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Sex Education, Liberalism, and Autonomy: Bridging the Traditionalist vs. Anti-Traditionalist Gap
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significant role in educating their children about sex, the vast majority of Americans now believe
that formal sex education via the schools is an effective and necessary tool,
2
primarily due to
alarmingly high rates of teen pregnancy and STD/HIV transmission.
3
Youthful indiscretions can
result in serious consequences for boys and girls, with African-American teens being
disproportionately affected.
4
Our popular culture and the media seem to exacerbate the problem,
profiting by exploiting sexuality, presenting coarse images of what makes a man or woman sexy
and desirable, presenting teens and adolescents as sexy and sexual,
5
and coupling the idea of
instant sexual gratification with instant consumer gratification. Even our schools are often not the
safe-havens we wish them to be, but too frequently are best characterized as highly “competitive,
aggressive and sexualised.”
6
This, in part, is why arguments about eliminating or heavily
censoring sex education in order to protect children’s “innocence” fall flat; locker rooms,
bathrooms, playgrounds, hallways, and even classrooms are already sexually charged
environments.
2
A 1991 Gallup poll showed that 87% of Americans support school sex ed. McKay, 28. A more recent
poll conducted by Kaiser in 1999 indicates that the numbers may be even higher. Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. “National study on Sex Educ Reveals Gaps Between what Parents Want and Schools Teach,” September 26, 2000, 1.
3
Since the 1980’s, the U.S. has had the highest teen pregnancy rate among developed countries, and,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on average three million cases of STDs are reported among American teenagers annually. Rhode, D. “Adolescent Pregnancy and Public Policy,” Political Science Quarterly, Volume 108 (1993-4), 649-50. Koch, Kathy. “Encouraging Teen Abstinence: Should Birth Control Information be Taboo?” CQ Researcher, Volume 8 (1998), 581.
4
According to 1996 statistics, black girls are nearly three times more likely to become pregnant than white
girls and three times as likely to end their pregnancies in abortion (Darroch, J and S. Singh. “Why is Teenage Pregnancy Declining? The Roles of Abstinence, Sexual Activity and Contraceptive Use,” The Alan Guttmacher Institute, Occasional Report No. 1, December 1999, 20). Moreover, blacks account for nearly half of all reported adolescent AIDS cases (Boonstra, Heather. “Legislators Craft Alternative Vision of Sex Education to Counter Abstinence-Only Drive,” The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy, Number 2, 2002, 1).
5
Consider, for example, the controversial Calvin Klein print and T.V. ads, which seemed to depict virtually
prepubescent boys and girls on the set of a 1960’s pornographic film. The commercials were seen by many, rightly so since some of the models were barely 15, as exploitative and overly suggestive. One girl, for example, begins to undress as an off-camera voice complements here and asks her not to be nervous. Media Awareness Network, “Calvin Klein: A Case Study,”
http://www.media-
awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/ethics/calvin_klein_case_study.cfm
, 7/25/03.
6
Measor, Lynda, Coralie Tiffin, and Katrina Miller. Young People’s Views on Sex Education: Education,
Attitudes and Behaviour (New York: RoutledgeFalmer, 2000), 86.
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2
significant role in educating their children about sex, the vast majority of Americans now believe
that formal sex education via the schools is an effective and necessary tool,
2
primarily due to
alarmingly high rates of teen pregnancy and STD/HIV transmission.
3
Youthful indiscretions can
result in serious consequences for boys and girls, with African-American teens being
disproportionately affected.
4
Our popular culture and the media seem to exacerbate the problem,
profiting by exploiting sexuality, presenting coarse images of what makes a man or woman sexy
and desirable, presenting teens and adolescents as sexy and sexual,
5
and coupling the idea of
instant sexual gratification with instant consumer gratification. Even our schools are often not the
safe-havens we wish them to be, but too frequently are best characterized as highly “competitive,
aggressive and sexualised.”
6
This, in part, is why arguments about eliminating or heavily
censoring sex education in order to protect children’s “innocence” fall flat; locker rooms,
bathrooms, playgrounds, hallways, and even classrooms are already sexually charged
environments.
2
A 1991 Gallup poll showed that 87% of Americans support school sex ed. McKay, 28. A more recent
poll conducted by Kaiser in 1999 indicates that the numbers may be even higher. Henry J. Kaiser Family
Foundation. “National study on Sex Educ Reveals Gaps Between what Parents Want and Schools Teach,”
September 26, 2000, 1.
3
Since the 1980’s, the U.S. has had the highest teen pregnancy rate among developed countries, and,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on average three million cases of STDs are
reported among American teenagers annually. Rhode, D. “Adolescent Pregnancy and Public Policy,”
Political Science Quarterly, Volume 108 (1993-4), 649-50. Koch, Kathy. “Encouraging Teen Abstinence:
Should Birth Control Information be Taboo?” CQ Researcher, Volume 8 (1998), 581.
4
According to 1996 statistics, black girls are nearly three times more likely to become pregnant than white
girls and three times as likely to end their pregnancies in abortion (Darroch, J and S. Singh. “Why is
Teenage Pregnancy Declining? The Roles of Abstinence, Sexual Activity and Contraceptive Use,” The
Alan Guttmacher Institute, Occasional Report No. 1, December 1999, 20). Moreover, blacks account for
nearly half of all reported adolescent AIDS cases (Boonstra, Heather. “Legislators Craft Alternative Vision
of Sex Education to Counter Abstinence-Only Drive,” The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy, Number 2,
2002, 1).
5
Consider, for example, the controversial Calvin Klein print and T.V. ads, which seemed to depict virtually
prepubescent boys and girls on the set of a 1960’s pornographic film. The commercials were seen by
many, rightly so since some of the models were barely 15, as exploitative and overly suggestive. One girl,
for example, begins to undress as an off-camera voice complements here and asks her not to be nervous.
Media Awareness Network, “Calvin Klein: A Case Study,”
http://www.media-
awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/ethics/calvin_klein_case_study.cfm
, 7/25/03.
6
Measor, Lynda, Coralie Tiffin, and Katrina Miller. Young People’s Views on Sex Education: Education,
Attitudes and Behaviour (New York: RoutledgeFalmer, 2000), 86.
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