Can a discussion about biological functions be deemed explicit? If I were to explain the workings of your lungs, for instance, would I need to be on guard and warn you that this may not be appropriate? How about circulation? How about telling you the intricacies of an eardrum?
For the past two years I’ve been teaching a course called Philosophy of Sex and Love (you can click on my course readings tab for more information). In researching for the class and preparing sub-topics one area has stood out to me as being a central issue worth pursuing underscoring assumptions: sex education.
Unlike the aforementioned functions of the body, the reproductive system is either not discussed or partially mentioned or fraught with misinformation. It is tied to moral presuppositions and caution laced with notions of shame. Proper names like vagina, vulva, and clitoris (gasp!) are treated like Lord Voldemort.
Silence around these terms are rooted in a failure to see the woman’s body (or people with vaginas) as important. She is demoted due to her biological reality (thought to be merely a vessel) and that demotion is apparent when a deficit of basic language exists in education. A lack of knowledge here has concrete consequences for both boys and girls. It hinders honest conversations about intimacy, health, and most significantly, exposes one to harm if one cannot even understand this part of the body.
This weighed on me as I uploaded my latest podcast episode dedicated to a discussion about reproductive health, and because we use terms like “vagina” I found myself marking the episode “Explicit.” That in and of itself is problematic. There is nothing derogatory or pornographic in the conversation. Yet, providing a platform to learn about how the reproductive system functions needed to be presented with a warning.
The vagina, vulva, and clitoris should not be a mystery. Employing proper education reduces abuse, unsatisfying or painful sexual experience, and a tool for recognizing if a health problem exists. This is not an immoral dialogue and I am pained to treat it as such by adding “E” next to the conversation.
Historically the woman’s body is simply meant for carrying a child. Indeed that essentially described her worth. How this functions or how her body responds to sex and pleasure (or desires for pleasure) is not part of the conversation. By not considering this she becomes object.
I know what you’re thinking…you want to hear the episode, right? I won’t keep you in suspense. Click below for the show on iTunes.
Good Is In The Details episode 35: “Naming Parts, Reproductive Health, and Sex Positive”
Instagram: @gdol10 @mikeracanelli @Socratespod
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