We, as a generation, are at the pinnacle of scientific information and achievement. We are more informed about the human body now than we ever have been, and we know a great deal about sex- how it works, its impact on the body, the repercussions it can cause, and how to prevent said repercussions when possible. We have a wealth of information at our fingertips, and are capable of instilling this knowledge in the younger generation- and yet, we often don’t. With this in mind, are we really more open about sex than the Victorians, history’s favorite prudes?
Chances are that most of us in class were required to take some sort of sex education course or had sex education incorporated into Health and Phys Ed. After all, 22 states including Kentucky require it. However, the type of education that we received may vary. Some of us may have had a comprehensive approach, while some of us (myself included) received the abstinence-only approach. The latter is, unfortunately, the more common approach- rather than telling students how to have sex safely, most schools in southern and rural states simply show us a few shocking photos, say “don’t do it”, and then proceed to show us a VHS tape of a woman giving birth.
While sexual education is mandatory in the commonwealth of Kentucky, the material taught in these courses is decided upon by local school boards. Even if, miraculously, the local school board votes to teach comprehensive sexual education in their school system, abstinence must be covered as the only completely effective protection against unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV/AIDS. In addition, the courses are not required to teach students about any forms of contraception. The information that the students are provided with is not required to be “medically accurate”- this means that a teacher can show a classroom a picture of a gangrenous penis and claim that it is an example of gonorrhea without any repercussions on their part. This isn’t an example that I pulled out of thin air- this was, in fact, an occurrence at Union County High School, where I was detained educated for four years. With the amount of misinformation present in this style of teaching sex education, it is difficult to argue that we are less ignorant or misinformed than the Victorians as far as education about sex is concerned.
Sex education that follows the abstinence-only track also pushes for girls specifically to remain chaste more so than it does boys. One example that springs to mind is a video that we were shown in my Phys Ed class about how a woman that has slept around is essentially the same as a heavily used pair of shoes. In Victorian times, it was absolutely expected for women to remain chaste until marriage, and a woman’s value was decreased if it was known that she had been sexually active out of wedlock. If we are so sexually progressive in terms of sex than the Victorians, why do we still teach our students these outdated, slut-shaming views?
Sex is still seen as a very taboo topic. While we are far more advanced medically and scientifically than the Victorians and claim to be more open about sex and sexuality, in many cases we still will not provide our nation’s teenagers with information that could prevent unwanted pregnancy, STIs, and even, in some cases, death. If we can claim to be more advanced and open in regards to sex and sexuality, then why is it that only 18 states require that information about contraception be taught in sex education courses? While covering up table legs may seem a bit ridiculous to us as a society, I would argue that denying students information that could potentially save their lives is equally ludicrous.
There is a scene in Mean Girls that I believe is a somewhat accurate portrayal of the American sexual education system: in the movie, the coach says to the students “don’t have sex. Or you will get pregnant. And die.” At the end of the scene there was mention of condoms, but not how or when to use them or what they protected against. This abstinence only approach is very much the same as the Victorian approach described in the original post, and not far from the reality of many sexual education classrooms.
ReplyDeleteIn high school, my sexual education consisted of an online summer class; basically, I just had to click through the information without actually reading it and look up the answers to the quizzes that I didn’t already know. The information on sex was basically ‘don’t.’ They barely talked about STIs, just saying they were bad and sometimes painful. They didn’t talk about the possible long term effects, such as sterility or tissue damage. There was no distinction between all of them, and they didn’t say anything about how they could be treated, or even that they could be. They gave off the impression that if you got an STI that you had it forever They also didn’t talk about rape, and what to do if it happens to you. Pregnancy was mentioned, but they didn’t talk about how to deal with pregnancy, whether it be abortion or adoption, or how to take care of yourself when pregnant. They didn’t talk about any kinds of birth control or ways to prevent pregnancy besides abstinence and condoms. Condoms were mentioned, but only the fact that they CAN prevent STIs and pregnancy, not how effective and available they are. They didn’t talk at all about how to use condoms, or how to put them on. They didn’t talk about female condoms, or alternatives to latex condoms. They certainly didn’t talk about any kind of sex besides the heterosexual penis-in-vagina-intercourse.
I got a better sex education from my Catholic parents. They told me more about how to use condoms than my school did. We also talked about female condoms and dental dams, and that even as a female, I should be prepared for sex if I thought it might happen. Even some of my family friends (who are also Catholic) weighed in and told me things like “don’t have sex, but if you do, make sure you use a condom” and “if a guy tells you he is too big for condoms, then you shouldn’t be having sex with him anyway.”
Sexual education is severely lacking in this country. Some people argue for abstinence because they have religious views that don’t agree with premarital sex. However, this should not be a reason to deny students access to this important information.
Mean Girls scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5xkxTfVLSA