How should we deal with unplanned pregnancies?
The issue of abortion, and a woman’s right to choose whether to have one or not, has been heated for decades. Putting aside your personal feelings about abortion, consider the following questions.
Whose fault is it when an unwanted pregnancy occurs? What would happen to the rate of unwanted pregnancy if any man causing one had a mandatory vasectomy?
What are the potential consequences if the pregnancy continues? Who is ultimately responsible for raising the child? How might this affect the quality of life of the mother? The child? The father?
Is adoption a viable alternative? What is the impact of adoption on the adopted child?
Who currently decides whether a woman can choose to continue or terminate her pregnancy? Who should get to decide? Why?
Assuming we all share the goal of reducing (if not eliminating) unwanted pregnancies, how might we go about this as a society? What will actually work?
Prohibiting all abortions? Or something else?
What does the phrase “gender appropriate” mean? Is it about gender or gender roles? What are we born with and what do we learn? Discuss schemas.
Consider the following scenarios. Imagine you’ve just become a parent. What does science tell us will happen if:
you have a baby boy, and you decide to raise him as a girl instead-telling him he is a girl, dressing him as a girl, giving him traditional “girl” things to play with, like dolls and play kitchens?
you have a baby boy, and you give him a variety of toys to play with-blocks, dolls, cars, balls, dress up clothes, play kitchens, etc. ?
you have a baby boy, and you dress him in blue, and only give him traditional “boy” things to play with, like cars and play tools?
you have a baby girl, and you decided to raise her as a boy instead-telling her she is a boy, dressing her as a boy, giving her traditional “boy” things to play with, like cars and play tools?
you have a baby girl, and you give her a variety of toys to play with-blocks, dolls, cars, balls, dress up clothes, play kitchens, play tools, etc.?
you have a baby girl, and you dress her in pink, and only give her traditional “girl” things to play with, like dolls and play kitchens?
The issue of transgender rights has been dominating the news for the last several years. Laws have been passed prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in their sport or using the restroom aligned with their gender, prohibiting gender affirming treatment, even punishing those who might help transgender individuals. Based on what you’ve learned about gender, discuss whether you think these legal interventions are appropriate.
Many of the recents attacks on transgendered people stem from a belief that they are making it up— that it isn’t real. Do you think this is true? Why or why not?
In the case of trans-women competing in sports, they do it to have a competitive advantage. Do you think this is true? Does the research show they have an advantage? Are there other ways we might approach competitive sports that aren’t based on gender at all?
What are the potential consequences of passing laws that, in effect, say that our gender always matches our biological sex and alternatives are not allowed?
Trans individuals have faced intense discrimination from many sources. Trans-women, especially, are targeted. How is this related to sexism?
You overhear a friend say “Sex and marriage are only between a man and a woman and only for having kids
—anything else is an abomination and disgusting!”
How would you respond to this?
What kind of sex is ok? What is not ok? Why?
Are “normal” sexual behaviors universal? How do other cultures (and other historical time periods) compare?
Take a look at this website for some ideas: https:// sexselvesandsociety.wordpress.com/
or look up any of the following directly (add
“sexuality” to your internet search to get more relevant information):
Ancient Greeks
Victorian Americans the Mangaia of Polynesia the Mehinaku of Brasil
the Simbari of Papua New Guinea Dani/ Ndani of Papua New Guinea
Who gets to decide what sexual acts are immoral or illegal or not? Who should get to choose? How does this fit in with bodily autonomy?
How might you use the idea of consent to advocate for a more accepting and inclusive attitude about sex while still outlining sexual behavior that is not acceptable?
