A Paper written for Human Sexuality Through the Lifespan that analyzes the impact of each system of the Ecological Model

1. Ecological Assessment
Before taking this course, I was unaware of how much meaning the word “sexuality”
holds. I viewed it as a word to describe nothing other than how someone identifies, whether that
be gay, straight, bisexual, asexual, etc. While that is true, I have learned that there is so much
more to it. Sexuality can be defined as a state of mind to represent feelings about ourselves, what
it’s like to be male or female, how we relate to our own gender and other genders, how we
establish relationships, and how we express ourselves (AOTA, 2008). We can analyze the role
sexuality plays in our everyday lives by evaluating each system in Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological
Model.
Microsystem
I believe that our environment and whom that environment consists of is a major factor
that determines who we become and how we perceive the world. As our environment changes,
the traits and beliefs we have adopted may also change. My parents and siblings had the biggest
impact on who I grew up to be. I have 4 older siblings, so growing up I was exposed to my fair
share of things too mature for me. I would credit most of my initial knowledge about sexuality to
my older sister. She is very straight to the point, so if I was curious about something, she would
say it like it was and forget the filter for my innocent ears. Looking back on it, I think it’s better
to be informed than be oblivious, especially in regards to a normative part of life. My parents
taught me morals and what was expected of me. Most of the decisions I made growing up were
impacted by how my parents raised me—what was acceptable and what wasn’t.

2. While I think all of the information from this course is important and can be applied to
life personally and professionally, some of the topics I place the most importance on are sexual
health, child development, and sex-positivity.
Sexual health referrers to a state of physical, mental, and social well-being in regards to
sexuality. Whether that be the possibility of pleasurable sexual experiences, avoiding sexual
violence or knowledge about how to prevent sexually transmitted infections, proper sexual health
plays a role in healthy relationships and overall well-being.
Child development is especially important for my future career path as I hope to work in
pediatrics. This course has helped me better understand what typical sexual development looks
like in children and what to teach children about sexual issues based on their developmental age.
I referred back to the article we read for class regarding what adults need to know about how
children develop sexually. It states ways in which we can promote sexual health in children. One
recommendation that I feel is most relevant to my career is to touch and comfort children in a
way that helps them understand love and how that can be shared with others (Growth and
Development, 2018). By meeting these needs for children, a sense of trust is developed with the
parent, caregiver, therapist, etc.
Being comfortable with one’s own sexual identity and having positive attitudes about sex
is important but not always achieved. “Positive sexuality is concerned with how people are, or
can be, happy and fulfilled with their unique sexualities and sexual expression, which contributes
to their overall wellbeing and quality of life” (Journal of Positive Sexuality, 2015). Sexuality is a
healthy part of life and one that should be embraced. Because of this course, I feel more
positively and comfortable talking about sexuality and embrace it as normative.

3. Mesosystem
My family members and close friends interact and have formed relationships. My whole
family lives in Athens so the convenience and presence factor of it plays a big role in their
interactions. My friends from different experiences (high school, college, camp, etc.) also
interact because I act as a bridge and bring everyone together. The way in which my
microsystems interact with one another is complementary, meaning they interact in ways that
enhance or positively impact the experience for all involved.
I have talked about this course with a few of my friends who are not Human
Development majors. Not being exposed to this material in their different areas of study, they
find it crazy that we openly discuss everything sex. If I were to share something with those
friends, it would be the phrase “know your body, know your normal” (Kozak, 2019). This refers
to wellness exams as well as our overall wellbeing in regards to our own body. How we think,
feel, act is not going to be the same for everyone. What brings satisfaction to one person may not
have any effect on anyone else in the room. By knowing our body and what is normal for you,
you can master sexual health and have a positive and accepting outlook on sexuality.
Exosystem
One of my friend’s mom is a gynecologist. That particular friend was always more
knowledgeable than the rest of us about things like puberty and sex. Due to being a professional,
her mom felt as though there way no reason to delay those more mature discussions with her
daughter. Her mom had an indirect impact on my understanding of sexuality because I picked up
information that she taught my friend.

4. In my future career as an occupational therapist, I will be working with patients to
develop, recover, and improve their skills needed for everyday tasks. Sexuality is an important
part of growth and development and is considered an activity of daily living. While we don’t
always think of it as part of a daily routine, when exposure to it becomes limited due to a
disability it can become very frustrating to the individual. “Following an acute health crisis or as
part of a chronic condition, clients may worry about how their health issues will affect their
sense of self, their ability to function physically, and their opportunities to engage in sexual
activity” (AOTA, 2008). One thing I will do as an occupational therapist is let patients express
their fears and concerns about any skill they want to master and offer assistance with problem
solving in any way that I can. As health care professionals, when we realize the importance
sexuality plays in all of our lives, we can ensure that we strive to address all aspects of a patient’s
life to help them achieve the best quality of life.
Macrosystem
How we perceive certain things is in part shaped by our cultural values, norms, and
beliefs. How sexuality was viewed within one’s family can affect how one’s own sexuality
develops. While I think that culture can play a big role in the decision we make and our actions
and perceptions, I don’t think it is the end-all-be-all factor. “Cultures vary tremendously in how
early they start having sex, how open they are about it, and how many sexual partners they have”
(Whipps, 2006). Growing up in church, I was always told that I was to not have sex until I was
married. While that is totally a respectable and personal decision, shutting it down closes the
door to educating young people how to intertwine sexuality and religion. “Equipping students
with awareness and intentionality is vitally important for learning about sexuality and

