A Whole Generation Out of Date:
Young People's Stories of Sex Education

I blocked out a lot of my sex education because it was incredibly embarrassing to talk about, and so what might have been useful information went in one ear and out the other. I remember having lessons in my year 8 PE class of all girls. The underlying messages that did stick were that sex was taboo, only “bad” girls were (hetero)sexually active, and girls can’t actually talk about it in a way that meets our needs and curiosity because it’s not safe to.

Sienna,YWAG member

As far as I can remember, we had some sort of sex education in second year High School, Year 8. Being an exclusive girls' school, the approach was more physiological, rather than the holistic  building relationships advocacy approach. There was not much engagement in the presentation. As I can recall, the subject matter propped up in an afternoon tea with my circle of friends. The eldest in our group would tell stories about her older sisters . I was the youngest and did not really know much. I just listened in awe. This was our final year in HS,  Year 10. There were no social media then, just me and my closest friends chatting over soft drinks and cakes in a small café near our school. It was 1971 in The Philippines.

Nene, 61 years old

Teachers discussed sex with us during PE class in my Australian high school, but it was decidedly negative and narrow - focusing on anatomy, STIs and pregnancy. Much like my mum, I experienced sex ed with an unspoken emphasis on abstinence and shame.

Kate, YWAG Member

In Iran in the 1960's the general norm was that if you talked about sex, you encouraged young people to have sex, so it wasn't talked about

Farideh

I never had much sex education, and what I did have painted sex as risky behaviour like drinking and taking drugs. For a while it made me feel uncomfortable with the idea of intimacy and sex in relationships. Sex education needs to be sex positive!

Romy, YWAG Member

I didn't receive sex education at all, I went to a religious school where the colour of our underwear was chosen for us!"

My sex education was very comprehensive in terms of intercourse, 'how babies are made', STIs, and different options for contraception. While this is obviously a huge improvement on the education that my Mum got, many topics were missing including pleasure, consent, diverse sexualities and how to manage sexual health (ie.there was a lot about STIs and using condoms, but nothing about regular check ups and where to access them).

Erin, YWAG Member

I attended a co-ed high school. In Year 7 Sex education evenings were held over 2 nights in the school gym. Girls one night accompanied by their mothers and boys on the other with their fathers. We watched a film about reproduction in the animal kingdom. At the end of the film we all went home and nothing more was said. Very confusing.

Elizabeth

My sex ed class was in year 10 at high school. I remember we had to watch a cartoon of a boy masturbating under the covers of his bed and how the whole class was giggling. I remember the teacher also seeming pretty embarrassed about the whole thing as well. There was nothing at all about girl’s masturbation, and so it became this imagery of what 'only boys' got up to at home.

Julie never had sex education in high school, but did in primary school in grade 5, when she was 10 years old. She remembers it was an optional seminar after school and that her mum had to pay for her and her sister to attend. She remembers listening to a talk about "the birds and the bees" and being given a book, which her mum told her to read if she had any questions. She also remembers all the kids in her class asking each other, "you're not going to the SEX talk are you? Ewww!" Mum thought they offered it in grade 5 as that was the time most girls would have started getting their period.