Human sexuality is an extremely complex subject in which you could never stop learning new information. Throughout this course, I have learned some valuable knowledge that bettered my marriage emotionally and sexually. In addition, I learned an extreme amount of facts that improve me.

One of the most important pieces of information I learned was not all women enjoy direct stimulation on their clitoris. For years, I have believed that I was different or strange in a way because the majority of the time direct stimulation did not feel good or at times, it even hurt. Therefore, I would lose interest in sexual activity. When I read that, other women felt the same way I did, it helped me to understand how I felt, and for the first time I realized that I was not the only person experiencing this discomfort. I approached my husband and expressed how I experienced the foreplay. To my surprise, he was very understanding and agreed to stop. Because of this one statement in Dr. Ruth s book, I was able to become more confident and comfortable with my own sexual enjoyment.

Because of this statement, my husband and I had lengthily conversations about what he and I liked, disliked, wanted and needed. Before I had taken this course, he and I did not communicate very much about our own sexuality. This course forced us to discuss these issues. Every week I would come home and tell him new or interesting things I had learned. Little by little, we would start talking and opening up until we now communicate about our sexuality with one another openly. This has made he and I happier because we learned not only to please each other sexually but we also learned how to talk about all issues in our life.

A brief history of contraception captivated me. I did not know as far back as 1850B.C. people tried different means of contraception. I assumed no one has tried to prevent pregnancy until the twentieth century. In those days people would try such means as using honey, carbonate of soda, crocodile dung, bee s wax, seaweed and many more. I especially enjoyed Casanova s method of placing a hollow half of a lemon in the cervix of a woman to prevent conception by forming a barrier to sperm. I felt this was very creative of Casanova. In addition, I believed that the condom was a relatively new invention. However, the condom was first invented around the sixteenth century. At that time, it was made of animal intestines. It was hard for me to believe there was so much history involved in contraception.

Nevertheless, there is one woman, Margaret Sanger, we must all thank for our availability of contraception. Margaret Sanger . . . challenged the laws restricting information about contraception. In 1914, she established the National Birth Control League, which published The Woman Rebel. After I heard her story I wanted to cry. I was able to feel the pain of women who had an unwanted pregnancy. I was able to feel their desperation. Two days after I heard about Ms. Sanger in class, I saw a documentary on television about her. I felt such admiration and gratefulness for her lifelong commitment. She made it possible for millions of others and me to have contraception available to us.