I was absolutely horrified recently to read a letter from Audrey Jensen, headlined Provincial education: stay away from sex.
I have to completely disagree with the very basis of Jensen’s argument.
To start, she seems to be having trouble separating sexuality and morality, which I think is rooted in just a basic misunderstanding about sex.
Sex is one of the most natural acts of not just humans, but many living organisms. If you are reading this paper today, I can guarantee your parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc. all had sex. It’s no secret. That is how we propagate the human species.
Every person you will ever meet, ever see, is the result of this perfectly natural process. So where does morality come in? Apparently when people like Audrey Jensen say it does.
We get so caught up with the idea of “sex,” the ancient taboo, that we miss the real issue.
Sex education is simply about educating young human beings about sex.
Those against sex education are really against giving important, potentially life-saving information to the next generation: information about contraception, pregnancy, abortion, puberty, STIs and, yes, even same-sex relationships.
Just because someone opposes a topic, does not give them the right to deny another human being the information regarding it. This practical knowledge should be for everyone.
When we get to the bottom line, this issue is about human rights. So I ask you, whose rights do we put first: the parents’ right to keep their child ignorant or a child’s right to a proper education?
Sean Burgess
Stettler