The Ethics of Sex Education for Homosexuals - Case Study Example

 Sex education for homosexuals The widely held belief that heterosexuality is the only normal form of sexual orientation has denied members of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) the opportunity to benefit from adequate sex education and alienated them from the society. People like Jake, who doubles as a disabled are more disadvantaged when it comes to access to learning materials that they need as a community. The gay community lack a preparation program ingrained in an education syllabus that attempts to handle the issue of sex. As such they have been left to their own devices with regards to sourcing useful information that can be helpful to their wellbeing. There is need to provide them with useful learning materials, services and the opportunity to feel part of the society. The lack of appropriate sex education in Jake’s past life is the main undoing of the education system that he has gone through. By contrast the presence of only heterosexual lessons which attempt to address the needs of the community has resulted in gay people like Jake being labelled as ‘abnormal’. As Hoshall (2013) has argued, the procrastination to include sex education for the gay community (the absence) has triggered the ‘presence’ of labels, hatred and relegation of the likes of Jake as semi-human in society. Proponents of sex education argue that the incorporation of gay issues into such programs would limit homophobic intimidation, improve the welfare of gay community, and limit cases of seclusion that affect gay students (Williams, Prior and Wegner, 2013). Jake’s relegation from the social spheres of life, which is to blame for loss of self-confidence would have been resolved through tolerance programs for gays at school (Yip et al, 2013). Nonetheless, his suffering could have been the result of the ‘superiority’ of heterosexuals and sex education programs for the community as opposed to gays. According to Byrd (2011), the ‘weird’ programs for gays may have been shelved to avoid a political perception on learners that could deviate their thinking from supposedly moral ways of life. Status of affairs Gay sex education is as of now not included in many learning programs. This situation has cast Jake in bad light. Studies have also indicated that affected students usually do not find current sex education programs for gays to be appropriate (Woodford et al, 2012). Jake is one such case; he has pointed out that the whole learning environment including instructors, fellow students, and the immediate community have had conflicting perceptions on the issue of homosexuality. As such, these subjective opinions, particularly of the mainstream heterosexual community have had a tremendous impact on the lack of sex education for the disabled gay and ought to be reformed. As Corngold (2013) has pointed out, Jake could be a victim of repeated assumptions by educators that all students fall in the heterosexual category when sex education lessons are being undertaken. As such, Jake embodies the general perception of the gay community in education organizations who feel left out of sex education programs. The skewed perception in favour of heterosexuals present in sex education programs is attributed partly to the common trend in society of idealizing marriage and child procreation and partly to the failure of different stakeholders in education programs to recognize that a number of Western countries that had previously outlawed same-sex marriages have repealed such laws (Chonody et al, 2014). By now, with more slacken gay laws, the absence of education programs for the community still poses serious challenges to the community. For example, lack of safe sex behaviour campaigns has precipitated the presence of poor physical health, emotional distress and a feeling of rejection of members of the community such as Jake. Correcting ineffective programs Research findings have confirmed Jake’s experiences to the effect that a number of sex education courses depict gay issues are weird, inappropriate or sick (Hoshall, 2013). Nonetheless, owing to the significant growth of the gay community in the UK, US and a couple of other mature Western societies following the passage of liberal laws regulating sexual orientation, preaching safety in any straight and gay relationships could have saved Jake from emotional distress. This is especially true considering that the skewed approach to sex education in Jakes life was substantially alienating to gay students whose main intention may not be necessarily marriage or procreation, but a happy life. The legalization of same-sex relationships and marriage in the West should have coincided with adequate education programs aimed at empowering Jakes and his community by making them part of the society (Williams, Prior, and Wegner, 2013). For Jake, such educational programs would present to him a sense of belonging in not only the university where he intends to pursue his doctorate course, but in his past immediate community as well. In addition, there is need correct the dominant perception that has played out in Jake’s life as evident in the interviews which tend to connote heterosexual behaviour as ‘normal’ and homosexual as ‘abnormal’ (Woodford et al, 2012). Owing to the lack of impartial sex education for gay in the curricula that Jake has passed, the subject deserves a comprehensive approach in order to yield positive outcomes, particularly for the affected community. In the United States, for example, the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations is at the forefront in providing sex education lessons to the whole society, regardless of one’s sexual orientation. Under the program, all forms of sexual orientation are depicted as equally appropriate (Chonody et al, 2014). The organization has spearheaded programs geared towards providing important lessons to virtually all social demographics; from the earliest level of education in Kindergarten through adulthood. Such a comprehensive approach to education would be the best option for the society as a way of granting the likes of Jake a sense of belonging in the rather hostile environment. Education instructors in Jake’s educational life were also a major hindrance to sex education for the gay community (Yip et al, 2013). As such, had they been trained to be impartial on matters of sexuality so as to facilitate self-esteem, and a sense of belonging among their homosexual students Jake would be a happy gay. Chonody et al (2014) says teachers normally harbour their own perceptions about gays, and if the perceptions are negative their diatribe targeted at the community can find its way out through their teaching, causing homosexuals within the class such as Jake to feel unwanted. As Svendsen (2012) has suggested, Jakes developed feelings which are more detrimental than if the subject was excluded totally from the curriculum. Chonody et al (2014) add that such ignorant instructors can be prejudicial and show open disregard to homophobic forms of discrimination targeted at the gay youth. In response, teachers should be trained to take a proactive role during sex education by remaining neutral in most cases and helping to protect victims of homophobia in the classroom, as