Article Review : When Sex Goes School

I think it is safe to say that no two words elicit more feelings of concern, anxiety, and anger in parents, and stirs up more controversy and debate than the words “sexual education”. This especially true with the implementation of the new, revised sexual education curriculum in Ontario schools. Consequently, this controversy has strongly divided individuals, families, and organizations between those who approved of and those who opposed and protested against school-based programs that providee sexual health education to children. But why so much opposition? This is due to the significant changes made to the sexual education curriculum and the sensitive nature of the topics being taught to children regarding sexuality as a whole, changes which are seen as both radical and “even more explicit and more age-inappropriate than before…” (“Ontario’s Radical,” n.d.).

Such a controversial vote ignited a great debate throughout the community: among parents, school officials, government officials, and religious leaders. It forced the community to discuss a topic that is still uncomfortable for many confer --youth sex education. “How should we go about teaching sex education to children?” When should children be exposed to this type of information?” These are the types of questions the community pondered while weighing in on the debate. Despite the sexual revolution of the 1900’s and into the 2000’s, discussing sex education is still a contentious topic even in 2015. The author Nancy Gibbs does a extraordinary job examining the various perspectives of the debate in “Birth Control for Kids?

“The ideal of what historian Anne Higonnet calls the Romantic Child, our modern image of a naturally asexual, pure child, is at the heart of century-long conflicts over sex education. By definition, the romantic child’s innocence depends on protection from sexuality” (Talk About Sex 13). Parents, in general, do not feel at ease thinking about their children having sex, nor do they want to encourage them to do so. The fact that most parents are not comfortable talking about the subject with their children only increases the importance of doing so in our schools.

Long before the development of iconic male-dominated American culture, the ideals of a patriarchal society have been implemented within the foundations of multiple civilizations, serving to dictate the actions of its individuals under the black-and-white confines of social constructions like gender roles, gender binary, sex roles, and many other aspects of everyday life that are still present at this very moment. One of the most crucial elements of contemporary American society that these limiting patriarchal values have latched onto is the comprehensive sexual education of its youth. Undoubtedly, those who need it most are almost always doomed to receive the short-end of the stick with the introduction

Long before the development of iconic male-dominated American culture, the ideals of a patriarchal society have been implemented within the foundations of multiple civilizations, serving to dictate the actions of its individuals under the black-and-white confines of social constructions like gender roles, gender binary, sex roles, and many other aspects of everyday life that are still present at this very moment. One of the most crucial elements of contemporary American society that these limiting patriarchal values have latched onto is the comprehensive sexual education of it's youth. Undoubtedly, those who need it most are almost always doomed to receive the short-end of the stick with the introduction of Abstinence-Only education—a method that has been consistently proven to embed misogynistic and gender-discriminatory ideals within its shame-based and fear-centered curriculum, in addition to being profoundly ineffective in preventing the negative aspects that go along with unsafe sexual activity; much less effective than it's counterpart, Comprehensive Sexual Education. This unbiased, fact-based, and health-focused method of sex-ed serves to inform students about a number of topics in an age-appropriate context, allowing them to make choices they are comfortable and familiar with when it comes to a time they feel they are ready to make them, regardless of what sex, gender, or orientation they happen to identify with.

In the book 'Harmful to Minors ', the author Judith Levine asserts that the consensus regarding children’s sexual experiences arose out of a growing fear during the 1970s and 80s. In a time of increasing social and economic anxiety, feminist concerns about pornography and child abuse meshed with the anti-sexual leanings of the Right. With scare-mongering stories about satanic sex-rings, a frequent occurrence in the media, these two groups caused a move away from liberal sex education and towards unrealistic abstinence-only programs. The conservatives push their agenda by funding programs and public policies that would teach children that, their only way to protection is to go from chastity to abstinence. They take control of the law, the language, and the cultural consensus; the acknowledgment of children 's sexual desires and experiences become unrecognized -- that it does not happen, and if it does happen, then it should be stopped -- causes more harm to minors than good.

Gabriella Visaggio Optional Assignment 3 10/1/14 Sex Education I graduated high school in 2013, during my four years of high school we were required to take all our health classes online, even Sex Ed. I remember being a junior in high school working on the lessons for the Sex Ed sections and found that I really could care less about the topic. I had no teacher to listen too or ask questions to so, by myself had to read the lessons online and get all the questions correct in order to get an A. In order to pass this health section I basically had to teach my self about everything that involved Sexual Education. After reading Michelle Fine’s “Sexuality, School, and Adolescent Female The Missing Discourse of Desire” really opened my eyes

Let’s talk about sex. In western culture, many consider sex to be an inescapable topic. We are both fascinated with, and terrified of, talking about sex. For many of us, we “learned” about sex in a school sanctioned environment. Halting conversations, riddled with immature giggles at the first sign of a penis diagram, and ominous warnings that sex would lead to diseases, pregnancy, and death. Personally, my health teacher insisted on abstinence and refused to speak of sex at all. She explained New York State required schools to teach an abstinence-based curriculum. Sound familiar? In that case, I must apologize.

