Gender and Sexuality 101

What is the Gender and Sexuality 101 Online Course Part course about? Welcome to the online course on Gender and Sexuality 101! Have you ever wondered, What is sex? What is gender? What is sexuality? These are fundamental aspects of who we are, influencing our identities, relationships, and interactions. This course is designed to help you explore these questions in depth, providing clarity on these concepts and their role in shaping everyday life. You’ll gain insight into diverse gender and sexual identities, variations in sexual behaviors and varied sexual expressions across an individual’s lifespan, and the importance of pleasure and sexual health. Along the way, you’ll learn how these ideas intersect with culture, society, and individual experiences. This course is more than just an introduction—it’s an invitation to reflect on your own experiences, engage with new perspectives, and apply your learnings to various areas of life. Whether it’s fostering Inclusivity in your workplace, building stronger connections with friends and family, or navigating your personal growth, the knowledge you gain here will be both practical and transformative. This online course is a virtual platform for learning and engaging with gender and sexuality from an affirmative, rights-based perspective. The aim is to address gaps in access to accurate information around sexuality which may have come about due to the lack of Comprehensive Sexuality Education in schools; or because sexuality-related subjects do not feature in curricula of various professional courses for service providers. It also includes a values clarification component that helps learners to self-reflect on their biases.

Who is it meant for? How will they benefit? This online course is open for anyone who seeks to understand sexuality and gender – the learner could be a student, training to be a counsellor or a teacher, be with an NGO whose work concerns these issues, or simply someone keen to know more about the topic! In a nutshell, the course is for anyone who seeks to understand these concepts and their impact in their personal and professional lives, and their interactions with the society. Since the course can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection, it is designed to reach out to a large and diverse audience. When combined with classroom lessons or workshops, it can increase the effectiveness of learning.

What are the objectives of the course?

• To build clarity and understanding on gender and sexuality
• Develop a clear understanding of how these concepts shape individual and societal experiences.
• Examine the variety of sexual and gender identities.
• Learn how gender and sexuality are inherently tied to human rights, including the right to self-identify and express oneself.
• Reflect on how the concepts learned can be applied to your personal, professional, and social interactions.
• To act as a refresher for busy professionals working as counselors, teachers or in different capacities with NGOs, hospitals, educational institutions, etc.