- This documentary short takes an in depth look at the current culture of collegiate sports with respect to off field behavior and sexual assault issues. In this piece, a solution through mentoring in education is presented provoking the thought that rather than only looking at crime and punishment, a solution through education is much more of an answer to the issue of college campus sexual assault.
- The documentary is introduced by college instructor/sex therapist/counselor Laurie Handlers as she sets the subject: Testosterone, to a class at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She explains that the very thing that can make a male athlete excel in his sport is also the very thing that can ruin him and bring harm to others.
The first act establishes the physical nature of and requirements to dominate an opponent in football in a summary explanation by John A Kuri II, MD, Orthopedic Surgeon, Elbow and Shoulder Sports Medicine Specialist and Trauma Surgeon, formerly a team physician for the Philadelphia Eagles. Dr. Kuri explains that high school and college players are emotionally conditioned, hyped up for a game such that they are running on adrenaline. Learning to manage their feeling of power and superiority off the field in the aftermath of a game, particularly one they are victorious in, is a major requirement often ignored.
The second act we hear from Senator Claire McCaskill as she questions the president of the NCAA in a senatorial hearing on Title IX issues bringing to light the practice of the universities being allowed to use their athletic departments to adjudicate charges brought against athletes, rather like having the fox guard the hen house. Showing the athletes the "Good Times" culture while looking the other way is emphasized with data revealing the volume of allegations of violent behavior by college athletes. This is emphasized by the painful story of a coed at the University of Connecticut who is a rape victim and a further victim of school administrative policy. As the conditions surrounding the victim's case are presented we learn how the university failed to protect the victim's rights and how she was put on defense for bringing the offensive and violent behavior to the attention of the school.
In the third act Nancy D. Young, Ph.D., CAFMT, Certified Gottman Therapist discusses the byproduct of violence in the sport. The psychology and pathology of the subject of sexual aggression and violent behavior is explored, lack of respect for women, references to pop culture and the demeaning of women that has become commonplace in the rap culture. Dr. Young speaks about the biology of the aggressor, his brain, his body, his chemistry. the context of influences at home in his youth. She also points to the culture that effects the young women who are naturally drawn towards the alpha male. The very nature of what it takes for an athlete to be dominate in the sport of football is diametrically at odds with responsible, balanced and respectful behavior of the field of the game.
The final act is a special class conducted by Laurie Handlers. This highly respected, experienced and successful Sex Therapist and Teacher provides sex education, guidance, and mentoring in a class at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She takes the class into the subjects of sexual consent, the Wheel of Consent diagram that helps illustrate the boundaries each partner should be aware of and honor, and the "Safer Sex Script" that is a skill set Handlers wants the students to put into practice so that boundaries are defined rather than imagined. Boundaries become something tangible and easily understood through application of Handlers' methods.
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Top Gap
By what name was The Big T: Testosterone (2018) officially released in Canada in English?
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