Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Embarrassing sex education
Why can't we be taught properly?
The only thing I remember about sex education in school is our slightly embarrassed geography teacher showing us footage of a woman giving birth. The thing that really struck me about it was not the realities of a little person shooting out of that woman’s body, it was the fact that in the midst of her labour pains she had found the time to smear green eye shadow on up to her eyebrows. I’m sure it was all the rage in the 70s, when the footage was probably recorded, but nevertheless that was the only detail that stuck with me about the outdated sexual education in my school.
So, when I spoke to a sexual health promoter who works in schools now, I was surprised by how open and honest she is with the young people she talks to about sexual education.
“You will have the most amazing sexual experience with someone who cares about you, who takes the time,” she said. “It’s not about a three minute wonder, the guy comes and the girl thinks: ‘Jesus, is that it? Oh, lets go and have a cup of tea.’ It’s about exploration of bodies, what people like, what makes them feel good and looking at all the different erogenous zones. You’re only going to do that with someone who cares about you, who’s going to put the time in to do it and that is only going to come with someone you love and care about.”
This is the stuff that everyone should talk about when it comes to sexual education. Teach us the basics about having a healthy and fulfilling sex life when we’re in school and the Irish reputation for being clueless about sex will soon disappear. Statistics show that 17% of Irish people never even used protection when they had sex for the first time*.
Having unprotected sex is not part of growing up. It is not something that everyone is supposed to go through. So what does this all boil down to? We’re embarrassed to buy condoms? Embarrassed to carry them? Embarrassed that we don’t know how to use protection? Embarrassed to go to our local GUM clinic to get tested? My geography teacher was embarrassed just showing a DVD about sexual health! Is embarrassment really a good enough reason to risk our wellbeing?
Priorities in sexual education need to change because talking about sex does not make people go out and have it. Teachers should be in classes with contraceptive kits doing condom demonstrations, just like you see in every American high school movie! If we are properly prepared from an early age then when we do decide to have sex, we can honestly say that we were not pressured into it in any way, that we used reliable contraception and that we felt it was fulfilling.
Sexual development is one of the most important aspects of our health. If we don’t explore our sexuality in a positive way, then our mental, social, emotional and physical wellbeing can be damaged. Embarrassment is simply not an option when it comes to our sexual health.
By: Lorraine O’Hanlon
* www.irishmedicalnews.ie/index.php/clinical/clinical-focus/121-contraception-and-preventing-pregnancy-still-a-mystery-to-young-people
