Education plays a large role in our understanding of the world. It can often lay a foundation for our perceptions of the world. Yet, at the same time, there can be considerable gaps in education that students look to fill. An example of this is within sexual education in high schools. Sexual education has long been a point of tension within school districts. For some districts, it is abstinent only sex education, where students are to refrain from sexual intercourse. Other districts focus on consent. The overall result of this tension point is that there is a gap between what students are learning and what they want to learn. This is demonstrated by the findings from Louisa Allen’s “Closing Sex Education’s Knowledge/Practice Gap: The reconceptualization of young people’s sexual knowledge,” which show that there are two ways that young people, ages 17-19 conceptualize sexual knowledge (Allen, 2001). The first way is information that comes from secondary sources, such as sexual education (Allen, 2001). The second way is from actual experiences with sex (Allen, 2001). Yet, students and young people are receiving their sexual education, not just in the classroom, but in multiple different ways.
The first step in understanding this gap is to understand that there had long been a debate about how sexual education should be taught. There is a debate about whether sexual education should emphasize the risks of sex or stating that teen sex is normal and ensuring it is taught to be safe and responsible (Gordon & Ellingson, 2006). According to the data from Planned Parenthood Action Fund, 37 states have laws requiring abstinence be included in lessons (Planned Parenthood). Only 18 states require educators to educate on the matters of birth control (Planned Parenthood). There is not a uniformed sexual education program throughout the United States, which means that students all over the country are learning different things about sex. The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) has long been advocating the sexual activity focuses on the message that “sexuality is a joyful, integrative, and natural part of being human” (Gordon & Ellingson, 2006).
Yet, a majority of students are receiving what is known as “official sexual education.” This official sexual education focuses on risk mitigation, focusing on Sexual Transmitted Diseases and Infection prevention (Ollis, 2016). Overall, when students were asked about sex, they were not talking about “official sex,” such as Sexual Transmitted Infections or pregnancy prevention, but rather they are talking through their own experiences and what sex means to them (Allen, 2001). The ‘So What’s an Abstinence Anyway?’ lesson had the least variation in interpretation: 90% of the students determined that the danger messages were most dominant. Even in this case, however, the remaining 10% of participants were split between pleasure and equal/unbiased messages” (Gordon & Ellingson, 2006). The current forms of education that are valued when it comes to sexual education is that which “prescribes appropriate behavior rather than knowledge” (Allen, 2001). Even with teaching students every aspect of sexual intercourse, from risk mitigation to consent, students will often bring their own “interpretations based on gender, race, class, sexual orientation, and youth’ (Gordon & Ellingson, 2006). Yet, a well-rounded sexual education could prevent future beliefs in rape myths if done properly. The Sexual Education Forum encourages Sexualities and Relationship education that promotes sexual education that includes discussions on sexuality, emotions, sexual health and more (8). Santelli
According to the SIECUS, if students cannot articulate what they are looking for in a sexual relationship, then they will not be able to articulate consent or non-consent (Gordon & Ellingson, 2006).. This becomes especially prominent when analyzing the gap. This gap can be filled by family, their churches, their peers, their older siblings, and many more. Yet, the overwhelming majority of students are turning to pornography as a way to learn about the themes and topics that they are not learning about in the classroom. These themes include, sexual pleasure, sexual anatomy, and the mechanics of sex. A majority of people between 13 and 18 years old have limited knowledge of the basics of sexual reproduction, even though 95% of that population have been through some form of sexual education (Hesse & Pedersen, 2017). The knowledge that students want to know is not taught in the classrooms (Allen, 2001).
Comprehensive Sexual Education is an important form of early intervention for Preventing Sexual Assault. These conversations with our youth are imperative in the fight to end sexual violence.
For more information on comprehensive sexuality education services offered by ZCenter, please contact info@zcenter.org.
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Written by Cassidy Herberth, Prevention and Education Specialist.
ZCenter aims to end sexual violence, mobilize and educate the public, and support survivors of sexual assault. Our blog addresses issues related to ending oppression and violence, since all oppression and violence are intersectional with sexual violence. All ZCenter blog posts are written by state certified staff, interns, and volunteers. For questions on authorship or content, please email info@zcenter.org.