Final Civic Issue Blog: How the Lack of Sex Ed in America Affects us Today

In my last two blogs, I have talked about the current sex education and how it is flawed in many ways, including talking about sex itself and the LGBTQIA+ teaching or lack thereof. In this blog, I will talk about how this affects us today. I’m from Texas, as I’m sure you all are well aware of by now. Currently, our governor, Greg Abbott, has said that providing medical treatment for someone undergoing the transgender process should be considered ‘child abuse.’ He then proceeded to say that parents of transgender children should be looked into for child abuse as well.

“‘This is a complete misrepresentation of the definition of abuse in the family code,’ Christian Menefee, the Harris County attorney, said in an interview. Mr. Menefee said that any such investigations in Harris County, the state’s most populous county, will not be prosecuted. ‘We don’t believe that allowing someone to take puberty suppressants constitutes abuse,’ he said.” So although the governor said this, I think most places aren’t going to enforce it. Also, it seems complicated to be able to block all access. Abortion is illegal in Texas, too, and there are plenty of places you can find that are willing to; you have to look hard enough and find the right people. As long as you are in a “blue” area like Dallas or Houston (Harris County), you are usually able to find someone willing to take the risk for fundamental human rights.

Another talking point about Abbott enforcing this is that he is bringing up this very controversial point so close to the election. To me, this says that he believes this and doesn’t care about the possible backlash; he only cares that people’s rights are taken away. Although, I don’t think that will be the outcome in the end. It seems most people are against any ban, especially people in the medical community. “Professional medical groups and Transgender health experts have overwhelmingly condemned legal attempts to limit ‘gender-affirming’ care and contend that they would greatly harm transgender young people.”

But either way, this is an issue. Why do people have to secretly look for someone willing to give them a fundamental human right? Why is Texas so opposed to letting people change their gender or get an abortion? I feel that a big part of this problem is that we were not educated in these areas. Abortions are against the law in Texas, and sadly it seems more states are following this pattern. Instead of people seeing abortions as a personal choice, they make other people’s lives follow their religious views. It shouldn’t matter what people’s beliefs are; it’s their bodies their choice.

If more people were educated about these different options that are out there, I feel like fewer people would be scared of them and would talk to their kids about these options. This would increase the understanding of people in this world; it all starts with education. Americans learning about sex through their school is where this breakdown is. The education system has yet to build a sex education program that educates young people about sex and the realm around sex. So, instead of sitting down to figure out what abortion or how transitioning works, people try to get rid of it because they were told it was terrible. It might not actually be wrong, but people aren’t teaching/being taught correctly about controversial topics; instead, they get taught to say it is awful with no evidence.

Another thing included in sex ed that isn’t genuinely correct is religion, specifically Christianity. As Christians, you are taught that God put you on this earth as one gender, and to try and change that is your way of telling God he is wrong. Another big teaching point is that God knows your name and knows you in your mother’s womb, so, therefore, you are alive, and killing that child would be killing one of God’s creations, also wrong. These Christian beliefs are put into the abstinence-only marriage education; God is interchanged with the public, though. So children from a young age are told these things are wrong because the people would be disappointed in them, or their transitioning would be so horrific their parents wouldn’t like them anymore. There is no actual information on what options are out there, whether the teacher/parent wants them or not. This leads to questioning students feeling like there is something wrong with them.

My hope for the future would be that more LGBTQIA+ information is included in sex education classes. If more people were taught about the lack of rights given and how different gender orientations mix and to mingle, I feel more people would accept them. Instead of taking away privileges, the LGBTQIA+ community would gain the same rights as straight white men. Same with abortions, if we were taught more about how they work and what is happening, it would be as scary of a topic, and more people would be open to talking about the options. Education is always good; the more you know, the more you know. If you are too stubborn to learn about stuff you think is morally wrong/bad, your opinion can never change, and you won’t see the other side’s viewpoint. If you learn the FACTS and at least can understand where others are coming from, you can have an educated conversation about it. The education system fails to provide children with this information, and it shows. Children are losing the ability to form their own opinion without others clouding their judgment. You know the education system fails when children learn more from social media platforms than the education system. The change needed is small: talk about LGBTQIA+ options while teaching using the comprehensive sex education model and take religion out of schools. Forcing beliefs on children doesn’t let them think for themselves. The education system is supposed to introduce information and let children interpret it and use it in their lives, not blindly follow instructions.

 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/23/science/texas-abbott-transgender-child-abuse.html