John D’Emilio and Estelle Freeman’s chapter, “Family Life and the Regulation of Deviance” from the book Intimate Matters presents a detailed history of sexuality in colonial America. All members of society were socialized at a young age to understand that sex was to occur within the confine of marriage and for the purposes of reproduction only. After reading this chapter I began to contemplate the extent to which sex education for children and adolescents has changed since colonial times.
Focusing specifically on sex education programming taught in schools, “abstinence only” education remains surprisingly prevalent in America’s public schools. The state of Utah, for example, currently teaches “abstinence until marriage” without any mention of STD or pregnancy prevention. This type of sexual education appears to have deviated very little from colonial America’s understanding of sex within a narrow moral construct. However, it is not sitting well with everyone. Representative Lynn Hemingway of Utah has recently sponsored a bill to amend the state’s current laws on sex education curriculums. This bill would allow Utah schools to expand what is currently allowed to be taught as a part of sex education programming (again, abstinence until marriage).
Since my freshman year at Tulane, every Women’s Studies and Gender and Sexuality Studies class I’ve taken has inundated me with statistics about how ineffective abstinence-only programs are in comparison to curriculums that teach “safer sex”. Given these statistics, I would argue that framing sex in moral terms is limiting and problematic. Based on what I’ve read, Representative Hemingway appears to feel the same way. Hemingway was quoted during a radio interview on June 10, 2009 as saying, “What I really want to try to do is steer this [sex education] away from being a moral issue. This isn’t a moral issue. This is a health issue”. (http://choiceineducation.org/index.php?view=article&id=547%3Aplanned-parenthood-proposes-sex-ed-curriculum-changes&option=com_content&Itemid=178)
Though I agree that sex should not be framed as an issue of morality, I’m not so sure that Hemingway’s suggestion to frame sex as a health issue is a completely adequate solution either. After recently reading Michel Foucault’s History of Sexualitythe medicalization of sex and sexuality is particularly troubling. In “Part III Scientia Sexualis” Foucault discusses how the institution of medicine and science, “…set itself up as the supreme authority…” on sex and sexuality. (54) Foucault explains in detail why viewing sex and sexuality within a medical paradigm is highly limiting and oppressive. Medicalizing sex allows for the creation of sexual identity categories–categories which in turn situated on a salient hierarchy of sexual stratification.
I understand that Hemingway doesn’t intend on framing sex as a health issue so that Utah public schools can perpetuate the idea of narrow and stratified sexual identity categories in sixth grade classrooms. I interpret sex as “a health issue” to refer to the necessary education about sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy, specifically curriculums that discuss contraception and STD treatment. Though there is a dire need to teach these subjects as a part of sex education programs do these topics exhaust what is necessary when attempting give America’s youth a well-rounding sexual-schooling? Looking back to Foucault, the role of pleasure and desire are very important to his discussions of sexuality and power. Where is the unit on pleasure and erotic desire in America’s sex education curriculum? America seems to have evolved little from its colonial use of scare tactics to educate children about sex. Viewing sex as a moral issue scares children into believing that if you have sex outsides the confines of marriage you are a BAD person. Teaching sex within the framework of health educated young people that sex is dangerous and can lead to evil diseases and pregnancies that will socially stigmatize and ruin one’s life forever. Will America ever get to the point where sex-positive education will be taught? Will young people ever be taught how to respect and enjoy their bodies and the bodies of others? Hemingway’s proposed bill attempts to alter sex education for the better, but he isn’t pushing for enough reform. I say don’t just teach safer-sex, teach GOOD sex.
Below is the link to an editorial article in which the author takes a position against Hemingway’s sex education reform bill.
http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20090915/OPINION/90915003/1014/OPINION
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