Homosexuality missing from sex education

[singermelodie1]

By Chung Hyun-chae

Controversy has risen over educating students about homosexuality at schools, following the education ministry's refusal to include the topic in new guidelines for sex education. 

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Ministry of Education's new guidelines and a teacher's manual for sex education to be distributed in March will have no mention of homosexuality.

The educator's reasoning is this: Social consensus is necessary to include homosexuality because there are opposing opinions lingering on this issue. Also, "We view it's too early to teach children younger than 20 about homosexuality," according to a ministry official. 

This is not the first time. The same thing happened in 2015, drawing a huge backlash from civic groups.

"Adolescents, who are most impressionable, need to receive comprehensive sex education including homosexuality to accept gender identity naturally," the secretary general of the Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea, said during an interview with Yonhap News Agency. 

The secretary general also said the group plans to launch a campaign to scrap the education ministry's sex education guidelines. The group condemned the decision for violating basic human rights.

Meanwhile, parent groups welcomed the ministry's decision. 

One group called Next Generation said Saturday, "It is quite natural that the education ministry decided not to provide education promoting homosexuality for the future of our sons and daughter." 

The education ministry explained that even though the guidelines did not include homosexuality, teachers can answer related questions from students and have discussions on it during classes. "The schools have already been providing education on the understanding of gay rights in social studies," the ministry official said.

The educator's move runs counter to a slowly growing awareness about homosexuality in Korea. 

Homosexuals are still suffering hard from discrimination as homosexuality is a strong taboo here; however, more people are coming forward seeking social acceptance, as the annual "Queer Festival" demonstrates.

 

 

source: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2017/01/181_222534.html

 

[chiirbii]

Not surprised, but at least they're having a discussion about it. I hate the notion that talking about gay sex will make kids gay. like... no.

[Athena]

This is a problem in the US too. Hell, sex education in general is just extremely inadequate, especially in the south. They literally just teach you abstinence. And a consequence of that is the fact that HIV/AIDS rates are worse in some cities of the US South/Midwest than in any African country.

[bodyslam]

Not surprised, but at least they're having a discussion about it. I hate the notion that talking about gay sex will make kids gay. like... no.

[QueenElizabeth]

They should include it in sex ed. If protection only means from getting pregnant, these young homosexuals will think they don't need protection and I'll refer you to the 1980's as proof this is a bad idea

[Platty]

Not surprised, but at least they're having a discussion about it. I hate the notion that talking about gay sex will make kids gay. like... no.

this. My friend's dad thinks somehow anything "gay" will make his kids gay, and is only acceptable if his daughters are bi, and the boy not being bi or gay. But she'll always be defending his ass

[guIXudan]

I mean, I've been gay this whole time and straight sex education never turned me straight

[chiirbii]

They should include it in sex ed. If protection only means from getting pregnant, these young homosexuals will think they don't need protection and I'll refer you to the 1980's as proof this is a bad idea

There's a scary rise of young gay men that scoff at using protection for casual hook ups because HIV isn't as common as it used to be, or if they contract HIV they can just take medication and it'll all be okay.

[baechulgi]

it would be nice to be educated in sex ed about gay sex so everyone wouldn't ask me "how does sex between two girls even work?" when i come out to them. also so we would know how to practice safe gay sex and stuff

[Rapmon's Ahjussi Husband]

This is why I thin SK is beyond a third world country, the ignorance is so profound!; what about the kids that are gay and need sexual education ?, will they learn on the field what an sexual transmited desease is, how to take protection for themselves, how to practice safe sex???, including homosexuality in sex education is not the same as propaganda, those things exists either they aknowledge them or not, and this is coming from adults, how can anyone take seriously SK when things like this happen

[obscurities]

I mean, I've been gay this whole time and straight sex education never turned me straight

This. It's like watching TV and seeing straight people kiss. Don't you think that would have "made" me straight already?

[chiirbii]

This is why I thin SK is beyond a third world country, the ignorance is so profound!; what about the kids that are gay and need sexual education ?, will they learn on the field what an sexual transmited desease is, how to take protection for themselves, how to practice safe sex???, including homosexuality in sex education is not the same as propaganda, those things exists either they aknowledge them or not, and this is coming from adults, how can anyone take seriously SK when things like this happen

This is an issue that America and a whole bunch of countries have to face. South Korea is far from unique here.

[Exotic♕Queen♛]

When I was in high school, orientations such as bisexuality, pansexuality, asexuality, etc. were not even mentioned.

[sugarplumfairy]

It's a problem in the U.S. too. Like talking about being gay will turn kids gay lmaooooo. 

[ilovepurplex333]

There are some states in USA that dont have sex education at all, its mainly the republican because they wanna avoid talking about sexuality, like its so stupid they even wonder why their teenage pregnancy rates are so high like really.

[Honeystan]

Glad they're talking about it. My friend who recently graduated high school in a backwater town believes that two virgin gay men continuing to have sex with each other would make aids. I'm like, no hunty. Assholes told you that nonsense. Some people still don't know how some std's or contraceptives work. The sex ed game needs to be stepped waaaay up.

[Rapmon's Ahjussi Husband]

This is an issue that America and a whole bunch of countries have to face. South Korea is far from unique here.

