points

Sex Survey 20 points

Sex Education Program / Book 20 points

Group Project:
Genital Monologue
or Virginity Constructions 20 points

Final Research Paper 20 points

100 Total Points

Participation
Participation will be graded based on your participation in class. You can also gain participation by
coming to office hours; attending topically related events and writing short summaries of your
experience, what concepts it relates to and posting it to the topic board; posting youtube clips; media
clips including episode summaries, images/memes, song lyrics etc that relate to and clarify course
content to topic boards. The course is designed so that the more you put into the class, the more you will
get out of it. In addition, if you comment or engage with topic board posts in meaningful ways, you can
also gain participation points. Your participation grade is designed as an incentive for you to put your
full effort into this course. If you are concerned about your participation grade, please feel free to
contact me to see your progress in the course.

Attendance
Attendance is important and I expect you to come to class and to participate in class discussion. Students
will be given two free absences. Arriving over 15 minutes late or leaving over 15 minutes early from
class will be considered an absence. Attendance will be worth 5 points with 1 point removed for each
unexcused absence. Once students have had 5 unexcused absences you will be required to meet with me
in office hours. If a student exceeds 7 unexcused absences, I will reserve the right to administratively
withdraw them from the class. Excused absences with proper verification will not be counted for the
purpose of calculating attendance grades (see classroom expectations for excused absences policy
below). All verification documentation for these absences must specify that your absence was for the
SPECIFIC day in question. Documentation to verify an excused absence must be provided directly to
me as soon as you know you will be missing class and at the latest when you return to class after an
extenuating circumstance. You may not turn in verification documentation at the end of the semester. I
will take attendance at the beginning of class. It is your responsibility to arrive to class ​before​ I take
attendance. If you miss the roll call, you should see me at the break to have your attendance noted.
Repeated tardiness is disruptive and will result in you being withdrawn from the course (see Lateness
policy below for more details).

Reading Maps
You will have 28 opportunities to complete reading maps for assigned class readings. You will receive
.5 points per reading map submitted. You can earn up to 10 percentage points in total. If you complete
more than 20, the lowest grades will be dropped. Thus, there are no make-ups for reading maps.
Reflection questions should be completed by midnight the night before the class and uploaded to canvas.
This means if the reading is for Tuesday, then its should be uploaded by 11:59 on Monday night. Each
reading maps should follow the template provided. It should be approximately one - two pages. It can be
in bullet point / note form however there must be page numbers by each point. A template for reading
maps can be found at the end of the syllabus.

Sex Survey
In this project, you’ll design a short survey, post it online using google forms, get 10-20 friends /
classmates to fill out your survey, and write about your results. You want to find out your peers
knowledge and understanding of sexual health / safe sex practices. You should write and design 10
questions to gain this information followed by 8-10 demographic questions to be able to compare across
identity as well as social and cultural positioning. Your survey should ask at least one of each survey
question type we learned in class (dichotomous, interval, nominal, ordinal and ratio). Your survey draft
must be turned in and approved before you share the survey.

Write a short report including the following sections: Introduction (one paragraph min), Data Collection
& Methods(three paragraphs min), Results (two paragraphs), Discussion & Conclusion (two
paragraphs).

TIP 1: When developing the questions for your survey, please keep in mind your research question
because that is what is guiding your research outcomes.
TIP 2: Make sure that you write a short “introduction” at the beginning of the survey, somewhat
detailing what the survey is about, the confidentiality of the data collected, etc.
TIP 3: Make sure that you have clearly asked questions, no misspelled words, and make sure that your
writing is consistent and concise as possible.

Survey Draft due by [Insert] Results and Paper due by [Insert]

Sex Education Program or Book

Option A: Design a comprehensive sex education program for a chosen age group. Outline the areas you
would cover. How many days / hours would this be taught across and include links to videos and
materials you would include, have lesson plans laid out. The program itself does not have to be in essay
format (bullet points are acceptable), however your justification section should be in full essay format.
Option B: Make a comprehensive sex education book for a chosen age group. Address multiple areas of
sex ed. Make sure the language and any images are appropriate for the chosen age group you are
targeting.

Both options: Supporting paper 1-2 pages. Your supporting paper should outline the importance of sex
ed, what current research says about sex ed for your age group and why you chose to include certain
content over others. A reference list should be included for your project as well as your paper, this can
be one list or two seperate lists.

Final Research Paper

Select a topic of interest in the area of Sexual Health. For this assignment you will write a research paper
7-10 pages (double spaced) on a Sexual Health topic of your choosing. You should select 10 peer
reviewed research articles on a topic of your choosing. You should construct a literature review of these
sources. A literature review is a descriptive summary of research on a topic that has previously been
studied. Its purpose is to compare, contrast and/or connect findings that were identified when reviewing
researchers' work. Present and organize the findings and information provided in your articles by sorting
and classifying their contributions in a meaningful way, always considering your original topic and
inquiry question. You are answering the questions, How does this paper inform me about my chosen
topic, what
 Schedule of Classes, Readings and Assignments:
Class Number, Date and Topic Readings Due and Media

Class 1: http://www.ashasexualhealth.org/sexual-health/
Introduction and Syllabus

