Lklouise
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Today I attended Speak Up for Sex Ed! put on mainly by Texas Freedom Network, Cathedral of Hope, and (a new group for me) Advocates for Youth. While I could always get behind the idea of comprehensive sex education, it wasn't a priority for me for a long time. I was more interested in other matters that I could help without poking the religious right. Openly allying with groups like Planned Parenthood or Cathedral of Hope doesn't make friends in my circle.
I've learned a few things. Abstinence is great, don't get me wrong, there is a place for a biblically based abstinence ethic. It's the church though, not the public schools. Abstinence Only follows one moral code and imposes that on all students. This education keeps marginalized groups outside of the conversation, and by doing so, hurts people. I'm from Texas y'all, and Texan teenagers aren't doing well in terms of sexual health. But when we look at the conversation and the message promoted by abstinence only groups, we label and forget a lot of people in the process. And these are people, made in the image and with the dignity of God, first and foremost.
Looking at advertising campaigns against teenage pregnancy, I realize how demeaning the way we generally speak about teenage mothers: that they're failures, they're rejected. They're shamed about their sexuality, about the result of their choices. Everyone has the right to chose when he or she wants to parent. We don't celebrate the parents or the children in this image, and if we want to be a spiritual community about non-violence, about life, that's something that needs to affirmed even in our efforts against young pregnancy.
Secondary to that discussion, is the consideration about who abstinence-only education leaves out entirely. LGBTQ youth and those without the intention of marriage are not even on the radar. LGBTQ youth especially aren't getting they information they deserve in order to make healthy decisions about their lives. I believe in a spiritual ethic that calls for me to speak for the marginalized, and this is a very clear instance in which a group of people who deserve dignity and justice are being treated as if they don't exist.
Mothers are not "rejects". Mothers in all forms are to be celebrated. LGBTQ youth are still the children of our community. We are called to do right by them. Comprehensive Sex Education reform begins to move us forward into a healthier world in which sexuality and spirituality are not divorced.
(This post has been cross-posted from my personal blog at lklouise.wordpress.com)
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