Sex Education: What It Used To Be Today

Before schools included sex education in the curriculum (a practice that only began in the 1920s), students had to learn about it from outside sources - be it religious brochures, books, or just word of mouth from older children who claimed to know everything about sex (but probably didn't). Fast forward almost a hundred years and you will see that a lot has changed.

The content of the article

• 1 What is the risk of neglect of sex education
• 2 Enlightenment or imposition?
• 3 Consent concept
• 4 Gender identity
• 5 Sexual harassment online

Even in the 90s and early 2000s, some students were divided according to the binary sex (girls and boys) so that girls could learn about menstruation, underarm hair, pubic hair, while boys learned about erection and how to put it on. condom.

Agree, sex education can be awkward. However, everyone who is going to have sex for the first time does not want to screw up in front of a partner. The schools of the time lost sight of the fact that collective sex education (the same for girls and boys) is better for everyone, especially those who identify as heterosexual.

What is the risk of neglect of sex educationi

Erica Lenti, editor of This Magazine, struggled with this teaching method. Back in 1998, she started working with teenagers in educational institutions. As a result of long work, she concluded that the method of separation between girls and boys led to the fact that children increasingly paid attention to their gender, as they were not aware of how to act with the opposite, and were afraid to make mistakes.

“I went to Catholic school and we had this book called Completely Alive,” she says. “We studied this textbook from grades 1 to 8. During these 8 years we have gone through distorted Christian ideas about sex. There was a section that reads: "masturbation is a sin" and "if you want to touch yourself, you shouldn't do it."

Enlightenment or imposition? 2

“In fact, it was not upbringing, but the imposition of stereotypes. For example, the book had a section on homosexuality. It said it was just a transitional phase. And that gays, as such, do not exist. It's just that while children are attracted to those with whom they are used to being friends, and soon it will pass. Can you imagine? I, being gay, do not exist! Now I'm 44, I'm still a lesbian."

Although sex education is no longer practiced, few places really require that children be educated medically correctly. In fact, many still allow teachers to use intimidation tactics by focusing on the negative consequences of sexual activity - teenage pregnancy and STIs. Moreover, no state requires schools to talk about sexual pleasure at all.

The world still has a long way to go to say with full confidence that absolutely all children are aware of sexuality and sexual health, that their understanding is not distorted, and does not consist of prejudices and clichés. Here are some of the concepts you would learn in sex education today that didn't exist just 20 years ago.

Consent concept3

According to Alison McLean, author of How Do You Know What It Is? A Guide to Sex for Teens (and Their Parents) and Vice President of Education and Innovation at Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, consent is the foundation for healthy relationships and positive sexual interactions. More attention is now paid to a simple and short "no", and having heard it, a person understands that a partner is not ready to indulge in love joys.

McLean explains that for previous generations, consent was never a topic of conversation. The initiator always set about intentions, and did not inquire about the wishes of the partner. They were often men.

Gender identity4

Previously, sex was perceived as a method of fertilization. Then women served as womb on legs. Rough, but true. Now intercourse is identified as an act of love. Now women have the right not only to perform a childbearing function, but also to have pleasure on a level with men.

Sexual Harassment Online5

What did not exist twenty years ago is now very widespread. Almost every girl knows when a guy sends her a naked torso, penis or other body parts to seduce her into virtual sex. Unfortunately, this has become so widespread that many lawsuits have been brought up on the matter and legislation has been proposed or passed in many states.

More details about sexual harassment in our article follow the link.

While the world has made great strides in sex education in recent decades, there is still room for improvement. In many educational institutions, the system of sex education is still imperfect, where children do not receive all the required knowledge, which they have to learn in practice, and not always successfully.