[nabs-l] Sex Education Curriculum

Fri Jul 13 01:44:50 UTC 2012

Wow!
I guess different people have different ways to learn things.
Blessings, Joshua

On 7/12/12, Ashley Bramlett <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:
> Hannah,
> sighted people are not taught about it because they see and observe how to
> do it and thereby learn it.
> No I don't think it’s a natural thing just learned by osmosis. I didn't know
> how to show love to my own family until someone showed me.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Hannah Chadwick
> Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2012 6:17 PM
> To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Sex Education Curriculum
>
> I would have to agree with you on this. I don't think sighted people are
> taught how to make out. It is something that comes to you naturally and you
> get better at it from experience...
> hannah
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Ignasi Cambra
> Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2012 3:05 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Sex Education Curriculum
>
> Brandon,
> I think you are exaggerating a little bit... It doesn't make sense to me
> that blind people should be taught all these things with such detail just
> because they are blind. I was never taught how to make out. I imagine that
> would be very awkward and mostly making out is a natural thing that people
> do. You put your hand on someone's neck or you touch their hair because it
> feels good, not because you're supposed to do it that way.
> I think it's silly to prettend that sex is not around us just because we
> can't see it, but I don't really feel like we need anything specific or
> different from what everyone else is getting.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jul 12, 2012, at 5:30 PM, Brandon Keith Biggs
> <brandonkeithbiggs at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Josh, frankly that's very dangerous and I'm scared for you. Not knowing
> what the stuff I described below feels like is analogous to not knowing what
> it is in the first place.
>> I do agree that sex ed is totally inadequate for the school system and I'm
> sorry if someone disagrees with me, but I think that if someone believes sex
> should not be taught as extensively as math, they are refusing to be human.
>> We are animals and our goal in life is to grow up, have sex, make babies,
> rays those babies and die.
>> What separates us from our cats and dogs is the fact that we can learn
> skills in order to make our 3 stages more enjoyable. It's a crime to say we
> should be abstinent and it's going against everything we are. We are one
> third sexual beings and today we just ignore that one third of ourselves.
>> I once read a book by Margret Weis that talked about a group of people who
> celebrated their bodies, loved pleasure and they even used condoms as
> ornaments on their Christmas trees. These people were the most happy of
> everyone in the book and the particular character was the smartest in the
> book.
>> It's my opinion that there should be a new section that goes along with
> reading writing and arithmetic that is romance. With divorce raits being
> around 50% I think that's a true indication that we've got a problem. One
> can say learning about sex is gross, it's something that should be avoided
> and at all costs it should not be promoted among our kids! But the numbers
> are out and glairing:
>> "The marriage breakup rate in America for first marriage is 41% to 50%;
> the rate after second marriage is from 60% to 67% and the rate in America
> for 3rd marriage are from 73% to 74%."
>> http://www.divorcestatistics.info/divorce-statistics-and-divorce-rate-
>> in-the-usa.html If that's not a problem, I don't know what is.
>>
>> Sophie, what if you were a gay child who was blind? How would you
> understand how to express yourself? How would you be able to find people who
> understood you if you didn't know what to look for? Especially if goodness
> forbid you were put into a conservative household?
>> I shutter to think how horrible that would be.
>>
>> A couple kissing in front of you may be gross, touching a panes with
> hurpies may be gross, seeing a gay couple in skirts may be gross, but it's
> important!
>> It's part of growing up and it's something that will leave a child
> developmentally delayed if not addressed.
>>
>> My mom has been good and tells me about the couple making out in front of
> their apartment building and how passionate they are:
>> "His right hand is around her back and his left hand is under her hair
> cupping her head. They are so close together that there is no room between
> them. Her hands are on his shoulders and they are so in love that they come
> up for air and have to go back in for more. When one try's to go, they get
> pulled back into the other's embrace for one more kiss and that kiss turns
> into a lot more than that one kiss. Now the guy has his hands around her
> back and he's stroking her back while they're kissing..."
