Category Archives: Health and Human Sexuality

Health and Human Sexuality, Human Growth and Development, Internal Dynamics of Families, Parenting

Love Actually

Title: Love Actually

Date: 2003

Media type: Film

Category: Internal Dynamics of Families, Human Sexuality, Parenting, Human Growth and Development

Keywords: stress and coping, family relationship, middle childhood, adolescence, parent-child relationships, step-fathering

Rating: R

Audience(s): College Age, Adults

Language: English

Film/Episode Summary: A romantic comedy set in London. The film follows10 intertwining love stories. All of the stories collide for the climax on Christmas Eve.

Clip Description: Sam, a young boy, has just experienced the death of his mother. His stepfather finds out that he is not just coping with this, but also the experience of a developing first love. Rather than ask and assuming who “she” is, the stepfather asks Sam who “he/she is” and supports the young boy in understanding the feeling of love regardless of age.

Places to view: Youtube, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play, Itunes, Showtime

Contributor: Jessica Shankman

Health and Human Sexuality, Parenting

The Moth Podcast

Title: The Moth Podcast

Date: 2014

Media type: Podcast

Format: Complete

TV Season-Episode: “The Conversation”

September 30, 2014

Category: Parenting, Human Sexuality, Human Growth and Development

Keywords: middle childhood, communication

Rating: N/A

Audience(s): College Age, Adults, Parents

Language: English

Film/Episode Summary: A mother describes the initial shock of having “the conversation” about sex with her 8 year old daughter. She desribes her own experience of the conversation with her mother when she was younger and her hasitation to have it with her daughter when she started asking questions. She realized though that unlike the conversation she had with her mother in which the information was piled on all at once, this was a topic better spread out over several conversations because what is important is not a single discussion, but rather the on going conversation.

Comments or Recommendations for Teaching: How was the story teller’s experience of “the conversation” with her mother different than the one she wanted to have with her daughter? What are some of the outcomes for both mother and daughter of having an ongoing conversation about sex rather than one single conversation that is jam packed with information?

Contributor: Carly Baumann

Health and Human Sexuality, Parenting

Gilmore Girls

Title: Gilmore Girls

Date: 2003

Media type: Television

Format: Episode

TV Season-Episode: Season 3, Episode 14 “Swan Song”

Category: Parenting, Human Sexuality, Human Growth and Development

Keywords: parent-child relationships, adolescence, sexual relationship

Audience(s): High School Age, College Age, Adults, Parents

Language: English

Film/Episode Summary: Lorelai goes away for the weekend with her new boyfriend and leaves her 16 year old daughter, Rory, at home alone. She worries about the possibility of Rory and her boyfriend Jess staying home alone. Lorelai had Rory when she was only 16 herself. Rory talks to her mother Lorelai about how she is thinking about having sex with her boyfriend, Jess.  It is clear that this has been an ongoing conversation. While Lorelai is seemingly concerned about this and uncomfortable using sex terminology, she emphasizes that she wants Rory to talk to her openly about it. This is an example of how the conversation of sex is quite challenging, regardless of how close a parent and child may be.

Comments or Recommendations for Teaching: How does this relate to your own family/cultural experience in having a talk about sex education? How do you think this family’s background shapes this short conversation? What do you think Lorelai and Rory’s reactions after speaking about Rory’s thoughts reflect? Imagine that you are a parent educator: What advice would you give Rory and Lorelai to improve this scenario?

Places to view: Youtube, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play, Itunes, Netflix, Hulu

Contributor: Jessica Shankman