When Sex Goes to School: Review

When Sex Goes to School: Warring Views on Sex--And Sex Education--Since the Sixties Kristin Luker Date: 29 May, 2006 — $16.35 — Book product page Rating:

Review of When Sex Goes to School: Warring Views on Sex--And Sex Education--Since the Sixties

This book, while it covers the history of sex education in the schools since the early 20th century, is more about the players on both sides of the issue, about how and why they believe as they do. Luker frames the debate as one between conservatives and liberals, though, in my view, I'd say it's more of a debate between libertarians and authoritarians, as this topic doesn't always fall neatly along a liberal/conservative continnuum. But for the purposes of this review, I'll use Luker's categories of liberals and conservative.

Liberals advocate comprehensive sex education; that is, providing matter of fact information about the "plumbing", contraception and abortion, and alternative sexual lifestyles. Conservatives, on the other hand, are for "abstinence only" sex education; that is, providing basic information about the "plumbing", with no information about contraception, abortion, or alternative lifestyles, stressing that one must be abstinent until they are legally married.

In general, sexual liberals:

• Believe that sex is "natural"
• Are pluralists; that marriage is one of several valid sexual options, along with alternative sexual expressions of various kinds
  
• Believe that moral sex is consensual and careful (safer sex)
• Believe in contraception and legal abortion
• Believe that sexual pleasure is worthy in its own right
• Believe that more information is better; knowledge is power
• Believe that morality is relative, adaptive, based on context
• Believe that a moral person takes responsibility for their actions
• Believe in egalitarian relationships between men and women

In general, sexual conservatives:

• Believe that sex is "sacred"
• Are exclusivists and believe the only proper place for sex is within a legal, heterosexual, monogamous marriage. They believe homosexuality in particular is a threat to the idea of "sacred sex within marriage"
• Believe that moral sex is only within marriage
• Are against abortion; and contraception for unmarried people
• Believe that sex should be reserved solely for expressing love within marriage and that its primary purpose is reproduction
• Believe that too much information too early confuses children and teens
  
• Believe that morality is absolute and unchanging, without exception
  
• Believes that a moral person obeys the rules
  
• Believes in heirarchal, "traditional" relationships between men and women

This book is valuable not only for information about sex education in the schools, but is even more so for giving us a detailed look in how liberals and conservatives, sexual and otherwise, think. Luker conducted interviews with many people on both sides of the issue to properly present both sides of the story.

If you want a better understanding of how the other side "ticks", this is the book to read. I can't recommend it highly enough.