Episode 426: Why Sex Ed Sucks (And Always Has)

Sex education is highly controversial. Last year alone, 27 US states introduced bills aimed at restricting sex ed! However, this fight over what sex ed should cover (and whether it should even be taught at all) is nothing new. We’ve been having the same fights about sex ed for over a century, and that’s a big part of the reason why modern sex education still sucks.

I’m joined today by Margaret Grace Myers, a writer, researcher, educator, and former bookseller based in Maine. She is the author of the new book The Fight For Sex Ed: The Century Long Battle Between Truth and Doctrine.

Some of the specific topics we explore include:

• Why do we keep having the same arguments about sex ed?
• What really holding sex education back?
• How did abstinence become such a dominant part of sex education in the US?
• Does abstinence education actually work as intended?
• Why is it so hard to access comprehensive sex education when it’s what most parents say they want?

You can check out Margaret’s website to learn more about her work.

Got a sex question? Send me a podcast voicemail to have it answered on a future episode at speakpipe.com/sexandpsychology.

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Credits: Precision Podcasting (Podcast editing) and Shutterstock/Florian (Music). Image created with Canva; photos used with permission of guest.