WOST 1002 Project's Blog

Becca

The place where I grew up was... conservative to say the least. Sex education was a mandatory health class in 9th grade - at a point when one girl was already pregnant. I recall absolutely nothing before that regarding sex. At all. The education I was given in 9th grade was extremely impersonal and biological - not a very practical approach when dealing with 14-year-olds. Abstinence was taught by way of scare tactics (awful pictures of STDs) and protected sex was taught as 'well, if you simply can't restrain yourself...' and really looked down upon. My parents never really said much of anything (unsurprising coming from as conservative of an upbringing as I did) so it was left up to the school system - and whatever I could glean from TV, my peers, and the internet.

So what should sex ed be? Straightfoward and truthful, for starters. Kids should be talked to in a The less savoury aspects of sex should be taught, too, once the children get older. (Rape, incest, child molestation.) This should be a requirement for the parents (as I'm sure no school would touch such topics for fear of the childrens' parents.) because, no matter how hard you try to ignore a problem, it won't go away. Schools should teach that sex isn't simply about men and women who have strong feelings about each other, it's about men who love each other and women who love each other, too, regardless of what the PTA has to say. Parents have the right to 'correct' whatever is taught in schools in their own home. The important thing is that the child knows that homosexuality exists and that some people think it's okay. (They say the first impression is the strongest, after all.)

Another sore subject here is the fact that girls hardly ever know much about female contraceptives, let alone are taught about them and their availability. Did you know that female contraceptives are available to any girl/woman up to 25 who needs them for an affordable price? Many clinics (which are federally funded) offer contraceptives on a sliding fee scale that allows them to give them for free to women who can't afford them otherwise. I think this is a spectacular step in the right direction! I also feel that once male birth control is out, the same thing should be done for men. Just my thoughts.