Imagine being compared to a chewed up piece of gum or a worn out old sneaker, just because you were sexually active. Imagine if nobody ever taught you about consent, or teenage pregnancy, or same-sex relationships, or the dangers of STI’s. Some of you can’t imagine it, but for others, it may be a very real memory. Sex education in the American education system is beyond deeply flawed, it is broken. Unless we address the issues and educate ourselves first, the future of this country may never even know what consent means.
Problem #1: Sex ed curriculums don’t have to be medically accurate in most states.
Sex ed doesn’t require a degree focused in it the way a math or history class would. Typically the responsibility for teaching sex ed falls onto phys ed teachers, who may not be trained or educated in it. This leads to false information being passed on to students, which is a big deal when its things like “HIV can be transmitted through casual contact,” “men cannot be raped by women,” and “women aren’t supposed to enjoy having sex.” In other schools, they’ll play a hand shaking game to demonstrate that whoever you have unprotected sex with, you’re having sex with everybody else they’ve ever touched. This typically takes the place of lessons about pregnancy and contraception, which would be much more beneficial in my opinion. But what do I know? I’m a girl, I don’t even enjoy sex.
In Mississippi, legislation requiring sex ed was finally passed. Unfortunately, it didn’t specify how. One lesson plan had the students unwrap a piece of chocolate and pass it around the class to see how dirty it became. The message being sent was that a girl who has sex is undesirable, dirty, and used up. Because it is such a religious state, 81 of its school districts teach an abstinence-only curriculum, which does next to nothing to reduce their teen pregnancy rates - a third of all babies born in Mississippi have teenage mothers.
Only 22 states require both sexual and HIV education. Two states mandate sexual education alone, and another 12 states mandate just HIV education. No states strictly require contraception education. Four states require that all information taught about same-sex relationships must be negative. And, possibly the most horrifying, only 13 states mandate that the information taught in sex ed classes must be medically accurate.
Problem #2: Abstinence-Only lesson plans don’t work.
Abstinence Only curriculums are not sexual education. In fact, they’re the opposite. Teaching a class of high school students that they “aren’t allowed to have sex until marriage because the bible says so” is even worse than the hand shaking game. They’re going to do it anyway, and when they do, it’ll be unsafe. They’ll put themselves at risk for STI’s, unwanted pregnancies, and even sexual assault, simply because they don’t know any better.
In Tunica, Mississippi, legislation requiring sex ed was finally passed. Unfortunately, it didn’t specify how. One lesson plan had the students unwrap a piece of chocolate and pass it around the class to see how dirty it became. The message being sent was that a girl who has sex is undesirable, dirty, and used up. Because it is such a religious state, 81 of its school districts teach an abstinence-only curriculum, which does next to nothing to reduce their teen pregnancy rates - a third of all babies born in Mississippi have teenage mothers.
Problem #3: CONSENT.
This is the biggest and most worrisome issue with sexual education in America. When surveyed, 47% of college students said that when both parties have not given clear consent, the result is sexual assault. Another 6% stated that it is not assault, and the remaining 46% said they were not sure. Yes, you read that correctly - half of college students aren’t exactly sure what consent is. 59% of students said consent was also unclear if both or either party is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If we ever hope to reduce sexual assault on college campuses, we need to start teaching consent in high school. Accurate consent, for you 17 states that don’t mandate it.
California is currently in the midst of creating consent-based curriculums, where it is required that students learn about consent and sexual violence prevention. It is the first state to do so, and hopefully others will follow suit.
All in all, we need to educate ourselves and our children to make this world a safer place. There are so many dangers out there, and sex shouldn’t be one of them. Knowledge is power.
