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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Comment
Chanel Contos

Purity culture is dehumanising – it’s consent that should be at the centre of sex education

Woman on couch looking away from camera
‘Not only is our current method of sex education unhelpful, but it is also actively making the problem worse’ … Chanel Contos. Photograph: fizkes/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Many would have been surprised on Monday night when an ABC Four Corners episode reported that for some schools in Australia, their form of sex education included placing a piece of sticky tape on different surfaces around the classroom. An inspection of the tape after the experiment concluded that it had picked up dirt along the way; and it was no longer able to “stick” or “bond” with anything (anyone) any more. The schools have denied teaching misinformation and said they complied with the New South Wales curriculum.

Unfortunately, I was not surprised hearing these allegations as I’ve heard the same before. It would be nice to believe these lessons were limited to the four schools under investigation, but also seriously ignorant.

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