Sex Education - a brief history

And why I am worried about the rights of our LGBT+ young people

“Children require no set instruction in the physiology of sex as a particular topic.”

So said the first ever UK government guidelines on sex education, written in 1943 at the height of World War Two. In this article, I'm exploring the history of what, if anything, has been taught in our schools about sex education, sexuality, and identity.

In the sixth century, The Roman Catholic Church provided the first schools in England, which were linked to cathedrals and monastic foundations. So began a long association between education and religion. After Henry VIII’s Reformation, the emerging Church of England began to provide its own network of schools throughout the country. I imagine that sex ed, if it was taught at all historically, would have been about so called natural law, which was all about the holy union of a man and a woman after which they could procreate. This view had been popularised in the Middle Ages and was based on religious doctrine, the meaning of which is still debated. But that's another story.

When those first national guidelines appeared during World War Two, their purpose was not to educate children and young people, but to protect society and help stabilise the country. Many parents were away from home, and many children were displaced because of evacuation. The guidelines recommended that it was sufficient for teachers to answer children’s questions sensibly, and for parents to talk to their children at an age-appropriate level. In this way, the child would gain their knowledge gradually and there would be no need for formal education on the matter. It was suggested that education should be given before the “complications of adolescence” began. Young people away from home might get up to all sorts of shenanigans, therefore in late adolescence, instruction given should be “directed to the understanding and control of sexual impulse and emotion.” This should result in “an adequate preparation for marriage.” Teachers were advised to answer young people’s queries and direct them towards abstinence until they had got enough information to live happily ever after in heterosexual married bliss.

There was an intriguing passage about children who have “gone off the lines somehow and are distressed,” and the vague advice stated, “In such cases individual treatment is essential, and the boy or girl requires the help of someone in whom he or she has complete confidence. If the parents cannot or will not do what is necessary – and many young people are reluctant to approach their parents on such troubles – it is most desirable that there should be someone on the staff of the school who can help.” Were they talking about unwanted teenage pregnancy, venereal disease or sexuality? They didn't specify.

Individual schools and staff members had carte blanche authority to plan and teach sex education in the way that they saw fit. “Each teacher will draw upon his own wisdom and experience of life, or the religious and moral resources upon which he himself has relied.” Goodness.

I was at school in the 1970s and early 80s. We had some lessons about sex and for the girls, about periods, but we were never taught anything about anything that wasn’t hetero-normative; at primary school and at our all-girls very traditional secondary school, it would have been unthinkable to talk about being gay or lesbian, let alone being bi or trans or neutral. Nope, it was all man-woman stuff. There were educational films about sex which provided the basics, shown in schools across the country. In the 1970s, we were shown a film which contained black and white drawings of the anatomy, including an erect penis, which “can grow quite hard and straight, so that it can go right inside the woman’s vagina.” This film, called Growing Up proved very controversial, triggering condemnation from some including the Education Secretary, Margaret Thatcher. The video we were shown at secondary school in the 1980s showed a naked hippy-looking man on a beach who then turned into a cartoon for the sex bit (see image). You can still find these films online. They must have been made as some kind of attempt to provide consistency in what children learnt, even if it was just about a man and a woman having sex. And it excused teachers from having to think up what to say.

In the 1980s and 90s, we were subjected to Thatcher's divisive Clause 28, which banned the promotion of homosexuality in schools. This was at the height of the AIDS crisis, when surely it would have been more helpful to teach young people abut safe sex. With this shameful legislation, and with no focus at all on anything other than hetero-normative sex education, it’s little wonder that schools were a breeding ground for homophobia. Sadly, some still are. Of the twenty-four LGBT+ people I interviewed for my book, several reported having poor experiences at school because of their sexuality. They spoke of toxic masculinity at their schools and of bullying. George worryingly recalls homophobic slurs at his all-male secondary school in the 2010s “dozens of times a day,” which caused him to remain well and truly closeted. George was lucky to have a close group of friends, but emerging feelings that he was different caused him deep shame. He said that the word “gay” was used at his school to describe anything bad or negative, and that the school did nothing to try and curb this at all.