Sex Education in schools remains one of the most avoided questions in modern-day society, yet, as more years pass, the Sex Education debate only grows in strength and importance. Stuart C. Reid, the author of “Sex Education is a Parental Responsibility,” believes that Sex Education is the last topic schools, especially schools occupied by pre-teens and young teenagers, should be considering. Within Reid’s article, he addresses the direct disadvantage of Sex Education through a number of smaller instances: the immoralizing of children without parental consent. Reid directs his article towards parents, namely parents voting for a new bill against the incorporation of Sex Education in Utah schools. In interest of reaching his audience, Reid uses

Throughout history, definitions of sexuality within a culture are created and then changed time after time. During these changes, we have seen the impact and power one individual or group can have over others. In the Late Nineteenth Century into the Early Twentieth Century, we see multiple groups of people and or authorities taking control over the idea of sex and how they believe society is being impacted by sex. At this point in time, society had groups of people who believed they had the power to control how society as whole viewed and acted upon sex. Those particular groups and ideas changed many lives and the overall definition of sexuality within that culture.

The conversation on sexual education has been present in the United States for over a century. At the dawn of the 20th century, sexuality education existed, and was even supported by divisions of the government. In 1960, organizations like the John Birch Society and Mothers Organized for Moral Stability rose in opposition of sex education programs as a reaction to the FDA approving the use of oral contraceptives. Similarly in the 1970’s, Congress approved measures to help fund more sexual education programs, research, and family planning services. This effort was met with twenty states voting to restrict education or even eliminate sex education altogether. And finally in 1996, as a concession to the opposition, Congress approved $250 million in funding for abstinence-only

In 2011-2013 more than 80% of adolescents aged 15-19 had received formal information about sexual education. In the present sexual education is rarely taught today, unless you live in a suburban area. The more informed young adults are about sex at an early age the more it will refrain from a responsibility young adults are not ready for Sexual education classes usually start from grades 5th to 8th, sometimes earlier and young adults will live a more protected life. Thirteen states require discussion of sexual orientation in sex education classes. Nine of these states require inclusive discussion of sexual orientation, and the remaining four require that classes provide only negative information about sexual orientation(Guttmacher Institute, Sex and STD/HIV education, State Policies in Brief, October 2011). It is common for parents not to talk about sex to their children and children do not take the initiative to ask. The history behind young adults that gets pregnant still in high school is that they usually won’t finish school or has a difficult time living in a stable place. Only 40% of teen mothers graduate, and fewer than 2% graduate college before age 30. Sexual

As children grow, they accumulate knowledge over the years about a variety of subjects to prepare them for the future. Children learn from parents, schools, life experiences, what they watch and other influences around them, and it can be either positive learning or negative learning. There is one subject that is difficult to teach and have control over because of misunderstandings, lack of teaching, and publicity. Sex education has been a major debate for children under eighteen, because there are some parents that want it taught in schools and others that do not because of different reasons. There are currently eighteen states and the District of Columbia that require schools to provide sex education and thirty-two that do not require

Sexual education has always been an extremely heated topic among parents, teachers, lawmakers, and everyone in between. It has led to several court cases, new rules and laws, and different and very creative ways of teaching sexual intercourse and the potential repercussions to preteens and teens. Most students probably started talking about sex on the playground or while they were hanging out with friends well before they should have been speaking about it. In today’s society, sex is easily attainable through the internet. Mass media is the number one contributor to literally anything you want to know, watch, and learn about sex. Throughout the semester, we have learned many different ways to teach, controversial court

There are many states that do not provide the kind of sex education that New Jersey strives to convey to its students. It more often than not ties in with the religious right proclaiming that students are too young to be exposed to sexual material, and thus sexualized as a result. These fundamental groups oppose any suggestion towards a comprehensive approach. Instead, they ask that their children be taught after grade school and additionally, they steer towards ‘abstinence-only’ education. Instead of teaching students how to protect themselves, they teach that the only way to protect oneself is by abstaining from sex. The problem arises, then, when these students decide to have sex. They are unaware of how to conduct themselves responsibly, how to take precautions to prevent against unwanted pregnancy and disease. What kind of ‘education’ are students receiving when they are withheld crucial information?