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Spelling Counts

So I'm grading papers today for my class and I come across this little beauty. Never mind that this particular student is severely anti-everything about this public health diversity class. I have several students like him every year, that is, they all rage against anything that would cause them to consider life from another point of view. Very ethnocentric, very religiocentric in their views and positions. Not in the least willing to consider the lives of those they would label as "Other." No matter, the class is still taught and I hope that they do come away with some consideration of the lives of others.
Last week's topic dealt with examining LGBT populations as a groups and how from a health standpoint they face challenges that most folks don't even have to consider.  I had a panel of experts (college aged representatives from ETSU LGBT groups) come and discuss their lived experiences.
This particular student felt the need to write about the "dangers of gay sex." In the course of this student's overly descriptive and inaccurate play by play account of love homophile the student penned this beauty. And I quote"

" The problem of anal sex is vast. The specters stretch out leading to uncontrollable bowl movements."

Tada ! There you have it. Spelling does count. I had no idea that my anal sphincter is also known as a specter, and to engage in anal sex means my bowel movements will be uncontrollable. I'm not sure what a bowl movement is. I gently corrected his spelling errors and asked him to consider that he was assuming that only gay men have anal sex. He also made several assumptions about oral sex, to which I again replied, "you are assuming that only gay men have oral sex." Perhaps he has never considered that all sorts of people engage in these activities. I have not considered that perhaps there are those who believe that anyone who engages in anything other than penetrative penile / vaginal intercourse are on the slippery slope to hell.  Are people in this day and age still this naive? What do you think?

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