Episode 74: How To Make Sex Ed Work For Everyone

Feb 19, 2022

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Sex education in the United States leaves a lot of people on the sidelines, from racial and ethnic minorities to LGBTQ+ youth to persons with disabilities. Part of the reason for this is that just nine (!) states require sex ed to be delivered in an unbiased and culturally appropriate way. So how can we make sex education work for everyone?

My guest today is Dr. Tanya Bass, an award-winning sexuality educator who teaches at North Carolina Central University’s Department of Public Health Education. She also founded the North Carolina Sexual Health Conference. We talk all about sex ed and how sex is depicted in the media—the good, the bad, and the very ugly of it all, and how we can improve it. Some of the topics we explore include:

Who’s currently being left out of sex ed and what this means for their sexual health.
Why representation is important in sex education, and how we can make sex ed more accessible to diverse audiences.
The importance of language in sex ed (and why we need to stop talking about race as a “risk factor” for STDs).
What we can do to promote better, more equitable sex ed for everyone.
Which TV shows and movies are getting depictions of sex right, and which ones are getting it wrong.
How popular media portrayals of sex influence our behavior.
How we can use media depictions of sex as teachable moments.

Learn more about Dr. Bass at tanyambass.com and follow her on the socials at @DrTanyaMBass

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