Sex, Dating and Self-Confidence [Tuesday, Period 2]

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

"Morning," Irene greeted the class, today standing at the front of the classroom. Around the room, amongst the desks, she'd set up some stations, and then promptly covered them with drop cloths, because she was a drama queen like that. "Today, we're going to talk about what you all came here for -- or, well, the bit you were all expecting, at least: sex."


"I'm not going to embarrass you by spending too much time on the basics, as I imagine that by this stage in your life, you all largely know the biology," Irene continued, crossing her hands behind her back. "But just in case you don't know, the basic, purely biological reason for sex is procreation." She plucked up a stack of handouts, passing them out as she continued to go over the more basic information about the reproductive system.

"Now, that's the basic, original function," Irene said, when she'd gone over the entirety of the handout. "But we're evolved creatures, humans. We can think beyond using our naughty bits for function, and might be driven to use them for pleasure -- I would wager that most people your age generally aren't aiming to produce offspring when canoodling with one's similarly-teenaged partner."

Irene hadn't really caught up on her cable TV, lately, no.

"We express our attraction through other means. You might buy the girl you like flowers, rather than trying to mount her in the hallway. You text the boy you like something flirty, rather than presenting yourself for mating at his doorway." Irene smiled serenely out at the group, shrugging slightly. "Yes, our bodies might produce inconvenient biological reactions when we're attracted to someone, certainly, but we're not ruled by our hormones. So while this," she flapped the handout, "is very, very handy information to have, it's also not the be-all and end-all of your education. So, first order of business in my book? Is safety."

She circled the room, pulling the drop cloths off her tables as she did so. "I have here three stations, with several methods of contraceptives -- which are a must if you're having heterosexual intercourse -- as well as some safe-sex paraphernalia that everyone should use, regardless. Take this class period to explore them, and at the end, if you have any questions or observations, we'll talk about them. We'll be talking more in-depth about sexually transmitted disease and how one might get them -- for now, just think of them generally, as something we must guard against, and which could conceivably lurk in every tempting orifice of a potential partner's body." Well, that was a gross way to put it, but rather to the point. "Again, this is a safe and respectful place, and I know you'll all be on your best behavior with one another, right?"

She raised an eyebrow, looking fairly stern, for her. At least, until the sudden deluge ice water over her head. That rather ruined the effect.

Irene let out a small shriek, perfectly still and rigid, then wiped water off with a few flicks, blinking at the class. "...right. We'll reconvene at the end of class. I'm going to find some...paper towel or something."

Ugh.

Comments

Sign in [09/02]

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

Like we're going to very clinically talk about sex, baby.

Re: Sign in [09/02]

[ultimatehottie.livejournal.com]

Johnny Storm

Re: Sign in [09/02]

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy Li

Listen to the lecture [09/02]

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

Which is handwaved mostly for the sake of my giggles.

Re: Listen to the lecture [09/02]

[ultimatehottie.livejournal.com]

Okay, if his hot teacher was going to get drenched, maybe this ice water thing wasn't so--

Splash.

Okay, he probably deserved that. At least he was wearing impact clothes today, so he could flame on when he had a moment to step into the hall to help him dry off.

Re: Listen to the lecture [09/02]

[stacyexperiment]

Gwen maybe was going to put her head down on the desk for a second so he wouldn't see her laughing.

She had extra clothes in her backpack after yesterday. She was prepared for karma that never came.

Re: Listen to the lecture [09/02]

[spin_kick_snap]

And more giggles from over in Kathy's seat. Admittedly, part of that was just tension-laughter, as she turned increasingly red during the lecture.

Re: Listen to the lecture [09/02]

[voiceoverdue]

Cecil was a little confused; they covered a lot more biology in Night Vale sex ed! Then again, most of the people here seemed to have all the same parts, so that probably made it easier.

Re: Listen to the lecture [09/02]

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Elsa was pretty much bright pink through the entirety of the lecture. Actually moreso once it moved along into reasons for... canoodling.

But she was paying attention all the same. This might turn out to be useful information for her? Someday?

Re: Listen to the lecture [09/02]

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

Eleanor was taking notes. This might actually prove useful.

Re: Listen to the lecture [09/02]

[notamascot]

No. No, no, no, no, no.

Kaylin was going to kill whoever had signed her up for this class.

Kill them.

Dead.

STATIONS!

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

 

Station #1: Condoms!

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

Station one had a wide and completely moddable assortment of condoms. Most of them were wrapped, and the centerpiece of the table was a fishbowl with an elegantly-written Take one, please! Take several! written on it, filled to the very brim with prophylactics.