5. embodiment in religious and theological contexts, in which silence, discomfort, and
misinformation often profoundly constrict critical discourse and moral agency” (Ott & Stephens,
2017). My family wasn’t strictly religious so I still had exposure to all of the popular media (tv,
radio, magazines) that was filled with all of the stuff that was frowned upon in church. By
sheltering an adolescent from these things, they become more curious and may be misinformed
as they are having to make discoveries themselves.
Chronosystem
The chronosystem refers to changes throughout the lifespan that influence a person or
their environment. We learned in class the progression of events in history that changed sexuality
for the population. 1965 was when contraception was legalized for married coupes; 1967 was
when interracial marriage was legalized; abortion was legalized in 1973; homosexuality was
“removed” in 1974. It was not until 2003 that individuals were granted the right to sexual
privacy (Kozak, 2019). It is hard to imagine a time when these aspects were not present but it
goes to show how the chronosystem is always changing.
An event that I would place in my chronosystem, not necessarily negative or positive—
just life, would be my very first period. I remember feeling ashamed and embarrassed when I
was on my period and would hide pads and tampons way down in my backpack and take that
with me into the bathroom stall. Feeling as though my period was something I should hide and
be ashamed of did not promote sexual positivity; instead I associated a period with so much
negativity. I grew out of that when I embraced it as a natural process.

6. Exploring the ways in which all of the systems in our life interact gives us a better
understanding of how much sexuality influences us. This course vastly expanded my knowledge
and I know it will be used both professionally and personally in years to come.

7. In adolescence, most of what we learn about what’s going on in the world comes from
the media and our peers. This is a playlist of songs that introduced me to different aspects of
sexuality. Some left me curious at a young age while others expanded my knowledge vividly.
Sexuality Songs
1. S&M—Rhianna
a. As a middle schooler, the line “sticks and stones may break my bones but
chains and whips excite me” meant nothing to me. I just thought it was catchy.
A friend’s mom heard us singing it one day and described it in a way we
would understand. I stopped singing it in public.
2. All About That Bass—MeghanTrainor
a. “Cause I got that boom boom that all the boys chase, and all the
right junk in all the right places.” This song emphasizes a
woman’s figure, having a big butt, and males lusting over a
woman’s body type.
3. Cake by the Ocean—DNCE
a. I was made aware that this song was not clean by a classmate. “Cake By the
Ocean” is about sexual intercourse or sex on the beach.
4. If U Seek Amy—Britney Spears
a. This song has a hidden meaning that I was not aware of without someone
informing me. It is a pun for “f-*-c-k me, which promotes vulgar language for
other words to use instead of sex.
5. Bedrock—Young Money
a. As a younger child, you hear “call me Mr. Flinstone” and you think it’s
innocent. It seems like an innocent song until you analyze the lyrics. “My
room is the g spot” leads an adolescent to the curiosity and cognitive
discovery of what a g spot is.
6. Right Round—Flo Rida
a. I remember being in a hip-hop dance class as a middle-schooler
and learning a dance to this song. While I do think it was a wildly
inappropriate song choice for youth, I don’t think that is taken
into much consideration in the dance world.
7. I Wanna Love You—Akon
a. The explicits in this song are changed on the radio, which is
where I would hear it. Although, when Akon sings about a woman moving up
and down a pole, it was a no-brainer that he was referring to pole
dancing/stripping.
8. I Kissed a Girl—Katy Perry
a. When I first heard this song, I was aware of what homosexuality was but my
knowledge was vague. I became aware that Katy Perry was revealing herself
as bisexual and that she was proud of it.

8. 9. Girls/Girls/Boys—Panic! At The Disco
a. “girls love girls and boys, and love is not a choice” is another line discussing
homosexuality/bisexuality. The song emphasizes that we have no control over
whom we love.
10. Animals—Maroon 5
a. The music video of this song portrays a male being oddly
obsessed with a woman and doing whatever it takes to get to
her. Although I was in late adolescence when it came out, I
think the content of the video was still “new” to me and was a
little disturbing in my opinion. A lot of people were outraged
when this song came out because they thought the video was portraying
violence and unwanted relations such as rape.
While most of the versions of these songs that I heard in adolescence were the clean
versions, I eventually learned that there was not much clean about them. I do think that media
plays an important role in informing youth about a variety of topics. Sexuality is a topic that will
be addressed to an individual at one point or another, it is just a matter of when and how an
individual acquires that knowledge.

9. References
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2008). Occupational therapy practice framework:
Domain and process (2nded.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 62, 625–683.
doi:10.5014/ajot.62.6.625
Kozak, Melissa. Human Sexuality Across the Lifespan. Health and Wellbeing. Class lecture,
University of Georgia, Athens, GA, February 8, 2019.
N.A. (n.d.). Growth and development, ages zero to three-what parents need to know. Advocates
for Youth. Retrieved from https://advocatesforyouth.org/resources/health-
information/parents-12/
Ott, K., & Stephens, D. W. (2017). Embodied learning: Teaching sexuality and religion to a
changing student body. Teaching Theology & Religion, 20(2), 106-
116. https://goo.gl/U1iC1C
Whipps, H. (2006, July 27). A Brief History of Human Sex. Retrieved from
https://www.livescience.com/7088-history-human-sex.html
Williams, D. J., Thomas, J. N., Prior, E. E., & Walters, W. (2015). Introducing a
multidisciplinary framework of positive sexuality. Journal of Positive Sexuality, 1(6),
11. Retrieved from http://journalofpositivesexuality.org/wp-
content/uploads/2015/02/Introducing-Multidisciplinary-Framework-of-Positive-
Sexuality-Williams-Thomas-Prior-Walters.pdf