>>
>> It's really important to know details like that, his hand is between her
> hair and neck, what pose they are in, how they are holding each other, how
> they are acting, so we can copy in our relationships. We are blind and don't
> know any of that stuff. How are we supposed to know what a good bye kiss
> looks like? How are we supposed to know how far to go when we're on the bus?
> How are we supposed to know how far we're to go in the movie theater? At
> some point it becomes a matter of legality and we are blissfully unaware.
>>
>> If sex is put into biology it's reduced to a robotic function:
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joIYo0g7HUw
>> Sex is definitely not robotic! (I wouldn't want to make sex to a
>> robot...) It's emotional and so much more than just a biological function.
> That is what makes us different than our dog or rabbet.
>> This is why I believe sex and romance should be put into a totally
> different class of their own.
>>
>> What I think the blind class should focus on is more hands on mottles, but
> most importantly, how to read and give queues and expressions that signify
> sexual interest.
>> How do you flirt? I've yet herd a good answer from a blind person on that
> question.
>> How do I get a date for the prom? This is a question I've heard way too
> many times from different blind teens in high school.
>> How do I ask a person out? Goodness knows this haunted my middle school
> years.
>> How do I tell a woman she's beautiful through my face? Any blind guys want
> to take this one?
>> How do I know she's flirting with me? This could be important sometime...
>> How do I have a chance with a girl who's playing hard to get? I can't even
> find her!
>> What kind of touching is permitted when and where? You didn't tell me that
> spot was private...!
>>
>> These are the problems that plague the blind community and they are what I
> think the curriculum should focus on, above and beyond the sex/romance
> class.
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Brandon Keith Biggs
>> -----Original Message----- From: Desiree Oudinot
>> Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2012 1:34 PM
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Sex Education Curriculum
>>
>> Hi,
>> Brandon, I couldn't agree more with your post. Very well said. but I
>> have to say that it's not just blind people who aren't taught these
>> things. While sighted people may be more exposed to sex from watching
>> people make out or get physical, and this could even include their
>> parents, sex ed curriculums in general aren't exactly top notch. Most
>> are abstinence only, with a distinct slant towards the doom and gloom
>> side of things. It makes everything risque for kids who are saying,
>> "what's the big deal?" And honestly, if they take the right
>> precautions, they may be right. Have any of you ever checked out
>> avert.org? It's an Aids charity which has a wealth of information
>> directed at teens. There are stories about teens' first sexual
>> experiences. While some do indeed end in heartbreak or STD's, there
>> are plenty of others who attest to the fact that, while relationships
>> don't have to last forever, teens can be content with their sexuality,
>> their choices and their feelings. There are people who have sex at a
>> young age who don't regret it, who don't live in crappy apartments
>> with rats crawling up the walls while they prostitute themselves to
>> support the baby they made at 14. So, in high school and younger, lots
>> of misinformation flies from one inexperienced ear to another, and
>> that's how people not only face consequences when they experiment, but
>> also harbor guilt and shame when they feel they have no one they can
>> turn to. Their friends may have steered them in the wrong direction
>> with outright lies, however well-intentioned they may have been, and
>> parents are often so uncomfortable with seeing their children as
>> sexual beings that they never do much besides mumble something about
>> the birds and the bees, and then, in a much more emphatic voice, say,
>> JUST DON'T DO IT! Well, we all know how well that kind of thing works
>> most of the time! And the schools are basically doing the same thing
>> by teaching abstinence only, when you think about it.
>> Now, how does blindness factor into this? Truthfully, in an
>> educational sense, it doesn't, in my opinion. Blind people are
>> experiencing the same feelings and desires as sighted people. They
>> talk to their friends, whether they're blind or sighted, about these
>> topics just as sighted people talk to other sighted people about them.
>> Blind people watch movies where sex and masturbation are discussed or
>> acted out, and with described movies, while the describer isn't going
>> to go into explicit detail, they will say something about the activity
>> being discussed. Let's also not forget that partially sighted people
>> are probably going to pick up a Playboy or watch porn at some point.
