The Lie of "Parental Rights"
Why you should take a closer look at those flinging this phrase around.
I’ve been writing about sex ed for nearly a decade now. It began when I landed a gig with AASECT (the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists). While with that organization—my child just an infant—I learned a lot about the state of sex ed in the United States, and about the role it could play in the overall health and well-being of my child as she moved through the world. When I left that organization, I shifted the focus of my journalism work to sex ed. It just felt necessary.
So I’ve long been aware of the fears some parents carry around sex education. I want to maintain my child’s innocence, they say. Won’t teaching them about sex give them permission to have it? Aren’t they too young? Aren’t lessons like these better left to the parents? they ask, despite having no intention of teaching those lessons in the home.
It’s why most districts are required to make their curricula available to parents before these lessons are taught. It’s why opt-out (and, in less ideal circumstances, opt-in) laws exist. These laws are a nod to parental rights, an acknowledgment that parents and other caregivers should be able to make certain decisions around what their children learn about sexuality.
Putting aside my feelings about that, I’ve recently been seeing the term “parental rights” being used all over the damn place, usually as a means to restrict the rights of youth and the parents who are trying to support them.
And let me tell you, it is some kind of bullshit.
To read the rest of this piece, head on over to the Feminist Book Club blog.
Full Disclosure: Sex Ed in the News
Journalist Olga Khazan lays out why Republicans have sex ed all wrong.
Your kid walked in on you having sex. Now what?
This piece by Isabela Dias in my latest issue of Mother Jones gave me allll the angry feelings. Here’s the lowdown on on teachers are faring in Florida’s war on public education.
Speaking of Florida, the Board of Education has expanded the “Don’t Say Gay” bill to apply through 12th grade (it had previously only applied to pre-K through third grade).
My Favorite New Sex Ed Resources
I recently added a couple of new books to the resource database of Guerrilla Sex Ed. One is Don’t Hug Doug (He Doesn’t Like It) by Carrie Finison and Daniel Wiseman, a cute kids’ book about consent and bodily autonomy.
The other, also for young kids, is Yes! No! A First Conversation About Consent by Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, and Isabel Roxas. It introduces the concept of consent and shares the many ways someone can say or indicate “no.”
Sexuality and relationship education organization Your Choicez put together these handy slides on how to help your teen say “no” in the face of peer pressure.