Melissa Holmberg

Human Sexuality Essay 2

QUESTION
OPTION A: SEXUAL
INFORMATION

Make a list of all the places/sources where you got information about sex when you were growing
up. Make a separate list of other sources that you didn't have but would have been helpful when
you were growing up. Discuss the impact these sources had on the accuracy of the sexual
information you received.

ANSWER
The very first time that I can remember about being introduced to sex organs was when
my mom had a hysterectomy. I was 6 years old when my mom just had my baby sister and I
heard her and my dad talking about a hysterectomy that she had. I asked what that was and she
told me to get a book for her. Later this book would be famously known among my family as it
was the to go to book when we had questions about the human anatomy. The book was a college
book for my mom when she was attending Weber State University and to this day when she says
get the book, we know exactly what shes asking. She showed me the process of a hysterectomy
using the pictures the book provided and honestly, I wasnt grossed out about it. I was very
interested and wanted to learn more. We probably talked about anatomy for hours that night. I
kept having questions and my mom has always been interested in anatomy so she didnt mind. In
fact, I believe she enjoyed that I was interested.
The first time that I was introduced to a talk regarding sex in school was when I was
attending elementary school. I remember like it was yesterday because I felt embarrassed that
were talking about this in public. It was different talking to my mom alone about the human body
as I felt comfortable with her. During the meeting, I felt a little bit better because I noticed that
my classmates probably felt the same. We were not separated by gender and so we were taught
together about the functions of both female and male bodies. The look on some boys faces when
they were covering the menstrual cycle, it was priceless. Honestly, Im almost positive my face
expression was the same. The meeting was more about hygiene, but they lightly covered the sex
part; The when mommy and daddy loves each other bit. I was in junior high school when I was
taking my health class. We began the sex course and we were required to have a parent approval
signature to attend the course. I asked my mom and I remember she asked me if I felt
comfortable with learning about sex in school. I loved that my mom was relax about it and asked
if I was comfortable about it.
I feel like I was lucky growing up as I could learn and ask questions about the body
without vague answers or even the question just being brushed off. My mom enjoyed teaching us
kids and because she talked about it like it was normal and something interesting to know I grew
up able to talk about it the same way. I remember my friends told me that I was gross because I
wanted to tell them about the uterus and fallopian tubes. I was really interested in how they
worked. I do believe that parents are a key in introducing human sexuality to their children and it
would be the best if they seem to be comfortable with talking about it and open to their children
asking questions as children pay attention to how parents talk about it. (Carrera, 2008) If the
Melissa Holmberg
Human Sexuality Essay 2

parents seem uneasy or vague about it then the children are most likely not going to ask
questions or even listen. They may just ignore and tell you what you want to hear.
Some ways that I found that I would recommend parents who have a harder time talking
about sex or anatomy with their children is to make the child do most of the talking. Ask them
what they know about it and why its important. Have them engage with you when talking about
it. Start slow and talk about what parts they have and how it works and then introduce the
difference between the two genders. (ETR, 2017) Parents need to teach their children to help
prevent the possibility of their child getting a sexually transmitted disease because they didnt
know. Statistics show that Each year, one in four teens contracts an STD/STI. (Association,
2017) That could decrease if parents take the time to talk to their children about sex. Also having
sex ed classes available in schools could decrease issues that come from unsafe sex. Having sex
ed in schools help as $1000 spent in these programs, 13.67 unintended pregnancies among
preadolescents were avoided. (Milstein, 2017)

References
Association, A. S. (2017). Statistics. Retrieved from ASHA:
http://www.ashasexualhealth.org/stdsstis/statistics/

Carrera, D. M. (2008). Parents and Their childrens learning about Sexuality. Retrieved from Advocates for
Youth: http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/parents/165?task=view

ETR. (2017). Learning Activities: sex and Sexuality. Retrieved from ReCAPP:
http://recapp.etr.org/recapp/index.cfm?fuseaction=pages.LearningActivitiesDetail&PageID=167

Milstein, D. K. (2017). Human Sexuality Making informed Decisions. BVT.