The best approach is an honest, blunt realistic sexuality education program that goes beyond body parts and into concepts like respect and gender identity.
We won’t get that though.
So we take what we can get. In most places its a watered down approach to sex ed, but does cover contraception and STDs, scary topics, but important.
In other cases, its the complete waste of time that abstinence only education brings.
But Biology is obviously not sufficient. When all that is taught is biology, teenage girls don’t have information to even know if what they are doing CAN cause pregnancy. Biology doesn’t cover risks. It doesn’t cover respect. When all that is taught is reproduction, gay kids are led to believe they aren’t normal (and transgendered ones are completely left out). When all that is taught is Biology, young men aren’t taught concepts like affirmative consent and increase their risk of being accused of rape.
Opinion of an old man here: I saw a 5th grade appropriate video on the anatomy and physiology of puberty. Almost no mention of sex. No good for sex ed. Won’t play in the US because of the giggle factor; there was no need to touch the penis in this context. Perhaps I missed because of my AAADD but I don’t recall any mention of erections, penetration, organism. Cute biology, far, far from anything that could be called sex ed and, again, won’t pay in the us.
I found it to be a rather crap video from an educational standpoint - the information was all over the place and the narrator went waaay too fast. Maybe the follow up vids were a little more structured. I’m not about to sit and watch them all.
Content wise, I don’t see any reason why an actual nude person shouldn’t be shown in a video about reproductive biology, but the fake bodily fluids were ridiculous, and I find the penis lifting moment really weird. If I were teaching my kid, I’d probably rather use diagrams from my anatomy textbook.
Do you know anything about reproduction? It has nothing to do with gay or transgender it’s just telling how sperm and eggs meet and how a baby develops.
Consent? Respect? Has nothing to do with biology or sex ed but I agree should be taught as part of lessons on morals and personal boundaries.
Do you know anything about sex ed? It is a much broader, deeper topic than just reproductive biology. Speaking as someone who knew the biology backwards and forwards by the time I was 8 (thanks Mom!) but was WOEFULLY unprepared for actual relationships and actual having of sex when I got to college. (Eh. Thanks Mom.) Protip: a passing mention of vague “feeeelllings” is not anywhere near enough preparation for an actual, healthy romantic-sexual relationship.
And yes, having some context for what sexual orientations are, both your own and those that are different from you, is also a matter of sex ed. WHO you may choose to have relationships with is as important to learn about as HOW. Discussing attraction as well as how to behave appropriately with regard to that attraction. As well as learning the difference between gender and biological sex, and why one is not defined by the other.
These are real facts about circumstances that exist in the world and that people will come in contact with themselves sooner or later. Why would you want to keep kids in the dark? What purpose does ignorance serve?
Consent and respect have EVERYTHING to do with sex ed. People need to be taught everything about sex, and that includes the intersections of sex and relationships, as well as sex and crime – it sure is handy to have a clear idea of what rape is so we don’t have another fiasco like Stuebenville. You know, where none of the conscious kids stepped in to stop it because they didn’t think having sex with someone who was unconscious was rape. If we don’t tell them what consent is and what it isn’t, how in heck will they ever know?
Reproductive biology is probably the smallest part of comprehensive sex ed. These other things really should not be considered optional. Not if we want kids who grow up into functional adults.
Look, we mandate a certain level of rigour and formality on all subjects. The curriculum is set so that children get taught the facts that they need to make sense of the world. We can’t let parents start deciding which of those facts can be omitted or altered. Wouldn’t be accepted in maths or chemistry, shouldn’t be accepted in sex education.
My kids are 7 and 9. There’s nothing in those videos that they’d find particularly shocking or revelatory. That’s because they’ve had all of those questions answered as and when they asked them.
Plus, the experiment has already happened. Open and honest sex education has been going on in the Scandinavian countries for many years. I may have missed it but I don’t think they’ve degenerated into early-Roman orgies and social disintegration through seeing a pair of tits aged 5.
The first video seems to be a quick intro and each of the following videos goes into more detail about a specific area (body hair, penises, vaginas, etc). If anyone thought the first video was too much I’d be interested to hear what they thought of number 8 in the series.
I thought the humour added to the presentation. Sex is fun and funny. I don’t get why we should avoid the snickers and giggles. You know the subject matter is going to cause giggles and awkwardness. Why not play into that and have fun with the presentation. Let the kids know it is ok to laugh and have fun.
I will be showing these to my daughter within the next year or so (she is currently 9).
It’s not an educational video for school use. It’s from a pop sci TV program shown on national broadcasting, intended for middle schoolers.
I found it hilarious. And I’d show it to my kids in a second if they’d been younger because of the unabashed and honest style of the presenter. She does a much better job than I’ve been able to do (but then, she’s an MD, so…)
The style is also very much in line with how that program generally is produced. It’s been airing for many years, and its general tone has always been that science is fun.
Well, I’m almost the same age as you, and I can’t remember ever seeing a circumcised one. And unless you, too, are a male who’s been in quite a few locker rooms over many years, I’m willing to wager that I’ve seen quite a few more penises than you ever have.
She was? IME not really, she just wasn’t as shaved and groomed as the average model or porn star. Which I see as a good thing when you talk to kids.
I wasn’t aware that sex = reproduction. Here I’ve been doing it for fun for 30 years and only have one biological child to show for it!
Sex has a hell of a lot to do with gender issues, respect, emotions, responsibility, risk analysis - even for people who have been married forever like me - but particularly for young adults.
But for all that - I thought they were great - all questions answered about the biology and development of sex, what happens etc.
After the kids had watched the series - they would form really good basis of knowledge to leap off into discussions of birth control, consent, relationships and much more.
I would show this to my two girls - my only worry is - what age is appropriate. I feel her current 10 is a bit young, but also don’t want to wait until 16…