fandomhigh | Sexual Anthropology, Tuesday, Period 2

A brunette in a business suit waited by a lectern for the class to assemble. She wasn't smiling; her demeanor was that of someone with a serious task to do who expected to do it well.

"Welcome to Sexual Anthropology," she began, once everyone seemed to be in a seat. "I am Dr. Temperance Brennan. I'm the lead forensic anthropologist at the Jeffersonian, but I am taking leave this summer to finish a novel and teach this class. For anyone who doesn't know, a forensic anthropologist is an anthropologist who specializes in identifying the dead through skeletal clues."

"That said, this class has nothing to do with bones, as it were. We are going to be talking about sexual relations and sexuality from an anthropological point of view. That means we're interested in what sex means in the broader social context, rather than in the medical and physical side of things; if you want instructions on using condoms, I suggest you go to the clinic." She handed a stack of syllabi to a student in the first row and gestured for them to be distributed.

"We're doing introductions this week." Booth had suggested as much, and Brennan had decided it was only logical to do that here, even if she never did it at the college level. "I would like each of you to state your name, age, and one message about sexuality that you got from your culture while growing up. It can be anything, no matter how illogical you now think it is. For example, I am an American and I grew up in the late 20th century; I might say that I was given the message that women have to be slender to be physically attractive, or that I was raised to believe married couples should avoid divorce at all costs. Feel free to talk about each other's contributions, but I ask that you respect any cultural differences we undercover. We are here to discuss, not to judge."

"I will need two TAs, so if you're interested, please stop by and see me after class. Otherwise, I am in office number eight Fridays during business hours, and my phone number and email address are on the syllabus. And, um, hi, Angela ~~assuming you're here~~." No, she still wasn't used to the 'my best friend is here and 17' thing.

She nodded to a student. "You can begin."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"My name's Valentine Wiggin," she offered. "I'm seventeen, and I'll be a senior once the school year's started. I think...in the case of something that represents what my culture believes about sexuality...it might be interesting to note that the majority of Earth, in my time, is under a very strict policy of birth control. Very few couples will have two children, and the government needs to sanction a Third. Marriage and, in turn, sexuality, are viewed mostly as institutions used only to create sound family structures and produce effective citizens."

"Welcome to class, Valentine," Brennan offered. "That's interesting. What steps does your government take to enforce its policies?"

Edited 2009-05-12 22:22 (UTC)

Valentine shrugged. "Punishment, the threat of taking away certain rights, usually employment," she said ~~blah blah blah thanks vague canon~~. "They didn't implement mass sterilization, even though that would have made sense. I guess they just wanted people to just be good and follow the law. Most of them do. And there have been exceptions where they government wants a family to have a third child."

"Some sort of eugenics program?" Brennan guessed. "Your society must be very orderly and logical if everyone follows government guidance on family size."

Her tone, while neutral, leaned more to approving than to disapproving.

"Not everyone," Valentine corrected. "Just a significant majority. And only the countries under the power of the Hegemony."

"I can't know the specifics without going to your world, but getting a significant majority of the population to go against their reproductive self-interest is a feat," Brennan said. "That's all I meant."

Valentine nodded a little. "Well, that might all...change soon. There's a new Hegemon coming in and, before, a lot of it was based around the fear of the Formics. They're an alien race, and it's astonishing what people can be convinced to put up with through well-placed fear."

Just ask Demosthenes...

Valentine gave a faint smile. "But they've been defeated, the Formics. So it'll be interesting to see how much has changed in my world when I get back."

Sexual Anthropology, Tuesday, Period 2

Re: Introductions [Sexual Anthropology, 5/12]

Re: Introductions [Sexual Anthropology, 5/12]

Re: Introductions [Sexual Anthropology, 5/12]

Re: Introductions [Sexual Anthropology, 5/12]

Re: Introductions [Sexual Anthropology, 5/12]

Re: Introductions [Sexual Anthropology, 5/12]

Re: Introductions [Sexual Anthropology, 5/12]