Lets Talk About Sex... and all that other stuff

Buckle up, we are off on a bit of a journey...

I have been an avid subscriber of Hannah Witton for the past 6 years, an amazing YouTuber who talks about all things sex and relationships, and a couple month's back I was getting caught up on her podcast series, Doing It! and came across an episode she did with Dr Karen Gurney about 'desire' and it's place within a relationship. I don't know what exactly it was about that episode but I found myself realising I knew so little about how the human mind works and more importantly... I want to know more about this shit and I am majorly miffed off.

Now, I don't know what everyone else's formal sex and relationships education was like growing up but mine was the bare minimum to say the least, from putting a condom on a banana, making a list of different STI's to watching the infamous 'tea consent video' (If you haven't seen it, watch it here, trust me). Although, when you fall down an internet rabbit hole you can see that it wasn't necessarily your teachers fault and more the legislation in place.

A Very Brief History in to Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) in the UK

So in the late 19th century, following the publication of material on the subject that provided guidance, sex education was mainly taught in homes by parents who would give the bird and bees talk, the little that was taught in schools (if taught at all) mainly was in reference to hygiene.

The second world war brought with it a lot of movement as more people had to travel around the world and with that began a noticeable rise in STI cases. This grim event seemingly saw an improvement in sex education within school with a focus on prevention of STI's such as syphilis and gonorrhoea.

Fast forward through the 50's and 60's there had been little progression, as education it's self was developing, students were given more detail as to how the human reproductive system works and therefore that was often covered under their biology lessons as well.

A side note, a huge underlining point in regards to the education young people were receiving (or lack off) was mostly influenced by the mindsets of society at the times, and as sex was often seen as a taboo subject, it certainly wasn't something idolised.

Then along came the 70's, this was a great era in terms of mainstreaming sex education! Subjects such as contraception, and an emphasis on accurate information unlike before hand when some young boys were still taught that masturbation was bad for them. The 80's added a focus on ensuring young people were taught essential skills such as parenting, coping-strategies and an emphasis on ensuring they felt they could make their own informed decisions. This era also brought with it some of the biggest catalyst for change, as SRE started to become a spoken about issue in parliament which often had strong opposing view, the HIV/AIDS crisis came about.

Now I could get in to all the legislation that came about in the 80's and 90's but I'll save that for the future, but all I will say it was a messy rollercoaster! However, hooray for 1999, not only was it the year my funniest sister was born but a revolution of sorts came about and things started to get moving in the right direction politically. What was previously essentially just sex education became Sex and Relationships Education and there was an acknowledgement that young people needed to know more than just biological basics.

The year 2000 gave educators the most extensive frame work for teaching SRE yet when the government released a 34 page document, which you can find here, schools were still encouraged to do what was appropriate for them and it still was lacking on some major points but it a huge milestone at the time. Now I had a good read through that document, and for me it was more about what was absent rather than what was in there, as that was the legislation in place whilst I was at school.

Bonus fact, the year 2000 was also the year that the age of consent became fully equalised in the UK meaning no matter what gender or sexuality it became 16, excluding Northern Ireland who came in line with the rest of the UK in 2008.

Fast forward to 2020, the government released new guidance for primary and secondary school and there is a heck of a lot of it as well, not just a measly 34 pages! Woohoo! At the point of publishing this I have managed to have a gander through a good bit of it but the best part is unless schools can present a good reason to do so, the teaching of this content is mandatory for schools. If you are interested ill drop the link at the end.

So as of 2021, there is still problems with the SRE system in place however the bulk of that comes from the constant positive changes within British society and legislation not necessarily being able to keep up.

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Now, let's go back to me being miffed off... Being a 24 years old means that obviously I will probably never benefit from the new legislation relating the primary and secondary schools, and one of my major pet peeves is when I am unintentionally ignorant to something I should probably know about...

With this in mind, as part of my personal Lifestyle Change, and to quote the American hip-hop trio Salt 'n' Pepa I present to you: LETS TALK ABOUT SEX!

Ok we will work on the name, but this is the beginning of a series delving it to everything Sex and Relationships! I want to embark on an educational enlightenment of sorts and because I don't want to do it on my own, I'm dragging you lucky lot along with me! (Or unlucky, whichever way you see it.) Now I will warn you, there is no set curriculum here, we are running free in the wild... while I already have a mega long list of topics I want to research, I am always open to suggestions and the difficult, taboo and all-out weird are not off the table.

So if you enjoyed my mega super brief regurgitation of the SRE system in the UK you may like what is to come from this series, so please stay tuned and follow The Lifestyle Change on social media to keep up to date with new posts!

Peace, Love & Adios

Jo

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PS. If like me you often find yourself falling down internet rabbit holes, and sometimes just like a little education reading material, I will always link my sources and interesting material at the end of each post.

New SRE cirrciulum essential from 2020 -https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education

The Sex Education Forum - https://www.sexeducationforum.org.uk

A brief history of sex education by Professor Michael Reiss - https://www.open.edu/openlearn/body-mind/health/health-studies/brief-history-sex-education

Positive Sex Ed Changes in My Lifetime | Hannah Witton - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HONRIzm3jU

DISCLAIMER: I am not a certified expert, I am not a professional and I am not medically trained. This series mainly serves to regurgitate the information I have learned from credible sources.