>> There's still the same danger of misinformation, and the same parental
>> reluctance to discuss these topics. the only slight difference may be
>> that parents may balk more at the idea of their blind child having sex
>> than they would at their sighted child doing the same thing. I speak
>> from personal experience on this one--my parents used to tell me I
>> shouldn't have sex because I was blind, not so much because of the
>> physical act but because of the fact I could get pregnant, and God
>> forbid a blind person should become a parent.
>> In summation, I don't think a separate curriculum needs to be written
>> up for blind people about this sensitive subject. For one thing,
>> blindness doesn't mean you have to do things differently, and I feel
>> that the blind are already singled out enough that trying to alter the
>> sex ed curriculum for us would just lead to even more awkwardness and
>> embarrassment. Sex ed curriculums need to become more inclusive in
>> general, and the teachers who teach them need to make an effort not to
>> let their personal feelings and biases get in the way. If a teacher
>> can't do that, perhaps they shouldn't be handling the material. If
>> psychologists and others in the helping profession must remain
>> objective about their clients and work, so too should teachers. It's
>> sex ed itself that needs an overhaul, not nit picking at something
>> that's way far from the root of the problem.
>>
>> On 7/12/12, Joshua Lester <jlester8462 at students.pccua.edu> wrote:
>>> Brandon, the stuff you mentioned, is something that I'm glad that I
>>> don't see.
>>> JMHO!
>>> Blessings, Joshua
>>>
>>> On 7/12/12, Brandon Keith Biggs <brandonkeithbiggs at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Hello,
>>>> Sighted people are exposed to sex all the time, haven't you heard of
>>>> playboy
>>>>
>>>> or penthouse? Also, what about those people making out on the bus?
>>>> Or the gay couple walking down the sidewalk in skirts and bikini?
>>>> All that we miss
>>>>
>>>> because we're blind.
>>>> Books are grate, but you can only learn so much from a manual.
>>>> Sighted kids
>>>>
>>>> get pictures, we should get to feel. Also, how is a blind person
>>>> supposed to
>>>>
>>>> know they have an STD if they have never felt one? How do they know
>>>> it's not
>>>>
>>>> just a cut or dehydration?
>>>> Sighted people are given extensive viewings of the peaness and
>>>> vagina in class or in pictures, why can't blind people get the same?
>>>> Frankly I believe that the art of giving pleasure has become such a
>>>> suppressed skill that people have even resorted to substance abuse
>>>> to obtain
>>>>
>>>> pleasure. Our bodies were meant to give us pleasure, why aren't we
>>>> taught to
>>>>
>>>> utilize these pleasure factories? What's the meaning of life? To
>>>> love and be
>>>>
>>>> happy! Why aren't we taught to be happy, to give pleasure, to love
>>>> our selves in school?
>>>> It's a fundamental wrong that I find is a crime against the words
>>>> human beings, but that's kind of a different issue.
>>>> But if this curriculum is any bit good, teachers will adopt it
>>>> instead of the droll thing they have now.
>>>>
>>>> btw what about feeling a condom, diaphragm or dental dam? How is a
>>>> blind person supposed to know what one looks like if they haven't
>>>> felt one or tried it on? Also, how does a blind person shop for
> contraception's?
>>>> Me: "Next on my list is condoms." Walgreens guy: "OK, what brand do
>>>> you want? Durex, Trojan, Crown, Kimono..." Me: "Uh, what's your
> favorite?"
>>>> Walgreens guy: "Most people get Trojan, what size do you want? We've
>>>> got small, medium, large and extra large. We've also got narrow and
> wide.
>>>> Here
>>>> are some flavors as well..."
>>>>
>>>> That's just a wall greens guy who is comfortable, what if it's one
>>>> of the really shy ladies who doesn't speak English? Sighted people
>>>> can be unobtrusive and just buy the condom or diaphragm along with
>>>> their lube where
>>>>
>>>> as a blind person has to know what questions to ask and know what
>>>> brands to
>>>>
>>>> get. I learned what questions to ask when shopping by watching my
>>>> parents, but I've never seen my parents buy condoms.
