Who Needs Sex Education?

If they have a body and the ability to comprehend, they probably need sex-education. This isn’t to say we talk to 3 year olds about birth control, rather that there is developmentally appropriate information to provide each age range. (For instance, for a 3 year old, we might discuss proper names for their external sexual anatomy and might discuss who is able to touch them in their “bathing suit” area, ie Doctors and parents.)  

This series will focus on adult learning. Even if you believe you have your own sexuality all figured out, the growing body of research, orientations, identifications, and narratives around sexuality is ever-changing, and having that information makes you a more well rounded and competent individual in our society. 

This series will cover…

• Biological Sex
  • Biological Sex: The biologic character or quality that distinguishes male and female from one another as expressed by analysis of the person’s gonadal, morphologic (internal and external), chromosomal, and hormonal characteristics.
  • Anatomical Sex: Apparent gender, male or female, of an individual based on physical sex characteristics.
  • Intersexed: Intersex is an umbrella term that describes bodies that fall outside the strict male/female binary. There are lots of ways someone can be intersex.
• Gender Identity
  • Gender Identity: a person’s perception of having a particular gender, which may or may not correspond with their birth sex.
  • Gender as a social construct: is a theory in feminism and sociology about the manifestation of cultural origins, mechanisms, and corollaries of gender perception and expression in the context of interpersonal and group social interaction. Specifically, the social construction of gender stipulates that gender roles are an achieved “status” in a social environment, which implicitly and explicitly categorize people and therefore motivate social behaviors.[1]
• Gender Expression
  • Gender expression: the way in which a person expresses their gender identity, typically through their appearance, dress, and behavior.
• Sexual Orientation
  • Sexual Orientation: a person’s sexual identity in relation to the gender to which they are attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual.
  • Apparent sexual behavior may not match actual attractions and preferences. One may act in heterosexual ways, but have homosexual desires, for instance. 
• Relationship types
  • Monogamy: the practice of having only one mate at a time.
  •  Polyamory: the practice of engaging in multiple sexual relationships with the consent of all the people involved