Class 2: > Are we having sex now or what? Greta

What is sex?
The social construction of Sex and Sexuality
Christina
>Am I normal? The questions of sex. Carol
Tavris
> Social Constructionism: Sociology, History
and Philosophy
> Social Constructionism and the study of human
sexuality. Shaver & Hendricks

Class 3: > The Science of Sex: Sexology and

Scientific Study of Sexuality
Psychoanalysis
> Sexual Biology and the Symbolism of the
Natural
> Historical, Scientific, Clinical, and Feminist
criticisms of the human sexual response cycle.
Annual review of sex research 2 (1991)

Class 4: > Large scale sex: Methods, challenges, and

Sex Methods findings of national representative sex research.
Jungles and Gorman

Class 5: > Alfred Kinsey and the Kinsey Report - Vern

Sexual Identities Bullough
> Heterosexuality from behaviour to identity
> Gay lesbian and bisexual politics in the United
States

Class 6: > Normalising Sexuality

Sexual Identities, Medicalisation and
Resistance
> Epstein, Steven (2003): Sexualizing
Governance and Medicalizing Identities: The
Emergence of ‘State-Centered’ LGBT Health
Politics in the United States
> The revolt against sexual identity
> Every time we fuck, we win’: The Public
Sphere of Queer, Feminist, and Lesbian Porn as a
(Safe) Space for Sexual Empowerment.
Class 7:
The sexual revolution
Class 8: Thursday 7th March
Modern Sexualitiy
Break!!!
Class 9: Thursday 21st March
Bodies
Class 10: Thursday 28th March
Bodies
Class 11: Thursday April 4th
Practices and Pleasure
> History of Sexuality chapter 1.Foucault
> Queen, Carol. 1997. “Sex Radical Politics,
Sex-Positive Feminist Thought, and Whore
Stigma.
> More than Medicine: A History of the
Women’s Health Movement
> American Hook-up culture
> Becoming a practitioner: The biopolitics of
BDSM. Weiss.
Break!!!
> The G-spot and other mysteries. Burgess and
Palder
> A sexual culture for disabled people. Tobin
Siebers
> The perils and pleasures of sex for trans
people. Tobin.
> Flores, April. 2013. “Being Fatty D: Size,
Beauty, and Embodiment in the Adult Industry.”
Pp 279-283 in The Feminist Porn Book
> The Sorcerer's apprentice: Why can’t we stop
circumcising boys? Robert Darby
> The politics of acculturation: Female genital
cutting. Lisa Wade.
> Introduction, Our Bodies, Our Selves (first
edition) Kathy Davis, The Making of Our
Bodies, Our Selves (Durham: Duke University
Press, 2007), 142-168 [ereserves
> Circumcision and the socially imagined sexual
body. Richters
> Sexing the intersexed: an analysis of
sociocultural responses to intersexuality. Preves.
> Rethinking the meaning and management of
intersexuality. Holmes
> Penley, Constance, et al. 2013. “Introduction:
The Politics of Producing Pleasure.” Pp 9-20 in
The Feminist Porn Book

Class 12: Thursday April 11th
Media and Representation
Class 13: Thursday April 18th
Consent & Sexual violence
Class 14: Thursday April 25th
Sex education
> Parvez, Z. Fareen. 2006. “The Labor of
Pleasure: How Perceptions of Emotional Labor
Impact Women’s Enjoyment of Pornography.”
Gender & Society 20(5): 605-631.
> Braun, Virginia. 2005. “In Search of (Better)
Sexual Pleasure: Female Genital 'Cosmetic'
Surgery.” Sexualities 8(4): 407-424.
> Khau, Mathabo. 2012. “Female Sexual
Pleasure and Autonomy: What Has Inner Labia
Elongation Got to Do with It?” Sexualities
15(7):763-777.
> Gill, Rosalind. 2009. “Supersexualize Me!:
Advertising and the ‘Midriffs.’ Pp 93-109 in
Mainstreaming Sex: The Sexualization of
Western Culture, edited by Feona Attwood. New
York: I.B. Tauris.
> Munford, Rebecca. 2009. “Bust-ing the Third
Wave: Barbies, Blowjobs and Girlie Feminism.”
Pp 183-197 in Mainstreaming Sex: The
Sexualization of Western Culture, edited by
Feona Attwood. New York: I.B. Tauris.
> ​Sexuality in a virtual world. Costello
> The effect of pornography on LGBTQ youth.
Harvey
> Barker, Meg. 2013. “Consent is a Grey Area?
A Comparison of Understandings of Consent in
Fifty Shades of Grey and on the BDSM
Blogosphere.” Sexualities 16(8): 896-914.
> Friedman, J., & Valenti, J. (2008). ​Yes means
yes!: Visions of female sexual power and a world
without rape​. Seal Press.
- Virginity Lost, Chapter 1. Carpenter.
- The death of the stork: Sex education books for
children. Simonds and Jungles
- ​Routledge Handbook of Sexuality, Health and
Rights: “​ Sex as ‘risk of conception’? Sexual
frames within the family planning field”
- Sexuality education and desire: Still missing
after all these years. Fine and McClelland
 - Gender and Education:​ “​ Beyond the birds and
the bees: Constituting a discourse of erotics in
sexuality education”
- Secondary prevention of Sexually transmitted
infections: Treating the couple and the
community. Sonfield

Exam Career Fair.