You’ve heard the saying “everything’s bigger in Texas.” But bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better, especially when it comes to sex education. A new report from the Texas Freedom Network (TFN) is sounding the alarm about abstinence-only programs in Texas that rob teens of honest and accurate information about pregnancy, birth control and more. Here’s just a few things it found:

• Most Texas students are only taught abstinence, and aren’t given medically accurate information on pregnancy and STD prevention.
• Sex ed resources used in schools contain factual errors, including lies and distortions about condoms and STDs.
• Students learn about sexuality through shame and fear, instead of respect and celebration of sexuality.
• Texas ab-only programs often promote stereotypes based on gender and sexual orientation, creating an environment of sexism and homophobia.

Your school wouldn’t skip over Shakespeare in English class or square roots in your math class. So do some schools leave out information about birth control, pregnancy and STDs in your health class?

Don’t stay in the dark! It’s time to speak up for the sex ed you want, need and deserve. Take this survey about your sex ed, and set up a profile on Your Voice, Your Rights, the newest addition to Sexetc.org. Check out profiles from teens across the country, and hear what they have to say about their sex ed (or lack of it). Then get the information you need to improve sex ed in your school.

Check out these videos from the TFN Education Fund about sex ed, Texas style:

Tags: sex ed

This entry was posted on Friday, March 6, 2009 at 5:32 pm and is filed under Everyday Sex Ed. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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