'Well if there's one benefit, you're not going to get pregnant': A qualitative investigation of the sex education that gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals received

Abstract

Despite growing attention to gay and lesbian concerns, today’s current sex education curriculum in schools and families is still centered upon heterosexuality. Those studies that examine family sex communication and school-based sex education commonly reflect and take place within a heterosexual context as well. This largely ignores the perspective of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 10 self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) young adults between the ages of 19-25, this study explores what these individuals learn when it comes to sex education in school and in the home. The findings show that LGB young adults experience sex education, whether at home, school, or through their own searching, that is heterosexually centered, revolves around sex as being dangerous, and is often lacking the most basic health and behavior information. Overall, there is a gap in the information participants want and need in contrast to what is available to them which mirrors their heterosexual peers.