Sex Education and Teenage Sexuality

For the purpose of this essay I will be critically analysing the following four articles in order to identify the ways in which personal and social policy issues contribute to issues relating to sex education and teenage sexuality; Burnie (2013), Pearson (2013), Thomson (2013) and Grimshaw (2013). In order to do this it is important to first identify how sex education and teenage sexuality are characterised within the articles and the discourses that are present in order to establish the ways in which these two issues are constructed as both a personal and social policy issue. This will also assist in proving the mutual constitution of the personal and social policy. To permit me do to this I will be concentrating on gender inequality in relation to teen sexuality, issues around risk anxieties and power disparity between the adult and child status in relation to sexual desires and the struggles between the boundaries of public and private sexuality.
The concerns in relation to teen sexuality are complex and contradictory. On one hand, children and teenagers are considered as asexual and in need of protection from what is considered an ‘adult only’ field of interest and with the other they are considered as easily susceptible to the influences of their surroundings, particularly in relation to sexual imagery. As a result of the desire to protect, teen sex is portrayed as hazardous and more often than not sex education is focused on the consequences of these dangerous sexual liaisons, historically with a focus on ‘sex hygiene’ (Thomson, 2004, p.106), then with a focus on reducing the numbers of teen pregnancy and more recently in relation to the dangers of considering ‘porn sex’ as normal sexual behaviour resulting in an inabi...

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...son, R. (2004) ‘Sexuality and Young People: Policies, Practices and Identities’ in Fink, J. (ed.) Sexualities: Personal lives and social policy’, Bristol, The Policy Press in association with The Open University, pp 86- 123.
Shildrick, M. (2004) ‘Silencing Sexuality: The Regulation of the Disabled Body’ in Fink, J. (ed.) Sexualities: Personal lives and social policy’, Bristol, The Policy Press in association with The Open University, pp 124-159.
Carabine, J. (2004b) ‘Personal Lives, Public Policies and Normal Sexualities?’ in Fink, J. (ed.) Sexualities: Personal lives and social policy’, Bristol, The Policy Press in association with The Open University, pp 160-192.
The Open University (2009) ‘Title’ in Fink, J., Jeffries, E., Lewis, G. and Saraga, E. (eds) DD305 Study Guide: Personal lives and social policy’, Revised Edition, Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp