Do you think school sex education classes need to focus more on sexual orientation?

18? It was almost 10 years after that before I wasn’t afraid to admit I found some girls attractive.

It’s silly, but I really like the way the podcast “Welcome to Night Vale” and its spinoff novel have handled LGBT relationships.

In the novel (I’ve listened to the audiobook – Cecil’s voice, no weather) a character with a 16 year old son is asked about the kid’s dating. “Well, I don’t know which kids he is interested in, and he hasn’t mentioned going out with anyone.”

You know, like, gay, straight, or indifferent, the boy’s orientation is not even an issue and thus the hypothetical crush is not even assumed to have a specific gender.

I definitely think that sex ed needs to include the mechanics: sperm + egg = fetus, and no, blowjobs can’t get you pregnant but they can introduce STDs. No, gay sex can’t make you pregnant but it can introduce STDs. Here are all the barrier methods you can use for different sexual activities; now go forth and enjoy your relatively safe orgasms, however and with whomever you choose to acheive them.

Hmm. Good question. Don’t know. When I had sex ed in class growing up it was in Biology class and the different functions of the male and female reproductive parts and that the only way to prevent pregnancy or disease was to use a condom or birth control pills. And we got to watch a lovely video of the effects of different diseases that was enough to make both the boys and girls not even shake hands by the end of it.
I just saw Seeks answer. I do remember guys asking the teacher if BJ was safe and the answer was, absolutely not, along with adding that sex does not clear acne, nor does blue balls kill you, but having unprotected sex with anyone can kill your or ruin your sex life forever.

That was the extent of our sex ed portion in high school.

No, not orientation specifically, but they need to learn about relationships and about appropriate sexual behavior, like “no means no” and birth control.

The one thing that doesn’t take more than a one hour class is the mechanics of how babies are made. The rest should be spent on healthy sex positive discussion, including talking about how some people don’t know until they have tried a few things what they like and what they prefer.

No. Sex Ed in my opinion is just like learning about other parts of our body. Circulatory system, digestive track, nervous system, etc. It is about how our bodies work, and until we start really thinking about it that way parts of our fairly puritanical society will continue to put sex and sexual organs into a separate, taboo, category, and too many children will continue to grow up clueless.

No

As one who was taught that stuff in high school over a quarter of a century ago, it blows my mind that some schools still haven’t caught up to where Vermont’s public schools were decades ago.

Sexual orientation needs to be addressed. The way your question is written makes it a bit difficult to answer.

Sex ed needs to be safe for the kids to learn in comfortably.

Sex education should be limited to function and delivered in biology classes.

Doing research, reading books on the subject on my own has made me the the free thinking, highly sexually interesting person I am today.

It is not the job for schools but for parents over their own kids.

@Hypocrisy_Central In that case, a lot of parents are not doing their job. Put another way, if your way worked, teen pregnancy would be far lower, STD rates would be lower, and things would be all around better except that some prudes who think that so long as kids are uneducated about sex they won’t have sex would be all up in arms about schools making kids promiscuous.

Would you rather ruffle the feathers of a few ideologues, or is having kids taking maternity leave from middle school an acceptable price to placate those misguided optimists?

@SecondHandStoke Considering that the majority of people don’t research jack shit, I fear that you may be vastly overestimating the curiosity of the average person.

Safe sex is a massive priority

We have a program in Australia called the Safe Schools program. The idea is to provide education, information, guidance and support for kids from diverse backgrounds and orientations within the school environment. The aim is to reduce bullying and to create safe, inclusive spaces for our kids. I think it’s so important for us to provide sex education in schools, but that education should provide opportunities to discuss more than the mechanics. The Safe Schools program isn’t about sex education specifically, but it is about relationships and about how we interact with each other.

Unfortunately, some of our right-wing dickhea… sorry politicians, didn’t like some of the content. So it’s been cut back and will now only be offered in high schools and some of the content will be removed. The Victorian State Government has said it will fund the program in its original form.

This is a post from a young person made in response to the federal government’s attitudes. It is quite clear from this post that young people do want their education to reflect their diverse sexual orientations and to provide opportunities to talk about issues that affect them.

Mention sexual orientation yes, focus on it, no.

In my opinion, sex education should be about health issues related to sexual activity, and specifically STD’s and birth control, with a little bit of personal hygiene thrown in. Mainly because that is what it was when I was in middle and high school.

If the school system chooses to, they could develop a gender education class in addition.

I would not mix the two. The sex education, which has sort of an immediate implication for school age people, might get lost in the process.

^^Exactly. Two separate classes.

I certainly think that a class or two on gender identity and sexual orientation in the context of a sex education course is appropriate – probably during the middle and high school years. I wouldn’t put anyone on the spot but engage in a discussion about differences and acceptance and probably cover past discrimination against gays and transgender people. In earlier grades, it would be appropriate to talk some about boy and girl behaviors and try to convey the idea that the full spectrum of careers, toys and preferences should be available to all on an individual basis. It would be appropriate to talk about families and how they can be made up of all kinds of people.

The schools where I am seem to cover the subject of human sexuality very well.
They test the kids heavily about STDs and pregnancy, and the importance of protecting each other from risky behavior.
They educate the classes about preference, though I do think they could be more clear about how confusing puberty is, and that teens can have all sorts of conflicting feelings when they are still developing.
Most of the staff is pretty youthful at our area schools, and it may be easier for them <shrugging shoulders> to have those discussions than for educators who’ve preceded them. Maybe.
I have wondered whether the general population of a school district makes any difference. If there is only one or two students out, could that make things more difficult to discuss than if there were several?