In fifth grade, Stella Gage’s class watched a video about puberty. In ninth grade, a few sessions of her health class were dedicated to the risks of sexual behaviors.
That was the extent of her sex education in school. At no point was there any content that felt especially relevant to her identity as a queer teenager. To fill the gaps, she turned mostly to social media.
“My parents were mostly absent, my peers were not mature enough, and I didn’t have anyone else to turn to,” said Gage, who is now a sophomore at Wichita State University in Kansas.
Many LGBTQ+ students say they have not felt represented in sex education classes. To learn about their identities and how to build healthy, safe relationships, they often have had to look elsewhere.
As lawmakers in some states limit what can be taught about sex and gender, it will be that much more difficult for those students to come by inclusive material in classrooms.
New laws targeting LGBTQ+ people have been proliferating in GOP-led states. Some elected officials, including candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, have been pushing to remove LGBTQ+ content from classrooms.
Sounds like you learned a ton about straight sex, especially given that most sex Ed programs only tell students to abstain. You learned something about condoms, which I assume means that you learned how to put one on.
In most of the country, sex Ed is one video about puberty and then in health being told to abstain from sex to avoid pregnancy and STDs with detailed descriptions about the pain and torture of STDs.
It would be superhelpful if sex Ed programs were expanded upon your curriculum to dispel sex myths, like women can’t get pregnant if they are on top or take a shower right after. It would also be good to discuss how to prevent harm during vaginal and anal sex.