I covered several sexuality issues from a Christian perspective.  One of the articles discussed the idea of Christians not being called to have amazing sex.  It argued, rather that sex is meant for connection between a husband and wife, not enjoyment.  Another article discussed one Christian woman’s negative experience with remaining abstinent until marriage.  She felt as if she had lost her identity along with her virginity after getting married.  Another post explored various Christian women’s decisions to have abortions.  The women shared their reasons for going through with the abortions, as well as the effects that they experienced as a result.  

            We had discussed all of these issues in class: abortion, abstinence, and sex within the context of marriage.  Therefore, they did coincide with the material that we went through in class.  However, I believe that I chose several different issues relating to sexuality from a Christian perspective, because this was the component of the class that I enjoyed the most.  I loved having the opportunity to explore the good and bad sides of sex from a Christian viewpoint because, prior to this class, I did not think that sex and Christianity could be discussed openly alongside each other.  

            Some other issues that I talked about frequently on my Padlet had to do specifically with relationships and relationship patterns.  One of the posts argued that sex has become much more easily accessible.  Because less commitment is required for sexual encounters these days, the authors argued that marriage rates have gone down as a result.  Another post addressed how the Internet has changed the scripts for cheating in society.  Since social media is relatively new in terms of widespread use, there are less standards for what is considered permissible communication for individuals in relationships.  Another one of my Padlet posts stated that diversity in marriages today is due in part to the differences in the way that people meet.  Many people choose to meet romantic partners online now, which expands their social circles beyond those that are similar to them.  I also posted an article that assessed the impacts of marital infidelity on children involved.  It broke down the impacts by age, and it also noted any long-term effects that children experienced in relationship patterns as adults.  Additionally, I included an article that listed instructions on how to address one’s sexual past with a new partner.  Finally, I posted a video from a popular television show in which married couples seek out another wife to integrate into their families.

            We did not specifically focus as much on relationship dynamics and patterns in this class, although we did touch on them briefly.  Most of my Padlet posts related to relationships were reflective of my own interests.  I was interested to see how the changing sexual standards may have contributed to commitment patterns in our society today, as well as how the Internet has transformed dating.  The video addressing sister wives was also personally interesting to me, as I watched the show on television once and was fascinated by the dynamics of the relationships.  For me personally, relationship dynamics interested me the most, because I have always wanted to understand them fully due to personal experiences and family experiences that have left me with questions.  

            I had a few more Padlet posts that did not really fall into a specific category with one another.  One addressed toxic masculinity, one discussed sex surrogacy, and one dove into rape statistics and influences on the reporting of rapes and sexual assaults.  I did not intentionally seek out the article about sex surrogacy.  I was searching for articles to post, and I found it interesting, so I included it.  However, I included the article referencing toxic masculinity, because I had just recently realized that this phenomenon in society had a name.  After I learned about it, I realized how often I saw examples of it, so I thought that it was important to include.  Additionally, I included the article about why victims of rape and sexual assault keep quiet, because we discussed sexual coercion in class.  I felt that some of our conversation missed the reasons that contribute to why victims keep quiet rather than trying to bring justice to the perpetrator.  Therefore, I posted it to expand upon what we did discuss in class.    

            I did not have as much diversity in terms of what types of media I chose to post on my Padlet.  Most of my Padlet posts included articles from magazines or blogs, although I did include two videos, as well.  This reflected a personal bias on my part, as I enjoy reading about issues more than I like watching discussions about them.  Although I saw examples in everyday life that I could have chosen to talk about on my Padlet, it was much more simple to pull articles from the Internet to include.    

            Some biases did exist in some of the content that I posted.  The most obvious and prevalent biases were related to faith, as many of the articles addressed sexuality issues from a Christian perspective.  However, this was intentional, as I was able to construct my own theology of sex and expand my own views from reading some of the articles that I included.  The Christian bias that I integrated was meant for my own personal spiritual growth as I wrestled with some of these issues.  The only other very obvious bias that I noticed was in the article about ‘cheap sex’ and the marriage decline.  The author was a man, who placed the majority of the blame on women regarding less strict sexual standards in society.  He believed that women expect less in terms of commitment, therefore, men engage in sexual encounters without any intention of committing.  In the long-term, he argued, this contributes to fewer and fewer marriages in society.

            Overall, many of my articles did coincide with content that we discussed in class.  However, I did tend to hone in on issues that I found more personally compelling.  While I could have branched out more regarding my Padlet posts, I am glad that I did not.  The posts that I did include expanded my perspectives on sex and sexuality and helped me to consider important issues that I had not addressed prior to this class.  The posts were very informative for me on an individual level, and I really enjoyed having the opportunity to build my bulletin board up over the course of the semester.