I Love Sex Ed

I think sexuality is a fundamental part of our humanity. While the driving force may be reproduction and the continuation of the species, it is greatly affected by cultural and sociological forces such as gender dynamics, power imbalances, moral judgements, among many other things - you could even say it is complicated by these forces. It can be difficult finding a balance between the flesh and the heart. Navigating these murky waters is risky especially when you are working with limited knowledge on the basics of sex, much less the complexities. Myths, slang, and fear do little to help you as a teen or as an adult. Comprehensive sex education though helps people (young, old and in between) be empowered to make the right decisions for them. It helps people be safe both physically and psychologically. It also helps people get some perspective on all the variety and the commonalties that exist in the world of sexuality and among human beings. Right now talking about sexuality and teenagers is dangerous business. People worry that giving teenagers information about pleasure will lead them to make BAD decisions so they only focus on the bad. Not to mention a lot of the information is inaccurate. Since 1996 only abstinence-only sex education is permitted if the school is to receive federal funding for its health education programs which has led to A LOT of scare tactics being passed as sex ed. This lack of comprehensive sex ed is not limited to the United States. As of 2005 in the province of Quebec (where I live), for reasons I don’t quite understand (we do not have the same moral agenda driving education in our province the way it is in the USA), students are no longer required to take a sex ed class. Sexual health information is supposed to be integrated into regular classes, but teachers have no curriculum to follow and they have been provided with little-to-no support. They have to find their own methods of including sex education content into courses such as French, Geography, and Art. Basically there is a strong trend across North America for doing without comprehensive sex education for young people. Without it young people, who are naturally curious about sexuality – reinforced by our highly sexualized popular culture - are left on their own, to figure things out on their own. So where do teens go when they have questions? Well, some sit in isolation with their thoughts and concerns. Others turns to friends who are typically equally lost and uninformed (or misinformed). Then there are those who are lucky enough to find Scarleteen. Scarleteen is a resource site that young people of all genders and orientations. The focus is on equipping their visitors with non-biased information and offering them non-judgemental advice and support. In Montreal the not-for-profit organization Head and Hands has created a fantastic peer run/taught sex-ed programme that brings comprehensive sex ed (and all the emotional and relationship stuff that comes with it) to local area high schools. I encourage you to check them out and donate if you can.