Epilogue

2021 ◽  
pp. 241-254
Author(s):  
Kristy L. Slominski
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Activity ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Sexuality Education ◽  
Federal Funding ◽  
Barack Obama ◽  
Religious Influence ◽  
George Bush ◽  
Full Swing ◽  
Abstinence Only ◽  
Religious Actors

The epilogue discusses the enormous power of recent presidential administrations to mold sex education through federal funding initiatives. Since 1996, the country has seen the pendulum in full swing, from the increase in abstinence-only support under President George Bush, to advancement of comprehensive sexuality education under President Barack Obama, to serious efforts to shift funds toward abstinence-only programs under current President Donald Trump. The legacies of religious sex educators established select terms of these discussions, especially in portrayals of what is at stake. Throughout this history, religious people have proven that the concept of morality could be used to expand discourses of sexuality beyond physical considerations, to limit these discussions to the restriction of sexual activity, or, in most cases, both. Contrary to narratives that pit secular sex education against religious actors, religious influence has been and continues to be both multidimensional and pervasive in the development of sex education.

Toward a Sexual Ethics Curriculum: Bringing Philosophy and Society to Bear on Individual Development

2010 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Lamb
Keyword(s):  
Sex Education ◽  
Citizenship Education ◽  
Sexuality Education ◽  
Ethical Reasoning ◽  
Individual Development ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Sexually Transmitted ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ethics Curriculum ◽  
Abstinence Only

For over a decade, battles have raged between conservative Abstinence Only Until Marriage (AOUM) sexuality education advocates and liberal Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) advocates. While these battles have focused on the inclusion of health information about contraception and whether or not a curriculum must advocate abstinence as the best and only method to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, these debates have often ignored other important values about sex. In this article, Sharon Lamb reviews the recent history of these sexuality education battles, criticizes both AOUM and CSE curricula, and discusses how, in CSE's accommodation to AOUM objections, ethical dimensions of sex education may have been neglected in favor of evidence-based practice. She then suggests ways in which the current curricula could teach ethical reasoning and make sex education a form of citizenship education, focusing on justice, equity, and caring for the other person as well as the self.

Abstinence-Only and the Struggle to Define Sex Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 209-240
Author(s):  
Kristy L. Slominski
Keyword(s):  
Sex Education ◽  
Sexual Behaviors ◽  
Sexuality Education ◽  
Christian Right ◽  
Religious Values ◽  
Comprehensive Sexuality Education ◽  
Conservative Christian ◽  
Conservative Christians ◽  
Abstinence Only

As Chapter 5 argues, conservative Christian abstinence-only advocates learned a great deal from the liberal Protestants and comprehensive sexuality education they rejected. This phase of sex education, often defined by the struggle between competing versions of sex education, began with the emergence of abstinence-only education in the 1980s. After years of opposing sex education, conservative Christians like Tim LaHaye developed their replacements. Supported by—and supporting—the newly developed Christian Right and the evangelical pro-family movement, these programs espoused chastity before marriage and omitted information on contraceptive benefits and the diversity of sexual behaviors and identities. It was no longer a question of whether sex education belonged in schools, but rather which type would be taught. Conservatives, too, had learned how to translate religious values into secular spaces in order to gain a bigger audience for their concerns and values.

scholarly journals US state rejects federal funding for abstinence only sex education

BMJ ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 331 (7519) ◽  
pp. 715.2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice Hopkins Tanne
Keyword(s):  
Sex Education ◽  
Federal Funding ◽  
Abstinence Only

Introduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Kristy L. Slominski
Keyword(s):  
Moral Education ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Sexuality Education ◽  
Venereal Disease ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Hygiene ◽  
Life Education ◽  
The Military ◽  
Abstinence Only

This chapter introduces the ways religion contributed to the major agendas that defined the five historical phases of sex education. The phases include (1) the formation of the early sex education movement out of purity and hygiene movements between 1876 and 1913; (2) the institutionalization of moral education as part of venereal disease prevention programs in schools, YMCAs (Young Men’s Christian Associations), and the military between 1913 and 1925; (3) the shift to family life education between 1925 and 1964; (4) the development of comprehensive sexuality education between 1964 and 1981; and (5) the growth of abstinence-only programs from 1981 to the present. These phases were dominated by organizations like the American Social Hygiene Association (ASHA) and the Sex Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS). Religion was prominent in the motivations of the organizations’ founders, the participation of religious sex educators, cooperation with churches and synagogues, and discussions within publications and conferences.