Taylor was born in the 1990s and brought up in a world where being out as non-binary was something you were very much quizzed about (as it still is). Taylor did not experience any bullying or harassment at school, but even so “found it hard to find others to see yourself in.” All Taylor’s friends were girls, and that’s what felt natural. Taylor was fortunate to be accepted as non-binary by family and friends from an early age, but noted that at school, nothing other than heterosexual sex was taught. Taylor didn’t like sex ed because, like many things in school, it was segregated; Taylor did not like being grouped with the boys. Also, “being naïve and innocent, it was forcing me to acknowledge I had to grow up and I wasn’t ready for that.”

Quite staggeringly, sex education only became compulsory in this country in 2020, for the first time in British history. Before that, there was no statutory requirement to teach about sex, let alone educate young people about sexuality and gender identity. Nowadays, we have UK Government guidelines on teaching pupils about being Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. In government parlance, “should” is a recommendation and “must” is the law. Schools must ensure that they comply with the Equality Act 2010, under which sexual orientation and gender reassignment are protected. Schools should ensure that the needs of all pupils are appropriately met, that all pupils understand the importance of equality and respect, and that all teaching is sensitive and age -appropriate in approach and content. Schools should ensure that this is fully integrated into their study, rather than taught as a stand-alone unit or lesson. The guidelines stress that teaching about different types of families requires a sensitive and well-judged approach based on knowledge of pupils and their circumstances, accepting that families of many forms provide a nurturing environment for children. Families include, for example, single -parent families, LGBT parents, families headed by grandparents, adoptive parents, and foster parents/carers, amongst other family structures.

It's wonderful to see this in black and white on the government website, but I do have to wonder how much, and how well, these guidelines are implemented across the UK. There are a lot of “shoulds” and not many “musts,” and there’s heated debate about how and whether schools apply the guidelines, particularly in faith schools. Research with young people indicates that there is still a discrepancy between children’s lived experience and what they are taught in school, with children continuing to face barriers when seeking information about sexuality. Unfortunately, evidence of these barriers is very stark, and tragically, young people still take their own lives due to bullying about their sexuality.

While young people are facing the already huge issues that come with growing up and becoming aware of themselves, there are those who would have LGBT+ discussion banned from the classroom again. Back in the 1980s there was outrage at Clause 28, banning schools from promoting homosexuality, and now in over a dozen American States, very similar laws are being passed. And there's unrest here too. A few years ago, a Christian mum launched legal action against her son’s school over an LGBTQ+ Pride parade, alleging direct and indirect discrimination, victimisation, and breaches of statutory duties under the 1996 Education Act and the 1998 Human Rights Act.

And the hatred goes on. There’s an article online called Five bad reasons to teach LGBT sex education and five things Christians can do to speak up. Here are just a few statements from this article, and I must warn you, it’s not pretty: “LGBT is not normal, nor should it be celebrated. Ultimately, it is destructive – sex is to be enjoyed within the bounds of marriage between one man and one woman. Not affirming or embracing LGBT should not be seen as 'homophobic'. Make no mistake – the books used to teach on LGBT themes are not just innocent storybooks that do no harm; the potential they hold to harm children is catastrophic. Given the misinformation and lies spreading about the teaching of LGBT themes in schools, parents must make their voice heard and stand up for their rights as the primary caregivers and educators of their children.” At first, I assumed this article came from somewhere in Middle America, but it gradually dawned on me that all the examples given were British; this is what a Christian website is saying right now, in this country.

I worry that our government is pandering to populist opinion for the sole purpose of gaining votes, and there is evidence that this may be the case. Indeed, as I write this article, there is a government consultation being held concerning guidelines on how schools should deal with children and young people who are questioning their gender. The guidelines as they are currently written are extremely discriminatory, favouring parental opinion and making life as easy as possible for schools, over the rights of young people. Also, the guidance makes no distinction between young children and sixth-formers. A seventeen year old can legally have sex and drive, but cannot expect to have their request for a pronoun change granted. The summary of the guidance states it clearly: "In exceptional cases where a request to social transition is agreed, children, teachers or staff at a school should not be required to adopt the use of preferred pronouns." I find this deeply worrying.

We cannot assume that just because there are guidelines and resources in place that our LGBT+ kids are getting the message that it’s OK to be themselves. It’s so depressing. And we certainly cannot assume that the rights of LGBT+ young people will continue to be supported by our government. We cannot be complacent.

Always an ally.

Em x

Bent Is Not Broken. Buy the eBook (various platforms) or get the paperback on Amazon via:

www.books2read.com/BentIsNotBroken

To read more blogs about about LGBT+ culture and history, and to find out more about the author, head to www.bentisnotbroken.com