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Educational Enrichment: Toward a Comprehensive Sex Education Curriculum for the Sonars
Monday, May 16, 2011 at 11:28AM “I’ve always felt, in all my books, that there’s a deep decency in the American people and a native intelligence — providing they have the facts, providing they have the information.” -Studs Terkel
Sonar X10 was recently subjected to three days of Personal Responsibilty Classes at school. Personal Responsibility, we learned, is code for Sex Ed. These three days of lessons were announced by a letter home that included an Opt Out form, as well as a Parent Meeting to allow parents an opportunity to ask questions of the teachers, curriculum developers, and counselors. It all struck me as a little melodramatic, especially for an ignorance abstinence-only state.
In that three days, or rather three class periods, less than three hours total, the kids learned what they need to know about their bodies and the bodies around them. Humans are sexual creatures. Three hours just isn’t enough. Especially at an age when puberty is slamming into many of them at 100 miles per hour.
So I’m supplementing. I know this is one of my jobs as a parent, educating them about their bodies, their values, their place in this world. And I’m up for the challenge. We’re talking, of course. We have been for a while. But I also feel the need to throw some books into the mix. I’m not sure why I didn’t think about this directly before, but because we are sexual beings, the conversation about sex needs to be continuous and broad. I’ve often joked that I’m a feminist who is changing the world one Sonar at a time. So I’d best get a little more fire under the burner of their broad-minded and respectful sexuality education. For a good approximation of my values about sexuality and what I hope to impart to the Sonars, check out Scarleteen’s Definition of Feminist Sex Education.
Books are a great medium of communication, especially for my avid readers. Books have the advantage of being consumed and digested in the privacy of one’s own head, and they do such a good job of being available on the shelf when the interest strikes a kid who might not want to face mom or dad yammering on about hormones and normalcy. I’m searching for the best books to share with the Sonars. I’m going to share an annotated bibliography of the books I have a chance to look at and name the ones that get put on the shelf. Here’s my working list, compiled from what is available at my local library and from various internet sources.
If the list seems skewed toward boys, that’s because all of the Sonars are boys, but I want them to understand the range of gender and sexuality experience. I will focus on books for younger audiences first, but I also want books that will meet them as they grow.
This list is only a beginning point. Please chime in with your favorite sex ed book.
Sex Ed Books for the Youngish Set
It’s So Amazing! A Book About Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families by Robie H. Haris, illustrated by Michael Emberley
On Your Mark, Get Set, Grow! A “What’s Happening to My Body?” Book for Younger Boys by Lynda Madaras
Ready, Set, Grow! A “What’s Happening to My Body?” Book for Younger Girls by Lynda Madaras
What’s Going on Down There? Answers to Questions Boys Find Hard to Ask by Karen Gravelle with Nick and Chava Castro
It’s Perfectly Normal: a Book About Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health by Robie H. Haris, illustrated by Michael Emberly
What If Someone I Know is Gay? Answers to Questions About What It Means to Be Gay and Lesbian by Eric Marcus
Books for the Adolescent-ish Among You
The What’s Happening To My Body? Book for Boys by Lynda Madaras with Dane Saavedra
The What’s Happening to My Body? Book for Girls by Lynda Madaras with Area Madaras
Is It a Choice? Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions About Gay and Lesbian People by Eric Marcus
The Go Ask Alice Book of Answers by Columbia University’s Health Education Program
The Guy Book: An Owner’s Manual (Maintenance, Safety, and Operating Instructions for Teens) by Mavis Jukes
S.E.X.: The All-You-Need-To-Know Progressive Sexuality Guide by Heather Corinna
Books for Parent-y Ones, trying to figure out what to say and how to say it
How to Talk to Your Child About Sex by Linda and Richard Eyre
Everything You Never Wanted Your Kids to Know About Sex (but were afraid they’d ask): The Secrets to Surviving Your Child’s Sexual Development from Birth to the Teens by Justin Richardson and Mark A. Schuster
Comprehensive Sexuality Education Guidelines from Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
When Sex Goes to School: Warring Views on Sex—and Sex Education—Since the Sixties by Kristin Luker
Read Something, Sex Ed, Sonars in World 
Reader Comments (2)
This is a great list, D! I'll be eagerly awaiting your annotations. :) I don't have kids yet (as you know), but I'll chime in with a recommendation. Aside from some awkward but open talks with my folks when I was a youngish teen, they also sent me to a very informative explicit sex ed program through the Unitarian church we were attending then. I also got a copy of _Our Bodies, Ourselves_ by the Boston Women's Health Book Collective. I haven't checked out the latest editions, but I remember thinking "Yikes! Why didn't they say anything about this stuff in school?" and then feeling grateful that at least a few more of life's body mysteries were solved. I think this book is targeted primarily towards women, but I think it would be good for young men (or those identifying as such) to read as well--so they can understand things from multiple gendered perspectives.
Oh, Cass, that's a great suggestion. I haven't seen the revised edition, but I will have to check it out. And yes, I do think it's important to read from multiple perspectives to build empathy, not just about gender and sexuality but across human experience. Thank you, my dear, for being part of my panel of experts. Love you.