Sex Education (3 of 3)
Barbara Hastings-Asatourian of theUniversity of Salford demonstrates "Contraception", a sex education board game played in UK schools.
Sex education is instruction on issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual activity, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, sexual abstinence, and birth control. Common avenues for sex education are parents or caregivers, formal school programs, and public health campaigns.
Morality
One approach to sex education is to view it as necessary to reduce the risk of certain sexual behaviors and equip individuals to make informed decisions about their personal sexual activity.
Another viewpoint on sex education, historically inspired by sexologists likeWilhelm Reich and psychologists likeSigmund Freud and James W. Prescott, holds that what is at stake in sex education is control over the body and liberation from social control. Proponents of this view tend to see the political question as whether society or the individual should teach sexual mores. Sexual education may thus be seen as providing individuals with the knowledge necessary to liberate themselves from socially organized sexual oppression and to make up their own minds. In addition, sexual oppression may be viewed as socially harmful. Sex and relationship experts like Reid Mihalko of "Reid About Sex"[95] suggests that open dialogue about physical intimacy and health education can generate more self-esteem, self-confidence, humor, and general health.[96]
Another question in the sex education debate is whether the state or the family should teach sexual mores. Some believe that sexual mores should be left to the family, and sex-education represents state interference.
Some claim that certain sex education curricula break down pre-existing notions ofmodesty or encourage acceptance of what they consider immoral practices, such ashomosexuality or premarital sex. A supporting web site is the Coalition for Positive Sexuality. Naturally, those that believe that homosexuality and premarital sex are a normal part of the range of human sexuality disagree with them.[citation needed]
Many religions teach that sexual behavior outside of marriage is immoral and/or psychologically damaging, and many adherents desire this morality to be taught as a part of sex education. They may believe that sexual knowledge is necessary, or simply unavoidable, hence their preference for curricula based on abstinence.[97]
LGBT sex education
Main article: LGBT sex education
One major source of controversy in the realm of sex education is whether LGBT sex education should be integrated into school curricula.[19] LGBT sex education includes safe sex practices for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals and general instruction in topics related to homosexuality. Studies have shown that many schools do not offer such education today.[98]
Proponents of LGBT sex education argue that encompassing homosexuality into the curricula would provide LGBT students with the sexual health information they need,[99]and help to ameliorate problems such as low self-esteem and depression that research has shown can be present in LGBT individuals.[100] They also claim that it could reduce homophobic bullying.[100][101]Opponents often argue that teaching LGBT sex education would be disrespectful to some religions[19] and expose students to inappropriate topics.[98] They say that including homosexuality in the curriculum would violate parents’ rights to control what their children are exposed to and that schools should not inflict a particular political view on students.[102] Currently, many sex education curricula do not include LGBT topics, and research has reported that students often feel that they do not receive adequate instruction in LGBT sex topics.[98][103]
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