7. Teenage Motherhood, Responsibility, and Docile Female

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Lam
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Health ◽  
Sexual Activity ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Teenage Pregnancy ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Education Curriculum ◽  
Female Bodies ◽  
Sex Education Curriculum ◽  
Abstinence Only ◽  
Health Experts

This research paper critiques the harmful dominant discourse in America which posits that teenage mothers are “unfit” parents because they bore a child outside the confines of heterosexuality, monogamy, marriage, and middle-class status. Based on secondary research, the paper uses a Foucauldian feminist perspective to argue that the negative discourse around teenage pregnancy and motherhood reified by America’s abstinence-only sex education curriculum and advice from sexual health experts seeks to produce docile female bodies. America’s abstinence-only sex education curriculum promotes gender differences in bodily movements whereby female sexual activity is demonized while male sexual activity is normalized. Sexual health experts also morally judge the teenage mother’s actions under the guise of professional knowledge, and fail to recognize the structural factors that may have contributed to teenage pregnancy as a means to produce docile female bodies. Additionally, both America’s abstinence-only sex education curriculum and sexual health experts absolve the teenage father of any responsibility. By challenging the sex education curriculum and sexual health experts, the power of language and discourse of authorities in framing what they consider to be a social problem will be brought to light.

scholarly journals Comprehensive sexuality education to reduce pregnancy and STIs in adolescents in the United States: A systematic review and meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy L. Bordogna
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Sexual Activity ◽  
Sexuality Education ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Safe Sex ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sex Behaviors ◽  
Social Discomfort ◽  
Abstinence Only ◽  
In Pregnancy

Abstract Background. The United States has a higher rate of teen pregnancy than any other developed country with 30% of American girls becoming pregnant before the age of 20. Laws regarding the inclusion and content of sexuality education vary across the country, which are associated with differences in pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates between states. This systematic review aims to determine whether comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is more effective than abstinence-only or no sexuality education at reducing teenage pregnancy. Secondary objectives include analyzing the effect of CSE on STI incidence, sexual activity, safe-sex behaviors, and social discomfort. Methods. We searched MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE (Ovid), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Scopus for studies published from 1990–2021. Additionally, we searched ClinicalTrials.gov and Google Scholar and manually searched reference lists of included papers. Results. Twenty-nine studies met our inclusion criteria. Only seven included pregnancy as an outcome, with three fitting our meta-analysis criteria. There was a decrease in pregnancy rates for participants in the CSE intervention compared to the control (n = 3, risk ratio = 0.89, 95%CI 0.79- 1.00, I2 = 0%). Fifteen of 21 studies reporting safe-sex behaviors, 8 of 24 reporting sexual activity, and 0 of 3 reporting STI rates found statistically significant results favoring CSE. In the narrative synthesis, we found an increase in safe-sex behaviors, specifically condom use, in adolescents receiving CSE compared to no intervention. Conclusions. CSE is likely to reduce pregnancy rates; however, there was limited data available on this outcome. CSE increased safe-sex behaviors but did not have a notable impact on sexual activity or STIs. Future research should include the effects of CSE on social discomfort as well as more studies comparing CSE to abstinence-only education. This review can serve as evidence for the implementation of CSE in the US.

scholarly journals A profile of sexually active male adolescent high school students in Lima, Peru

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 733-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús L. Chirinos ◽  
Victor C. Salazar ◽  
Claire D. Brindis
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Sexual Activity ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Sexual Experience ◽  
Family Characteristics ◽  
Male Adolescent ◽  
School Students ◽  
Male Adolescents ◽  
Knowledge And Attitudes

To document knowledge and attitudes regarding sexuality and sexual practices of male adolescent high school students in Lima, Peru, a self-administered, anonymous survey was completed by 991 male adolescents aged 12-19 as part of a School-Based Sex Education Intervention model. Questions concerned sociodemographic information; family characteristics; personal activities; knowledge and attitudes regarding sexuality; sexual experience; and contraceptive use. Knowledge related to sexuality was limited. Males tended to mainly discuss sexuality with their male peers (49.8%). Attitudes towards sexual activity and condom use were largely positive, although some males expressed ambivalent feelings towards the latter. Of the sample, 43% had ever had sex; age at first sexual intercourse was 13 years. While 88% of the sample would use condoms, 74% also gave reasons for not using them. Sexual activity was related to age, ever having repeated a grade, living with only one parent or in a mixed family, activities such as going to parties, use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs, and viewing pornographic videos or magazines. Many male adolescents were at risk of causing an unintended pregnancy or acquiring an STD.

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