Favorite OWL Classes to Teach
I asked the two men about their favorite subjects to teach in the OWL curriculum. Both men struggled with this question, saying “I have to pick just one?” Jacques immediately jumped to consent education, since that was where his passion lay when he was a college student. However, after some thought, he realized that he has fun talking about sexual language and masturbation, because they’re fun to teach, and the students get uncomfortable, but you can see the students really start to understand the gravity of their word choice. 1
Kirk also loves teaching about sexual language. “It’s really fun to watch 13 year olds come up with all the dirty words that they can come up with and be shocked that you know them and then shocked when you come up with ones”. Kirk also really likes talking about sexual language, because he’s interested in analyzing language, “not just the words that people are using but the freight that comes with those words. And you’re able to bring home to people that the way you talk about something really does matter”, like “why are so many of the words for vaginal intercourse sort of violent? Like screwed, pegged, bang, right? I mean, these kids don’t really think about it”. 2
It’s really fun to watch 13 year olds come up with all the dirty words that they can come up with and be shocked that you know them and then shocked when you come up with ones
Jacques is also interested in the section on sexual language, especially regarding masturbation. “Why are all the terms for masturbation focused on male masturbation?” “You start to learn patterns and that kind of, is a window into a lot of what societal attitudes are towards sexuality and it’s kind of an interesting discussion to take”. 3
it is a window into a lot of what societal attitudes are towards sexuality
