Tag: queer youth

When it came to my high school sex education, LGBTQ+ issues got a single slide in a powerpoint presentation and here’s what I learned: there is no cure for HIV, wear a condom if you have anal sex, and transgender people exist. That was it. As high school continued, I learned about sexual injuries not from the curriculum, but from two different queer classmates, one of whom ended up in the emergency room. Both young adults, like me, were unaware of the crucial safety measures specific to anal sex. These injuries could have easily been prevented if we had been properly educated. However, despite its failure, my high school sex education was still better than most. I have met several individuals who received no mention about the queer community in their sex-ed classes at all. This needs to change. No student should have to learn about such avoidable dangers through traumatic experiences.

The current standard for sex education in America heavily prioritizes heterosexual, cisgender students. It overlooks the needs and dangers specific to the queer community. According to the CDC, in 2020 alone, 20% of HIV diagnoses were people aged from 13 to 24. Despite the preventable nature of this issue, only 6% of high school students have been tested for HIV. And while it varies from state to state, data from School Health Profiles: Characteristics of Health Programs Among Secondary Schools shows that 39.3% of lead health education teachers from high schools across the nation received professional development on how to support LGBT students. That means that in most cases, queer students are left to their own devices, which can lead to increased spreading of STIs as well as sexual injuries.

Conversations about testing, PrEP (an HIV preventative medication), and being undetectable make all the difference, not only in making sex less scary for queer youth, but making it safer. And while the LGBTQ+ community is the most at risk, HIV affects everyone.

It’s important to recognize there is a disproportionate awareness between heteronormative and queer sex in society at large. Traditional “straight sex” is prominently represented in nearly all forms of media: TV shows, movies, books, songs, etc. Consequently, most people grow up and learn about that version of sex, even if it’s not explicitly taught. This is not to imply that heteronormative sex needs less coverage, rather, emphasize the importance of giving equal weight to queer sex education.

Sexual education is a powerful resource and it should be accessible to everyone. The next generations deserve an education that is more inclusive, one that helps them navigate the world, regardless of their gender and sexual identities.