 

I know, I recently saw a documentary about the south, and the HIV is even higher than in Africa, that's why I think people need to take this seriously

[Grape Soda]

Not surprised but I'm very happy with Korea's progression. When I first got into kpop this would not even have been up for discussion. They need to know it's completely normal and it's ok to have feelings of attraction for the opposite sex.

[25%Cotton]

i was in high school in the late 2000s and i can't remember learning anything official in schools outside of a paragraph or two about HIV in my health textbook. everything we learned was dependent on student gossip and teachers who were too smart to be wasted by a shitty curriculum.

 

i went to school in texas, though, so it makes sense that it wouldn't be an official part

[愛��る]

Most of sex ed should be taught by parents; not the school. The school should only go over very important things like protection against STDs and avoiding teenage pregnancies. Homosexuality is not something you teach. It should only be mentioned where it is relevant (and the same goes for heterosexuality, which is the default).

[*lesigh*]

Most of sex ed should be taught by parents; not the school. The school should only go over very important things like protection against STDs and avoiding teenage pregnancies. Homosexuality is not something you teach. It should only be mentioned where it is relevant (and the same goes for heterosexuality, which is the default).

 

Hahahaha, you expect parents to be willing to talk to their children about sex... and expect parents to be knowledgeable of sex. Oh that's cute.

 

I wish every person was born into a family with a parent that's open towards talking about sex with their child. But unfortunately for many people, they don't have families that are very knowledgeable of sex or at the very least open about it. How's a gay teenager supposed to confront their parents about anything revolving their sexuality if they know that if their parents find out their gay they'll get kicked out of their home? How will a teenager get contraceptives or protection if their parents believe that couples need to wait until they're married to have sex?

 

The fact that many teens don't have an adult they can speak to about sex is what prevents them from practicing safe sex. If school could become a place where teenagers could learn about sex and find a mentor they could confide in, this could give teenagers access to the information and items they need to practice safe sex.

[愛��る]

Hahahaha, you expect parents to be willing to talk to their children about sex... and expect parents to be knowledgeable of sex. Oh that's cute.

 

I wish every person was born into a family with a parent that's open towards talking about sex with their child. But unfortunately for many people, they don't have families that are very knowledgeable of sex or at the very least open about it. How's a gay teenager supposed to confront their parents about anything revolving their sexuality if they know that if their parents find out their gay they'll get kicked out of their home? How will a teenager get contraceptives or protection if their parents believe that couples need to wait until they're married to have sex?

 

The fact that many teens don't have an adult they can speak to about sex is what prevents them from practicing safe sex. If school could become a place where teenagers could learn about sex and find a mentor they could confide in, this could give teenagers access to the information and items they need to practice safe sex.

That's the problem today. Parents have a very large disconnect with their children and expect schools to raise and teach them basic things.

 

Our ancestors did that in the past and it worked out. We need to be let parents teach their children things about life to build better and stronger families again.

 

It's also the parent's choice if they want to teach them sexual abstinence or not. And as I said in my post, I said that schools should teach about STDs and preventing teenage pregnancies.

 

What is a gay teenager supposed to ask their parents? I didn't need to ask my parents about anything sexual (that would be too weird, but that's beside the point).

[*lesigh*]

That's the problem today. Parents have a very large disconnect with their children and expect schools to raise and teach them basic things.

 

Our ancestors did that in the past and it worked out. We need to be let parents teach their children things about life to build better and stronger families again.

 

It's also the parent's choice if they want to teach them sexual abstinence or not. And as I said in my post, I said that schools should teach about STDs and preventing teenage pregnancies.

 

What is a gay teenager supposed to ask their parents? I didn't need to ask my parents about anything sexual (that would be too weird, but that's beside the point).

 

I do agree that parents should be involved in helping to raise their children, but a major issue is that if we allow parents to be in charge of educating their children on subjects like this, parents may intentionally or unintentionally misinform their children or withhold essential information from them. Allowing all kinds of influences (from both the home and the real world) to influence a child's thinking is a great thing, and a parent that's the sole educator of their child with little-to-no outside influence can cause problems, especially if the parents are isolating their children because the parents don't want their children to come across opinions that challenge their views (For example, homeschooling your children because you're convinced that the earth is flat, dinosaurs never existed, and schools are some sort of brainwashing mass indoctrination system). 

 

I do agree that technically, it is the parent's choice to teach abstinence. However, a school can also challenge this viewpoint and promote safe sex (Which is based off of science and it's understanding of sexuality rather than traditional values), which allows the child to understand both sides and come to their own conclusions on what they would like to pursue. I for one abstain from person-to-person sex, but this is simply my own decision. My state's sex education is practically non-existent and abstinence-based, but my family believes that I should do whatever I feel comfortable doing. I can speak to her if I want to talk about something I would like to try, and if I needed something, she would provide it for me. 

 

And regarding what a gay teenager could possibly need from a parent, one idea I could think of is that parents could be a resource for sex toys or protection if they're not knowledgeable enough on homosexuality to provide any sort of advice. For somebody who is probably completely financially dependent on their parents, having supportive parents who are willing to purchase those things is helpful. I'm not gay myself, so I can't think of any other ways parents could be of any assistance to LGBT teens who want to experiment with their sexuality (although if anyone else reading is gay and knows of other ways feel free to pitch in). With supportive parents, discussing sexuality shouldn't be something overly uncomfortable (I still feel a bit uncomfortable talking about my sexuality with my guardian, but I'll still ask her for help because I know she's not judgemental).