fandomhigh | Sexual Anthropology, Monday, 6/6, Period 3

Entry tags:

sexual anthropology

Sexual Anthropology, Monday, 6/6, Period 3

Temperance Brennan was smiling slightly as the class assembled this time, and she'd switched her teaching attire from a business suit to a tunic and capris. It was, after all, summer.

"Welcome to the second session of 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. I'll be emailing out a syllabus this week."

"We're doing introductions today." 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."

"My TA is Dean Winchester, who I know will do a spectacular job, and I am in office number eight Fridays during business hours. I'm passing out my phone number and email address."

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

[OOC: Syllabus and class roster here.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Name, age or class, and one thing your culture believes about sex, please!

"My name is Hugo Reyes," he introduced. "But everybody calls me Hurley. I'm eighteen, and uhhh, I guess I was kinda raised that sex was only for married people in a thing that was, like... God's plan and stuff. My mom is really Catholic and, yeah."

"I see, Hurley," Brennan nodded, happy to have a chance to go off on one of her hobby-horses. "If, hypothetically, there were a God, do you think he'd take the time to care who slept with who and when?"

"Honestly, I think that'd be kinda creepy," Hurley said.

"My name is Helen Haras-Uquara, I am 17 and will be a junior in the fall." She considered for a moment. "I was raised by priests, so I am not certain what my people at large think about sex, except that I wasn't supposed to have it."

"Hi, Helen," Brennan said. "You weren't supposed to have sex because you were in convent school? Or for some other reason?"

Helen laughed. "It wasn't a convent school. I was the only female and only person under 20 there. And I don't know why I wasn't allowed to, the priests weren't interested in answering any of my non-academic or religious questions."

She looked a little smug. "I did anyway."

Brennan noticed the smugness. "And you think that was a good decision."

She intentionally didn't ask about students' personal experience, but if they made it her business...

Re: Introductions [6/6]

elephantgadget.livejournal.com - 2009-07-06 20:14 (UTC) - Expand

"Yamanaka Ino," she said easily. "Call me Ino, that's my first name anyway. I'm fifteen, technically sixteen, but fifteen is what most people go with," because most people didn't pay attention to the seven months she'd gained in Paris no, "and, uh--"

"--I was kinda taught that sex is something you take as it comes 'long 'cause there's no point in waiting if you might not live long enough for a more 'meaningful relationship'." Yes, with air quotes.

Ino's opinions on true love notwithstanding, that was what she'd been taught.

"Why do you have a technical age?" Brennan asked carefully. "And that's an interesting point of view. What's an average age for sexual initiation in your culture?"

"'Cause I spent seven months living in the past," she said, with a bit of a shrug. "So it kinda messes things up if I try and really count it. And, uh, it kinda depends? I know it's a little higher for civilians, but with ninja it's... kinda whenever after you've graduated, it might raise some eyebrows, but it's nothing illegal."

A pause.

"Graduation age is currently twelve," Ino added.

Er.

Er. Yeah.

"From an outside perspective, that seems very young to be physically and emotionally ready for the demands of a sexual relationship," Brennan observed neutrally. "Does it work, in your world?"

Really, her job as an anthropologist was not to judge. She just needed to turn anything else off.

Edited 2009-07-06 13:25 (UTC)

Re: Introductions [6/6]

intraspective - 2009-07-06 13:31 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Introductions [6/6]

doesnt-vomit.livejournal.com - 2009-07-06 15:44 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Introductions [6/6]

intraspective - 2009-07-06 15:50 (UTC) - Expand

"I'm Rose Hathaway," she said. "I'm 17, and..." She was actually trying to think of something else. "I was raised to believe that you always want what's different.

Good job, she didn't say 'dhampir girls are sexy' but she didn't make any sense either.

No, she didn't, but that was all right.

"Hi, Rose," Brennan said. "Different how?"

She shrugged. "Different in that if you grow up with everyone around you built like a supermodel, you're going to want someone who actually has curves." Not that she had any experience with that. "And like here, the tiny actresses and stuff on tv are the ideal, but no one actually looks like them."

Except at Fandom.

"My name is Toshiko Sato - um, just Tosh really - um, I'm going to be a junior, and uh, don't have it in public?" Tosh finally managed.

Brennan smirked at Tosh. "That's ... one nice, low-key limitation," Brennan said. "Where and when are you from?"

She could hear the accent, but she knew better than to go by that.

"Um...about now, Wales." Tosh said, quietly and mostly to her desk. "That's in the United Kingdom."

"... yes, I know where Wales is," Brennan confirmed. "And it's helpful to me if you look at me when you talk."

"Jack Priest, seventeen, and I'm from what you would call the late Victorian age," Jack answered, when it was his turn. "I was raised to believe sexual relationships are fine as long as no one talks about them."

"Hello, Jack. By Victorian standards," Brennan remarked, "that's liberal. Ridiculous, but liberal."

Jack shrugged slightly. He was used to the ridiculous beliefs people in this time had about his home. "Yes, well, I am a boy. I think that made a difference. And my guardian wasn't the most conventional of men."

Edited 2009-07-06 12:41 (UTC)

Re: Introductions [6/6]

doesnt-vomit.livejournal.com - 2009-07-06 12:42 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Introductions [6/6]

bitten_notshy - 2009-07-06 12:44 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Introductions [6/6]

doesnt-vomit.livejournal.com - 2009-07-06 12:44 (UTC) - Expand

"My name is Zayne Carrick and I'm seventeen," Zayne said. "A basic tenant of the Jedi philosophy is that there is no emotion, there is peace. Since sex involves a lot of strong emotions, it's frowned upon."

"So how do they make more Jedi?" Brennan asked, propping herself on the edge of the desk with some approval evident in her tone. "Are there arranged pairings solely for the sake of having children, or a technological in vitro solution?"

An excuse to explain the Jedi! Zayne was such a dork that he always loved being able to do this. "Well, the Jedi are just a group of beings with a special connection to an energy called the Force. There are Force users from pretty much every planet, species, and race in my galaxy, and they don't necessarily need Force sensitive parents. So it's just a matter of finding those beings across the galaxy and training them to be Jedi."

Dork.