How the law impacts our sexuality

I talk with my college students about the law interacts with individual sexuality at some length every semester.  It’s always a fun, interesting class with some great activities.  But I’ve struggled in the past with how to introduce the class.  I begin every class with a song that pertains to the day’s topic in some way or another – I Kissed A Girl (by both Katy Perry and Jill Sobule and then we talk about the differences) for sexual orientation, I Just Want To Lay You Down by Conway Twitty for adult sexuality, My Junk from Spring Awakening for adolescent sexuality, and more.  But I haven’t found any song that I thought was particularly appropriate for the law.  There are plenty of songs about non-consensual sex, but because I have another day where that’s the entire focus, I didn’t really want to use any of those.

Last week, though, a colleague introduced me to the spoken-word poet and performer Andrea Gibson and particularly to her poem I Do.  I Do is about legalizing gay marriage.  It is not a song, but it is highly lyrical and incredibly moving.  I played it for my two college classes recently, and many students were brought to tears.  This video can be a great way to really personalize gay marriage, to help expand the understanding of young people who have not had experience with the idea of gay marriage or why it is so important.  I think watching this video actually helped to squeak open the door of acceptance and understanding for one particularly anti-homosexual student.

Be sure and watch it through to the end – and then let me know what you think of it – and what your children and other young people think of it!

And I am going to return to writing every work day!  I’ve been far too absent from blogging for far too long – and I am delighted to be returning to regularity now!  If you don’t want the bother of coming to my blog every day, you can also receive my blog posts as e-mail or in your RSS reader.