What We're Not Being Taught

So I was thinking the other day, having been asked to do an assembly on a topic of my choosing, about the awareness spread concerning gender and sexuality within school curriculum. This provoked me to consider how much exposure my school personally has allowed for either of these topics and I realised that, in my recollection, we have never once been introduced to even the mere concept of gender or sexuality identity. As such it is really quite understandable why ignorance surrounding the subjects exists - how can young people be expected to crush social prejudice when the reason for it is completely foreign! The most socially aware people I have come across have had to take it upon themselves to educate themselves through platforms such as social media which, yes, does demonstrate a keen eagerness to learn in order to be more accepting. However, they shouldn't have to be going out of their way to teach themselves about one of the most important and key elements of our own personal identities. 

I was curious to know whether it was my school specifically that had not acknowledged this prominent social issue, or whether the National Curriculum in place in the UK had left it out entirely instead. Within the NC I discovered a detailed document outlining what should be included within sex and relationship education at secondary level. It stated:

Pupils need also to be given accurate information and helped to develop skills to enable them to understand difference and respect themselves and others and for the purpose also of preventing and removing prejudice. Secondary pupils should learn to understand human sexuality [...]

And there it was. Right there in a document straight off the government website. Now, I'm not sure if this policy has now been enforced for the years below mine, or if we did have a PSCHE lesson about removing prejudice through understanding human sexuality but there, in fact, lies my point. Even if such a lesson has been taught to my peers and myself it evidently was not memorable! Approaching the concept of both gender and sexuality identity isn't something you can cover in an hour, nor can people understand in a quickly brushed over lesson. It is something people are still grasping today, still learning and still only just becoming more widely accepted. It really, really worries me that if just my year group, over 300 young people are walking round with no idea that there is a difference between gender and sex, that there are so many more identities that male and female, that you don't have to apply a label to yourself, that you aren't signing a life long contract and you can change it as you personally change, that only you choose what you identify as, that there exists a spectrum of sexuality and your romantic and sexual preferences can be different, that bisexual doesn't just mean "they can't make up their mind" and so, so much more. And importantly, that whatever you choose to identify as is more than ok. I am the strongest and firmest believer that education is the key to breaking social barriers, to diminishing prejudice, that the tool of learning must be utilised and harnessed for its power, but it just isn't. Which is a shame, really, when adolescents are in a prime period of socialisation where any root causes of gender and sexuality based discrimination could be completely eradicated. Instead we are continually being raised with a huge gap in our social learning. 

When I asked if I could do the assembly on gender to Year Seven I got told that they were probably too young to understand it. This is a new year group consisting of 10/11 year olds. I do agree, to an extent. But only because it's never been introduced to them before when it should've been. It's likely they know nothing about the two topics unless their parents have made direct means to expose them to it. We should be encouraging children to know that they can choose and be whatever they want to and that it does not have to be what they were labelled as when they were born. It is all very well wishing and hoping for that accepting society but it's never going to happen when a key institution and agent of social control refuses to spread awareness. 

I would like to address this situation in any way I can but I don't quite know how. While I think it's a little vague I am glad to know that the concept of sexuality is in the National Curriculum and hopefully being taught in some schools around the country. As far as I'm aware, gender isn't featured at all (although do correct me if I'm wrong. I am only considering the concepts in the mandatory curriculum and not in option based subjects). Obviously the ideal world would have it a staple in every schools curriculum but that takes time and as time passes there goes more and more year groups remaining unaware. I guess the only conceivable way I can see is to spread awareness ourselves by talking about it as much as possible, using the power of social media, correcting and educating the people around us and ensuring above all we respect the choices people make in their lives.  

This isn't a particularly long post but considering I haven't actually posted anything since the start of the summer holidays, it's pretty good going! Since blogging is now my Duke of Edinburgh skill section I guess this will need to be a lot more of a frequent thing. (No way could I cope with a routine schedule but I owe an hour a week to writing for this so expect some pretty boring, time filling rambles in the very near future.)

- Charlotte