Blog 4

Reflection Post

With a focus on fan fiction, Unit 4 has shown how online communities let people explore aspects of sexuality otherwise off limits in polite society and often unavailable in mainstream, commercial culture. Twilight fan fic evidences a participatory form of consumerism that makes readers into writers. And that participation often leads to encounters that Stephenie Meyer could not, and would not, put in the original young adult novels. Namely, kinky encounters, like the ones on display in the most famous Twific ever written, Fifty Shades of Grey.

Most of us do not need to reflect too long before thinking up other examples of sexuality online. It seems the Internet has allowed sex cultures to flourish. Meanwhile, sex education in many states, including Louisiana, fails to provide anything more than abstinence-only coverage. That leaves a lot of young people to learn about sex and sexuality online. The question this blog post asks you to answer is: What has the Internet taught you about sexuality and/or romantic relationships?

This blog post leaves a lot up to your own discretion, including the sorts of materials you wish to discuss. You could discuss how Instagram posts taught you how to present your gender. You could discuss seeking out sex advice from places like Scarleteen or Teen Vogue, which publishes controversial columns on period and anal sex as well as more routine columns on romantic life. Or you could discuss encountering sexually explicit media online, by choice or by accident. However you approach this blog post, be reflective about what you learned and how that influenced your thinking about sexuality. Did you take it to heart or did you brush it off? Did you think about it later? Why did it occur to you to write about it now?

Also, be as specific as you can be in documenting the materials under discussion. We don’t want porn on the class blog, but we do want concrete examples provided by image, video, or link—whichever seems most helpful and appropriate. Practice good hyperlinking by making sure your readers know what they’re getting into by clicking through to a source.

Use Fifty Shades of Grey as a touchstone for gauging how sex fits into commercial and unofficial culture. And feel free to use some of the materials we looked at together in class (some links below).