Throughout middle and high school, I was required to take health classes. While I was taught mainly about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, which is important to know, I now realize that there was a very distinct lack of sex education.
I got most of my information from sex through my mother, through resources such as books and the Internet, and just attending a public school. My mother approached sex education as a series of conversations which allowed my sisters and I to have an ongoing and open dialogue, rather than just one solitary talk. This has really helped me throughout life, especially when I was discovering my sexuality at a younger age. However, not every child has this advantage, especially if they're trying to figure out their own gender/sexuality as they grow and develop.
My sister, who is a sophomore in high school, told me that her freshman health class “talked about a few ways of protection, but [the teacher] emphasized that the safest method of sex is not doing it. We also learned about condoms and the pill, but there wasn’t one specific method that was stressed more than others.” 17 states require that information on contraception be provided when sex education is taught, and even then, teachers may only discuss the bare minimum. That leaves 66% of our country's schoolchildren that are being taught restrictive, abstinence-only sex education. Studies have shown that abstinence-only education is not effective in delaying sexual activity in adolescents. It simply isn’t realistic. Teenagers are still going to fool around, regardless of what they are taught in school.
Simply being told “Don’t have sex because it’s bad” isn’t helping anyone.
Even if public schools are beginning to introduce more progressive teaching methods when it comes to sex, there is still a long way to go. A GLSEN study showed that fewer than 5% of LGBTQ+ students had health classes that included positive representations of LGBT-related topics. Among millennials surveyed in 2015, only 12% said their sex education classes covered same-sex relationships. While classes may touch on LGBT+ relationships, there is usually an unspoken assumption that all of the students in the class are heterosexual and cisgender. This then creates an environment where it may be unsafe or awkward for questioning students to ask more in-depth questions on gender, sexuality, and subjects of that nature.
I understand that sex is a taboo subject for many, especially in an educational setting. I’m not saying that we should sit a kindergarten class down to teach them about birth control. But a lot of kids today learn about sex from many different places, and they may not be able to differentiate right from wrong. If an informative and beneficial curriculum is set up, the youth of today can get the proper information about what’s out there, and how to prevent things such as STD’s. It might be uncomfortable to discuss with your peers, but I think it simply needs to be acknowledged:
Sex happens. Here are ways to protect yourself if you choose to have sex. Whether you do or don’t have sex, that's fine. Just know that there are resources available.
