Sexuality and Education: Toward the Promise of Ambiguity

Abstract

Beginning with a brief history of sexuality education in the United States, this chapter argues for an expansive definition of sexuality education that includes both the formal school curriculum and the informal lessons on gender and sexuality young people receive in and out of schools school. We explore the legacy of the debates between abstinence-only-until-marriage and comprehensive models of sexuality education for sexuality education policy and practice, note the turn to the rationality and neutrality of science among comprehensive sexuality education researchers, and then conclude by advocating for the centrality of uncertainty and ambiguity in sexuality education.