But on the table itself was an array of already-opened condoms, for the students to poke and prod and experiment with. There were the standard kind, of course, as well as some ribbed selections, some with a lubricant, some in fun colors….

And a helpful description (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condom), for anyone who was unfamiliar. Irene had also helpfully highlighted the bits that mentioned that one needed to use these for sex toys and all new partners, even if one wasn't concerned about pregnancy.

Re: Station #1: Condoms!

[ultimatehottie.livejournal.com]

After stepping out into the hall to dry off, Johnny was ready for learning. By which he meant taking several condoms. And then several more. Look, he wasn't having a bunch of sex right this moment, but it paid to be prepared.

Re: Station #1: Condoms!

[stacyexperiment]

Gwen took a couple. She really doubted she'd need them before the expiration date, but it never hurt to be prepared, right? She was more interested in looking at the different kinds there were, anyway.

"Is that glow-in-the-dark?"

Re: Station #1: Condoms!

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy hemmed and hawed over whether she should take some or not. On the one hand, she doubted she'd need any. And the idea of taking some and being seen taking some and people thinking she was taking them for her own use was mortifying. On the other hand, she could probably hand a bunch of them out as Banzai to people leaving the bars and that could be a real life saver.

...After much indecision, Kathy decided to suck it up and take a handful. Being a superhero was hard, but sacrifices had to be made for the greater good.

Re: Station #1: Condoms!

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

Now if he wasn't taking the class with Elsa around... Barry would have probably taken the condoms.

But if he did now? Awkward. Especially since...

Yeah. This was just awkward.

Re: Station #1: Condoms!

[voiceoverdue]

Oo, look! There were some nifty-looking ones he hadn't seen before! Cecil was examining the types he didn't know, and making curious note of the kinds that weren't here.

And he fished through the bowl a bit to see if any of the fun ones were in there.

Station #2: Hormonal Birth Control!

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

This station had several again, moddable packs of 28-day cycle birth control pills (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_contraceptive_pill), from several brands (Irene didn't take them herself, of course, so she had no brand loyalty here), as well as the morning-after pill (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_contraception). She also had a patch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contraceptive_patch) and a ring (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaginal_ring), and an IUD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrauterine_device), along with their respective handouts for explanation.

(The ring was so weird and squishy. Even Irene had been playing with it earlier. What?)

And again, Irene had gone to town with her highlighter, so that every student would be sure to see that they still needed to guard against STDs in addition to pregnancy, if they were going this route.

Station #3: Barriers and Other!

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

Condoms being the most popular form of contraceptive among this age set, they'd gotten their own table. Over here, however, were all the other barrier-type things one might employ in safe sex -- there were diaphragms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaphragm_(contraceptive)), sponges (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contraceptive_sponge), dental dams (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_dam), and spermicide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spermicide), along with another elegantly-written little note. Not a barrier, but I didn't know where else to put it.

Discussion and questions [09/02]

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

"Now that you've had a moment to consider your options to stave off pregnancy and STDs, do you have any thoughts to contribute? Any questions you feel comfortable asking in front of the class?" Irene was still patting at her hair with a paper towel, but she wandered over to give the question box (http://begmetwice.livejournal.com/1683.html) a helpful shake, as a reminder -- they didn't have to ask in front of the class, after all.

Re: Discussion and questions [09/02]

[ultimatehottie.livejournal.com]

Johnny raised his hand because he was still stuck on one thought.

"Where do you even get a dental dam? Can you get that at, like, Wal-Mart? Or a sex shop? Or do you have to go to, like, a special dentist store? I bet they know you're not a dentist if you buy one there. They just know it."

Re: Discussion and questions [09/02]

[voiceoverdue]

Cecil...didn't really have anything to add, but he felt sort of bad that nobody was saying much, so he did his best to come up with something.

"If you can fit a condom over your head because they're so stretchy, why do they come in sizes?"

OOC [09/02]

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

Omg back to work tomorrow. :(

Re: OOC [09/02]

[ultimatehottie.livejournal.com]

So I googled dental dams to get something that isn't wikipedia giving me the horrible visuals of, you know, dental surgery and making me imagine how that worked, and I got to this Canadian site (http://www.sexualityandu.ca/stis-stds/how_do_i_protect_myself_from_stis_stds/dental_dam) which, among other things, gives information on how to make your own. And they give the most amazing advice.

Never reuse a dental dam or flip it over and use the other side. Once you’re done with it, throw it away.

I can't stop laughing at that. Oh, people. Don't be THAT thrifty.