Kings Park, New York 18th February, 2016
INTERVIEW #4
A
Interview type: Skype Video Call
She giggled through a lot of the “sex” and “relationship” questions but answered them confidently. She seemed to trust the interviewer but still had a shy approach which would be a personality factor.
Time taken: 25 minutes
MEMORABLE QUOTES:
Location: Both interviewer and interviewee were at their respective homes
“My parents would be my role models haha pretty cliché but with immigrating and building this life and being my best friends.. they are.”
Materials used: Notebook, pen, laptop, iPhone
“Yes, we have a health class in the 5th grade and in the 7th grade where they separate the girls and boys and talk to us about it. In the first session its more about puberty and they walk us through the reproductive system. And in the second session its more about the precautionary measure we need to take, how to say “no”, STDs, contraceptives, who to talk to if we need help, that kind of stuff.”
Name: Mary Gender: Female Age: 16 years
“Not relationship stuff but I mean (to parents), I would talk to my Mom if I had any health related problems since she is a doctor. If I had friendship related issues, I would speak to my Dad about them. I’m quite comfortable speaking to them if anything goes really wrong or something. They are not my first choice though!” “I feel like I should have paid more attention to it though. Also for me to retain that information from when I was 14 years old is pretty hard, they should probably talk to us at an older age would be better. But we should know when we are younger too.”
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Team Roles: Since the interview was conducted on the phone, Suma took notes, documented and interviewed her
About Mary: A very academically inclined and athletic teen, Sunitha plays volleyball and is a part of a business club at her high school called DECA. She sppends her free time watching shows on Netflix and spending time with her friends.
TOP 3 LEARNINGS: 1
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Mary is aware of the NGO’s approach towards economic empowerment for women but viewed the organization as a pro-abortion clinic more than anything else from the News. Her relationship with her group of friends is very strong - she is comfortable speaking to them about her more intimate problems and would go to them if something was wrong. She would approach her parents for health issues first and not her friends. She feels that if the sex education class could be given to students at an older age to be more impactful. At a younger age students don’t take the matter seriously enough, but as they get older they might be more responsive. However, she feels that knowing about the repercussions is important from a young age so maybe there could be a class on it every year.
The main activity we observed while conducting the interview were how she responded to the questions. Her behaviour towards questions that were more intimate/uncomfortable was very different from the general conversation about life that we started off with.
She is comfortable approaching her parents when it comes to personal problems and health related issues but would not speak to them about her intimate or romantic relationships.
E I
The environment we chose to conduct the interview in was from her bed room at her house. We felt that she would be most comfortable in a surrounding that she was familiar with and her door was closed so she also knew that nobody could hear the conversation. The interaction we had with her led us to believe that she is a reserved person and does not talk much. She has a good social circle who she is very close to and has known for several years which she considers her safety net. She did not hesitate when she was asked about personal questions and mentioned past relationships. Since it was a video call, another factor we wanted to observe was whether she could be distracted by any other means. She was attentive and not distracted by any other source.
O
The objects that were used to conduct the interview was a laptop for the video call and a voice recorder. Notes were also taken on the side while the interviewer sat at her desk. On her end, she used her phone to conduct the video call. She was sitting on her bed and a pillow could be seen propped up behind her - which shows that she was in a comfortable position while she was being spoken to.
U
As a teenager, she is an integral part of the NGO’s user audience. Gaining an understanding of what she thinks sex education should entail and how it needs to be taught at schools helped us analyze the situation better.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Mary has a close relationship with her parents: she would generally approach her mother for health related problems and speak to her father about friendship related issues. She is very fond of her older brother (21 years old) who is currently not at home since he is working. She speaks to him often and is comfortable talking to him about anything. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia and moved to New York when she was 6 years old. Her parents were both born and raised in India so they are culturally attached to their heritage. She identifies herself as American but follows certain Indian customs at home. 93