A Sex Education Catastrophe: How U.S. sex education programs promote heteronormativity, produce ill-prepared and misinformed students, and lack standardized learning objectives, values, and approaches

Abstract

Sex education programs in the US leave many students feeling ill-prepared and uninformed to navigate their sexual health safely. LGBTQ+ students generally feel their sex education does not apply to them, that they are invisible and excluded from the curriculum. Abstinence-only programs fail to prevent teens from having sex, and this approach generally results in a lack of condom and contraceptive use. These programs are not equipping students with the knowledge and tools they need to keep themselves safe and healthy. This paper explores two states' health education programs, New York and Texas, using content analysis to understand how these programs promote heteronormativity and are exclusionary to LGBTQ+ students. By familiarizing myself with New York and Texas' health education learning objectives and standards, my main findings have illuminated what crucial information is missing from these programs: a lack of standardization and consistency in content areas and approaches, and a curriculum that promotes and reproduces heteronormativity. These themes reflect the U.S. education systems' ideologies and preferences for sexual behavior and place sexual minority students at a significant disadvantage in their sexual health.