Sex Education Materials in The Netherlands and in England and Wales: A comparison of content, use and teaching practice

Abstract

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Sex Talk

“…We have shown how in utilising insights from play and social gaming, and through taking an extended, multi-layered process of user centred design, we were able to produce work that distanced itself from HCI's more traditional, restrictive and problematic discourses around sex and sexuality [19]. Our approach took a 'permissive' approach [14], prioritised young people's perspectives, and respected their sexual agency, regularly lacking from 'interventions' in this area [21], particularly when sexuality is considered in conjunction with technology [29]. Young people's sexuality is a contentious topic, dominated by adult opinion, with conflicting views over how the topic should be approached.…”

“…Instead she argues there is very clear evidence that sexual behavior varies hugely from person to person. In contrast to being an inbuilt biological urge, cross cultural studies have shown us that sex is fundamentally shaped by the social context [21].…”

“…It has been argued that a focus on abstinence reproduces unhelpful constructions surrounding male and female sexuality, for example, the view that men are the active, desiring sexual agents in sexual relationships (see 'the male sex drive discourse' [17]), which by virtue means that (heterosexual) women are required to protect themselves against men's sexual desire. There is also evidence to suggest that a focus on the risks and dangers surrounding sex, such as unwanted pregnancies and STDs, does not reduce sexual activity amongst young people, only that it discourages contraception use when young people come to have sex [21]. Moreover, a focus on the mechanics of 'sexual intercourse' we privilege a 'heteronormative' model of sex education, promoting heterosexual sex as the only legitimate form of sexuality [12].…”

“…The Netherlands have some of the lowest rates of teen pregnancy and STIs, with research also suggesting that young people are more likely to delay sexual activity later than those in the US or UK. A cross-cultural study between the UK and the Netherland's sex education materials showed that the Dutch model of sex education taught about sex at a much earlier stage than in the UK [21], and that they also taught about the pleasurable aspects of sex. In response, Fine and McLelland [14] advocate 'a discourse of desire' in relation to young people and sexuality, acknowledging aspects of sexual pleasure, recognizing young people (particularly young women) as sexual agents in their own right, and being inclusive of sexual minorities.…”

Orgasmic Bodies

“…While sex education is predominantly about the reproductive body, it rarely focuses on bodily sensations and experiences, and the body is often presented as desexualised and divorced from sensuality. For example, British textbooks rarely use photographs of naked men or women and genitalia are represented in medical-style diagrams giving cross sections of the body (Lewis and Knijn, 2003). They seldom mention female sexual arousal or pleasure (Lewis and Knijn, 2003), and identification and explanation of the clitoris is often missing from diagrams of sexual organs (Reiss, 1998;Diorio and Munro, 2000).…”