is nothing as basic and concrete as the male v
female binary and we have a long way to go to
challenge that fundamental way of thinking.
It was heartening to hear young people from
Shropshire talking about heteronormativity
at the Sex Education Forum parliamentary
reception with Caroline Nokes. It was great to
hear them say they want inclusive relationships
and sex education and hear how articulate they
were in putting the case for statutory sex and
relationships education (SRE). In fact they
were way ahead of a lot of their teachers in
discussions on gender.
As there is more and more discussion around
gender and fluidity and asexuality, then the
need for high quality training for teachers
and for really good sex and relationships
education becomes more complex and more
desirable! I think many of us look back on our
sex education and shudder, so let’s not put any
more generations of young people through it
and let’s not leave them to educate themselves
through pornography and exploitative
experiences. We know that our LGBT young
people need to learn about the full range of
relationships, about confidence and self-esteem
and not just about straight relationships
and the mechanics of sex. We need your
help to campaign for this so please join us in
contacting MPs and showing your support.
campaigns/email-your-mp.aspx
Dr Wanda Wyporska, Lead Equalities Officer,
Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL)
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