Youth Club Sessions: Young men and relationships
Monday, February 21, 2011
Many young men say sex education lessons leave them bored. Vanessa Rogers suggests how to raise the subject.
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Exploring relationships
Aim This warm-up activity introduces the topic of relationships. It invites young men to talk about the different types of relationships they have, and their emotional closeness before raising the subject of sex.
You Will Need
- A large sheet of paper with a picture of a young man stuck into the middle of it
- Sticky notes
- Marker pens
How to do it
In pairs, ask the young men to talk about the different people they have spoken to over the past 24 hours. Encourage them to think about casual conversations as well as those with close friends or relatives.
Invite feedback from the whole group and write each suggestion such as a sister, friend or girlfriend on to a different sticky note.
Place the sheet of paper with the picture on where everyone can see it. In turn, hand each young man a sticky note, asking him to stick it onto the sheet in relation to the picture of the young man in the centre. People that the young men consider to have the closest relationships should go closest to the picture.
Ask other young men to comment on the positioning and conclude that those closest differ depending on the individual's relationships. For example, some young men might feel close to their father or mother, while others might feel less so and that it is important to respect that and not make assumptions about relationships that others have.
