Scientific American reports that the University of Toronto has a new Sexual Diversity Studies program that
offers discussions on flogging, restraint, and role-play, as well as an arts course called "Queerly Canadian." But teachers and students insist it's a serious academic program that isn't simply about sex. "It's not sexy sex sex, where we're talking about whips and chains, but we will talk about whips and chains,"
(...)
"We'll talk about whips and chains in a political, social, cultural, religious context of sexuality and how that sexuality affects those institutions."
(...)
The program promises an academic approach to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and heterosexual issues -- from history and law to the performance of sadomasochism. "It's a very serious analytical exercise and it isn't what a lot of people think it is," director David Rayside told Reuters during a visit to the school, which is located in the original Romanesque-style University College building at U of T's leafy downtown campus.
I ask: serious to whom? What exactly does this study prepare you for? A life as a gay activist?
The program includes a drama course called "Sexual Performance: Case Studies in S/M (sadomasochism)" and the arts and literature course "Queerly Canadian," for which one student wrote an in-depth review of a male strip show.
Wow, five thousand bucks a year gets you that?
"The stereotype is it's a bunch of queers talking about sex and gay rights," says Kirstin Caspersen, 22, who wants to apply her degree with criminology to look at how gender and sexual issues affect people in the justice system. Rayside said the sexual orientation of students in the program is as diverse as the studies themselves. "I would estimate -- of course I don't ask -- that 50 percent of our students are not queer-identified by any use of that term, which is great," he said.
A whole fifty per cent?
Only 2 per cent of the population is gay. If you want to break stereotypes, this is a bad way to do it.
This is the kind of thing that de-legitmizes the university. Once upon a time, universities addressed the Great Questions. Now it's busy studying obscure issues and what might be termed micro-aspects of subcultures that the average person doesn't give a damn about and won't benefit from.
Your tax dollars at work.