this would go a long way to provide people like Jake an equal opportunity to enjoy the lessons and appreciate their sexual orientation. In addition, teachers should be aware of and practice proper phrasing that leaves no doubt as to any form of sexual discrimination in the class, since it can have detrimental impacts on the members of the gay community in terms of their participation in sex education. An effective, comprehensive program that is complete with an assurance from both the ministry officials and education institutions that teachers who engage in an impartial approach to sex education would be rest assured of their job could have promoted a better debate in favour of Jake. Chonody et al (2014) argues that this is especially true considering that whereas some teachers may be willing to provide an impartial insight into the issues affecting people with diverse sexual preferences, they are afraid of negative labels especially from religious quarters and worse still, they are normally unsure about the future of their jobs. Unsure teaching staff may have been the reason behind Jake’s woes. Teachers, who feel their hands have been substantially tied in the school environment with regards to discussion of the seemingly weird homosexuality topic, should be empowered by more liberal institutional policies so as to facilitate impartial, comprehensive sex education programs in learning facilities (Svendsen, 2012). Apart from conditioning teachers to take a proactive role in providing sex education for gay students, it is also important to prepare students throughout their stages of growth and development to adopt receptive behaviour toward gay issues, because by doing so, students would be less hesitant to openly discuss homosexuality and acknowledge its existence in not only the society but in their classrooms as well (Williams, Prior, and Wegner, 2013). With an open-minded approach to sex education for gays, Jake would feel more welcome to open up to his peers and gain better physical and emotional health in life. Proposed sex education programs for gays As Woodford et al (2012) has noted, the current sex-education programs that Jake has gone through label members of his gay community as not normal, and do not provide room for candid discussions about sexual orientation. As a result, when the subject arises, the information coming out is inaccurate and highly disparaging. Therefore, incorporating the needs of gay youth in sex education programs would send a strong message that the community has some if not equal ‘certainties’ and ‘normal’ attributes as heterosexuals in society. Apart from negative stereotypes, explicitly negative remarks about gays and such relationships should also be phased out from sex education. Terms which insinuate same sex relationships as ‘experimentation’ with life, for instance, should be fervently discouraged in sex education programs because they are inherently negative. Equally effective programs should bear impartially informative, rather than fear-based message. For example, had Jake and members of his gay community been educated that they are three times more likely be infected with sexually transmitted infections such as HIV and AIDS if they did not take appropriate safety measures, he would have felt the dignity he deserves. By contrast, crudely put messages that HIV-infected gays are suffering because of their ‘wrong’ choices in life creates the damage (Corngold, 2013). The comprehensive approach to learning calls for reform in sex education in schools. There was a need to approach the general sex education programs from a different, positive angle in order to achieve the best outcomes for Jakes and other members of his community. In light of this, it is appropriate for teachers to tailor sex education as a way of building stronger social relationships rather than a means of achieving reproduction, which has been proven as a key exclusion of gay students (Byrd, 2011). Treating sexual orientation as an important cultural aspect which defines one’s identity would go a long way in cultivating friendlier responses from the rest of the society, particularly for the disabled Jake. As Yip et al (2013) have indicated an effective sex education in schools must depict gay behaviour as natural and valid as sexual relationships involving heterosexuals. The parity may be achieved by providing an even coverage of sexual health issues of the gay and straight community in the syllabus. In addition, all students should be allowed access to more resources relating to the sexual health issues affecting gays, because by doing so, educational institutions would be creating a culture of tolerance for the community (Chonody et al, 2014). And, owing to the fact that many gay students may not be readily willing to attend guidance sessions, schools and higher learning institutions should establish confidential and open counselling programs in order to take care of all the needs of the community. Conclusion Sex education is imperative to the physical and emotional health of all people, regardless of one’s sexual orientation. However, the gay community has been subjected to repeated cases of prejudice, negative labels, discrimination and lack of sex information about how they should manage their health. Jake is a typical example of a gay whose suffering is doubled due to his disability. Owing to sexual orientation being one’s cultural identity, there is need to protect the likes of Jake from more cases discrimination in the hands of subjective heterosexuals. To achieve this, learning institutions should adopt a comprehensive program for sex education, which begins at lowest levels of learning through university education and teach homosexuality as normal. The society should also be informed that the ‘presence’ of open, genuine talks about homosexuality, would result in the ‘absence’ of controllable sexually transmitted infections, emotional distress, and low self-esteem in members of the community. References Byrd, A.D. 2011. Same-sex marriage and the schools: potential impact on children via sexuality education. Brigham Young University Education & Law Journal, 2, pp.179-203. Campos, D. 2002. Sex, Youth, and Sex Education: A Reference Handbook. New York: ABC- CLIO. Chonody et al. 2014. Attitudes Toward Gay Men and Lesbian Women Among Heterosexual Social Work Faculty. Journal of Social Work Education, 50(1), pp.136-152. Corngold, J. 2013. Introduction: The Ethics of Sex Education. Educational Theory, 63(5), pp.439-442. Hoshall, L. 2013. Afraid of who you are: no promo homo laws in public school sex education. Texas Journal of Women & the Law, 22(2), pp.219-239. Svendsen, S.H.B. 2012. Elusive sex acts: pleasure and politics in Norwegian sex education. Sex Education, 12(4), pp.397-410. Williams, D. J., Prior, E., and Wegner, J.2013. Resolving Social Problems Associated with Sexuality: Can a "Sex-Positive" Approach Help? Social Work, 58(3), pp.273-276. Woodford et al. 2012. Social Work Faculty Support for Same-Sex Marriage: A Cross-national Study of U.S. and Anglophone Canadian MSW Teaching Faculty. Social Work Research, 36(4), pp.301-312. Yip et al. 2013. Sex knowledge, attitudes, and high-risk sexual behaviours among unmarried youth in Hong Kong. BMC Public Health, 13(1), pp.1-10. Read More