Here is the reference for the original article quoted in this chapter: http://www.janetreitman.com/articles/sex-and-scandal-at-duke/. You might allow students to read the full article before reading the chapter, and see if they can draw their own connections to the material already covered. (The full article is very long and addresses a lot related to the Duke Lacrosse rape scandal, so you will want to review it yourself, first, and possibly print out only the parts of the article you want your students to read).
Ask students, "What is the primary purpose for eating?" When they answer 'nutrition' or 'nourishment', instruct them to write out what a menu for one day might look like if the only purpose was to deliver maximum nutrition and health. Next, ask them for a second reason that people eat. Answers will probably include 'taste', 'boredom', or 'stress relief'. Try to guide them to agree that the other main reason to eat is because food tastes good. Ask them to write out what their menu would look like if they were only eating for taste.
Have them consider the two menus and what would happen with each one if they were only to eat that for the rest of their life. They should realize that the healthy menu would be very nourishing, but would get extremely boring and unpleasant. The fun menu would taste good, but the novelty and pleasure would wear off with time, and they would become very unhealthy - overweight, clogged arteries, tooth decay, etc.
After reading the chapter, lead a discussion to help them understand that the healthy menu is like dating and marriage for practicality - you get companionship, support, financial reinforcement, etc. - things that are important, but ultimately might leave you feeling bored and tired of the relationship. The unhealthy menu is like dating just for pleasure - it will be very enjoyable and exciting at first, but eventually the novelty of unattached sex will diminish, and ultimately you will be emotionally starved and unhealthy. It also obscures the fact that other forms of physical intimacy, such as cuddling, have been shown to be even more important to the success and happiness of a relationship than sex.
If you want, you can take the analogy even farther, pointing out that just like human requirements for food change over time (infant-toddler-adult-elderly) so do the 'nutritional' requirements of our relationships. The wrong foods at the wrong time can be very unhealthy (though they would be completely appropriate at a different time), and the wrong types of relationships at the wrong times can also be very unhealthy.
Related articles:
Married couple s have more sex and better sex.
Cuddling is important.
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Pre-Read Questions:
Up to this point, do you generally agree with the author?
What points do you disagree with? Why?
What do you believe motivated the author to write this book - a dislike of men or a concern for women?
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Post-Read Questions
Who do you think is getting the better deal at this university, men or women?
Do you see anything similar to this going on at your high school?
How do you feel about the author's assertion that men and women are not physically equal? Do you think it affects relationships?
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