I am excited to announce that I’m going to be taking over Sex Ed in the News here at the Center for Sex Education! Come back every Tuesday for an update!
As if we didn’t already know…
Sex ed with gender roles and power dynamics taken into account make all the difference!
Some more detail from the article: “A recent study cited by NPR found that traditional sex ed programs helped lower rates of pregnancy and STDs by 17 percent, but programs that delve into sex, gender, and power dynamics lower pregnancy and STD rates by 80 percent. These results make total sense, since sex doesn’t occur in a vacuum, and for many kids, the reason they find themselves in sticky situations is because they’re not comfortable opening up and talking about safe sex with a partner. Sex is so much more than what you do with your body — it’s like sports: 80 percent mental! — and the younger people learn that the better.”
Judge Rules Against Abstinence-Only Sex Ed Program
This was the big news from last week! California requires that schools offer sexuality education that is “comprehensive, medically accurate, objective and bias-free,” and the judge determined that a number of popular abstinence-only sexuality education curricula used in Fresno County were not doing that. Proponents of comprehensive sexuality education joyfully touted the news, although the effects are restricted to Fresno County. However, building a body of anti-abstinence-only-sex-ed judicial rulings is promising for the long range opportunities of increasing comprehensive sexuality education in the US.
Debate About Sex Education is an International Issue
Last week debate about sex education ran around the globe, from Kyrgyzstan to Ontario to Korea. At question in all of these debates is the underpinning morals and values that the various sides hold near and dear. From questions about sexual orientation (Korea) to comprehensive sexuality education for other people’s children (Ontario) to concrete education on how to give, receive, and share sexual pleasure (Kyrgyzstan), these are the foundational elements to the sex ed debate in the US as well as abroad. We would do well to learn from the ways that other countries and cultures are discussing the issues we grapple with here at home too.
Norway wins at honest sex ed!
One of the biggest pieces of gossip news last week was about a Norwegian sex ed show that offers information and demonstration on everything from how to french kiss to how to achieve mutual pleasure and orgasm during intercourse. Lots of media outlets jumped on this particular bandwagon, but this article from Daily Dot does a good job of covering it, but I love that Medical Daily even jumped on the bandwagon, pointing out that the show’s lead personality is a medical doctor and that the content is designed to reach third graders.
‘Girl Sex 101’ Aims To Change The Face Of Queer Sex Education
I can just directly quote the HuffPo on this one: “Girl Sex 101 seeks to change this reality (of hetero-focused sex ed) by combining fiction, comics and sex education as a resource for queer people — with a focus on queer women — in a way that no other sex education tool has ever done before.” Love it! Read more about it on the Girl Sex 101 website!