>>>> It's a serious issue and this program will help address those problems.
>>>> And
>>>>
>>>> what about masturbation? I've rarely read a book where masturbation
>>>> is talked about and I've read a lot of books! How does a guy
>>>> masturbate without
>>>>
>>>> making a mess?
>>>> Sex Ed is not just about a sperm and an egg get together to form a
>>>> baby, that's more science.
>>>> Sex Ed is about sex and it's an issue that blind people fall way
>>>> short in when it comes to being educated along with their fellow
> students.
>>>> Thanks,
>>>>
>>>> Brandon Keith Biggs
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Herrin, Amber R.
>>>> Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2012 6:40 AM
>>>> To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Sex Education Curriculum
>>>>
>>>> Dear Joshua,
>>>>
>>>> I have to agree with you here!  For me, the idea of knowing about
>>>> sex, before I'm sharing it with my husband, is kind of...unnecessary, I
> guess?
>>>> Maybe the wrong answer, and I understand that not everyone believes
>>>> you should wait until marriage as I do, but I think that being blind
>>>> doesn't prevent us from finding out about it the same way sighted
>>>> people do-experiment (isn't that what most people do anyway?) or
>>>> read books written on the topic (how confusing can text be?)
>>>>
>>>> Amber R. Herrin
>>>> Assistive Technology Trainer in Training: 2012
>>>> Mobile: (513) 593-5855
>>>> E-mail: herrinar at muohio.edu
>>>> "It doesn't matter what you've heard Impossible is not a word It's
>>>> just a reason For someone not to try
>>>>
>>>> Everybody's scared to death
>>>> When they decide to take that step
>>>> Out on the water
>>>> It'll be alright
>>>>
>>>> Life is so much more
>>>> Than what your eyes are seeing
>>>> You will find your way
>>>> If you keep believing"
>>>> -Kutless "What Faith Can Do"
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>>>> On Behalf Of Joshua Lester
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2012 9:35 PM
>>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Sex Education Curriculum
>>>>
>>>> I personally did fine, in those courses, in school, without the new
>>>> proposed curriculum, that they're wanting.
>>>> I don't see the need for one, because who really wants to know,
>>>> what's being shown, in those slides?
>>>> Good grief!
>>>> Blessings, Joshua
>>>>
>>>> On 7/11/12, David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I have been asked to circulate the following:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Dave
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Dear NFB Member,
>>>>>> The National Federation of the Blind has been gracious enough to
>>>>>> help us with a current project.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> We are currently seeking your opinion in a survey that will help
>>>>>> us write a curriculum for students with low vision and blindness
>>>>>> in the area of sex education.  Currently no curriculum exists for
>>>>>> students with low vision and blindness that reflect current
>>>>>> education standards.  Young people, educators, and professionals
>>>>>> have all indicated that there is a desperate need for such a
> curriculum.
>>>>>> We want your voice to impact our work!
>>>>>> Please take the time to fill out the survey at the link found below:
>>>>>> <https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/sexeducationsurvey>https://www.sur
>>>>>> veym
>>>>>> onkey.com/s/sexeducationsurvey
>>>>>>
>>>>>> <https://maverick.hec.ohio-state.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=htt
>>>>>> ps:/ /www.surveymonkey.com/s/sexeducationsurvey>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thank you for your time and consideration of this project!
>>>>>> Tiffany Wild, Mollie Blackburn, Stacy Kelly, and Caitlin Ryan
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thank you,
>>>>>> Mika Baugh
>>>>>> National Federation of the Blind
>>>>>> 200 East Wells Street
>>>>>>     at Jernigan Place
>>>>>> Baltimore, MD 21230
>>>>>> P: (410) 659 9314 ext. 2371
>>>>>> E: <mailto:mbaugh at nfb.org>mbaugh at nfb.org
>>>>>> W: <http://www.nfb.org>www.nfb.org
>>>>>>
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>>>>>
>>>>
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