Why Sex Education Should Be Taught In Schools

Julie Anne D. Tapit-Vital

Originally published in The Valiant Vol.1 No.16 June-December 2016

Being a self-confessed bookworm, it was such a delight whenever I share ideas in a particular book which I find engaging.

I have just read this thought-provoking book entitled “Sex for Beginners” by Errol Selkirk (1988). As stated in its back flap, it is not just another ‘how-to’ manual. (Perhaps it is just one way of the authors to catch the attention of its potential readers.)

Allow me to count some reasons why I considered this book a page-turner one: first, it discussed how the view on sexuality evolved from a particular milieu to another; second, it provided information as to how the well-known personalities in their respective fields such as Sigmund Freud (psychologist), Kate Millet (feminist), Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin (revolutionary theorists) view human sexuality; third, it emphasized the varying gender roles in the society; and lastly (but more importantly), it tackled how the dominant groups in a society used sex to further repress and oppress the people, women in particular.

I was the most enthusiastic, excited story teller after reading a few chapters of that book. So there I was, re-echoing what I have read to my most supportive listener—my mother. But this time, I was quite “caught unprepared” with her reactions.

I would not delve deeper on the details of the conversation. The point, however, is that she turned out to be quite conservative and negative about the rather liberating ideas on human sexuality that I shared. 

That particular incident has made me REALLY realize that sex education/gender education should be included in the school curriculum. I have heard many stories of children being shunned by their conservative parents whenever they try to inquire about matters concerning human sexuality. It never occurred to me that I will also experience such scenario. If children and young teenagers won’t be able to rely on the home to seek answers to their endless queries on human sexuality and gender, where else should they go to? What if parents themselves, even before hearing their children air their inquiries, have already established a barrier on the issue? Eventually, these children will turn to other people (more often than not, their peers) who know little about this important issue. And this poses even greater danger for our children.

In my opinion, we cannot “sugarcoat” these bitter truths about sexuality, inequality, etc.  Sex is almost always used to oppress women. Needless to say, it is part of the feminist work to expose these truths, no matter how awful it may become, because it IS the truth, and it IS happening.

During my three-year stint as fourth year teacher in Camp Crame High School, I have also encountered cases of teenage pregnancies. Some of my students are already mothers at a very young age. Studying has never been more difficult for them because of child rearing responsibilities that are almost always left to, women nonetheless.

There are attempts made by the Department of Education to "soften" the idea of "sex education"--they replaced it with a more "politically-correct" term GENDER EDUCATION, but to no avail. Sex education/gender education still isn't included in the curriculum.

What we don’t know never keeps us safe, it just keeps us in denial.