Sex Ed 2.0
Why teachers want kids to watch more online sex vids.
Entertaining, unlike your gym teacher or an abstinence-only program.
At the SexTech conference a few weeks ago, North American public health types and web geeks got together to figure out how to bombard kids with sex videos.
No really. They're realizing that kids often see school sex ed as prudish and outdated: total turn offs. Plus they know watching videos is more fun than listening to the gym teacher. And there are plenty of popular, educational vids out there that are attracting viewers.
Sex ed (not just porn) is all over the Internet -- likely because real sexual education, that is, anything other than abstinence-only propaganda, is under siege in George W. land. Current teacher and government efforts are about as appealing and effective as Dubya (or Stephen Harper) himself. But Internet videos can be as edgy and entertaining as they like -- the more so the better -- which means people actually want to watch and learn.
The SexTech conference's video contest asked, "Why is sex so interesting and sex ed so boring?" My favourite entry is this send-up of the inspirational teacher movie trailer, about a gutsy, straight-talking sex ed teacher.
The Internet sex ed craze is far from a new crush. At SexTech were the makers of the pioneering Midwest Teen Sex Show, a video podcast that gets around 125,000 viewers per episode. Produced on a shoestring by a handful of aspiring filmmakers and comedians, the show (which has attracted attention from mainstream media) has info on contraception and sexually transmitted infections, presented between explicit scenarios and punchlines.
By all accounts, the show is putting solid info out there, but not everyone is thrilled -- it isn't reviewed by doctors, and some worry that content is lost between the jokes. Wikipedia describes it as merely "semi-educational." And while it consistently proselytizes about of the importance condom use and good communication, it's too heavy on the sex tips to please many parents. Take this recent episode: "Some people love anal sex, so you shouldn't be afraid to try it."
The other online mainstay isPlanned Parenthood, which is hosted by an excitable penis and a down-to-earth vulva. This vid is sciency enough to teach even Dr. Ruth something, but there is no shortage of raunchy humour either.
Educators are starting to take notice, but most of their vids are still about as exciting as your middle school health class. On our side of the border, the gynecologist-sponsored Sexuality and U has created a series of clips where young people earnestly talk to the camera about condom use, the pill and waiting until you're ready. The videos strike home because their anxieties are believable ("I'm not ready to be naked in front of him") but sometimes edge towards inane. Says one guy, "I want to have sex when I want to have sex, you know, with someone I want to have sex with."
Frankly, educators are going to have to pick it up. In a recent clip on The Tyra Banks Show, Dr. Debby Herbenick brings in a "wondrous vulva puppet" to talk us through some basic anatomy. As Feministing observes, it's all smooth sailing until Tyra chimes in. "So many women think that you pee and have a baby from the same hole," she says, "so it's good that you're saying that." Is Tyra way out of touch with reality, or the legacy of misguided sex-ed programs of yore? It's hard to say which is more likely. Either way, current school programs aren't going to solve the problem without some serious help.
Related Tyee stories:
- The Mathematics of Sex Ed
For this teacher, it doesn't add up. - China's Sexual Revolution
A nation's sleeping libido awakens. - The New Prudes
How the Sex-Obsessed Culture Damages Girls (and America, Too!)
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nightbloom
3 years ago
Good commentary. The Tyra
Good commentary. The Tyra Banks things is hilarious, and probably did some good: it demonstrates that a super-model isn't anyone a smart girl wants to be. Besides, the digital generation is way ahead of anything the adults will ever come up with now.
It's probably counter-productive to gratuitously inject "Dubya" or Stephen Harper out of blue into a discussion on sex ed. Not because it's unsexy (it is!), or has nothing to do with it (it doesn't actually) but because the subject matter is already overly-politicized. I don't support "abstinence-only" programs, but I most definitely do support programs that include and validate the decision to remain abstinent within a range of personal choices (as opposed to ridiculing or disdaining it, which sums up the overwhelming majority of pop culture messages on teen abstinence). Abstinence doesn't have to be a gaudy "Jesus thing", it can be a self-respect thing too. A lot of pro-sex messaging directed at women is actually self-prostitution dressed up as "liberation". The tacit expectations, the sexual economy, the pressure and the subtle coercion never goes away. Ditto queer youth, btw - especially young gay men. Self-reservation, self-preservation, and self-gratification or okay too.
papertiger
3 years ago
nightbloom: It seems to me
nightbloom: It seems to me that "Dubya" is actually fairly relevant to the discussion. The brand of abstinence being peddled by the Republican party takes "self-preservation" to the extreme, making sex some kind of dangerous and terrifying taboo. A lot of these sex ed videos are legitimate responses to this doom-and-gloom atmosphere, injecting some of the humour and levity back into sex.
Still, I agree with the criticism that too much humour can be detrimental. These videos give kids credit for being fairly sophisticated: while most teens are probably capable of separating educational from ironic content, others might find videos of Martha-Stewartish women dipping hot dogs in peanut butter more mystifying than instructional.
I think most sex education--the good, relevant kind anyway--wants to be instructional without being preachy. But I think there's also a danger in heading too far in the direction of informality. Kids can get titillating laughs about porn stars anywhere--they seek out sex ed because they need information from sources that seem reliable and trustworthy.
HawkEyes
3 years ago
What is Sex Ed
With “Sex Ed” served at such a young age, for such a long time now, I resent the belief that bombarding kids with sex videos is an answer for its shortcomings. Children “change” the instant they enter public school nowadays; they obviously get too much “sex” thrown at them already.
And adults and students are two very different audiences, what’s with the blurred lines?
When my kids were barely teenagers, we watched CBC after school-they offered kids a live show out of Toronto then, the host was hip, smart and hot, or so he thought. One guest was an old woman, a sex authority. She told the kids that all “your female part did was hang there, sorry girls”. Disgusting stupidity. Tyra isn’t necessarily very far off the mark.
Why would kids pay attention in class when they just feel embarrassed and are violated? Is the goal appropriate awareness or a how to manual? Passing responsibility on is lame. There is plenty of inappropriate material already accessible to kids. Take the best from the net …as well as from other resources, to join the dots. But define the goals of Sex Ed and include values if you’re going to start about sex. Finish with the thought, that some say parenthood is best left until the age of 27 at least.
The “current” problems of ineffectiveness and no appeal are actually “of yore”. It’s a sad commentary when, three generations later, Sex Ed still gets a failing grade.