Taboo

[Kanzler]

I feel our sex education needs to make progress if people are still using this sentence ;)

Joking aside

Sex education.
It tiptoes around important information and it is only taught in any semblance of "properly" too late. There's a taboo about certain aspects of such important information (like providing information for homosexuals - male and female alike) or teaching it at all out of fear of "corrupting innocence".

Should it be necessary to teach the details of sex with regards to homosexuals? I don't feel that sex education is about teaching how to have sex - the details for heterosexual sex is important insofar as it pertains to the reproductive aspect, which is something you teach so people avoid it (unless they want to be teen parents I don't know).

 

[Oryx]

Should it be necessary to teach the details of sex with regards to homosexuals? I don't feel that sex education is about teaching how to have sex - the details for heterosexual sex is important insofar as it pertains to the reproductive aspect, which is something you teach so people avoid it (unless they want to be teen parents I don't know).

Sex education isn't called reproductive education for a reason - it should to teach you things like how to avoid harming yourself (STDs, UTIs) and how to avoid harming others (anatomy, consent). While understanding how reproduction occurs is important as well, I think it's a serious missed opportunity to let people learn about the many, many normal ways to have sex through porn where there are so many misconceptions that people get seriously messed up in what's "normal". Just like many other parts of school, it would serve a social purpose instead of an academic one.

Of course, this would require having a frank discussion on the details of sex which is probably never going to happen.

 

[gimmepie]

I feel as though it actually is important for the sake of inclusivity and comfort. I'm not the kind of person who generally thinks that we should go out of our way to cater to every tiny little group of people, nor am I gay so I don't know.

What I will say though is this
- If I were a homosexual student with queries and fears etc etc, I'd like to know the facts before getting into a sexual relationship.
- I have actually met people who didn't realise you can get STIs from gay sex
- The mentality that sexual intercourse is just for reproduction in modern society and not for recreational/romantic purposes too is severely outdated. It is important that rather than try to dissuade young people from becoming sexually active, we make sure they know about the relevant laws and can make informed decisions. Thankfully I live in a country that isn't too shaky in this regard but we don't teach enough about legality.

 

[Kanzler]

When I brought up the education of reproductive details, I had in mind that it is the only thing really separating homosexual from heterosexual relationships. Otherwise I don't really see the need to cater ... but yes it's rather sad that people think you can't get STIs from gay sex for god knows what reason. It should be clearly taught sexual education that diseases are transmitted through the exchange of fluids and the inference that everybody is susceptible to getting STIs should logically follow, but perhaps most people aren't scientifically inclined enough to make the connection.

 

[Grey Wind]

When I brought up the education of reproductive details, I had in mind that it is the only thing really separating homosexual from heterosexual relationships. Otherwise I don't really see the need to cater ... but yes it's rather sad that people think you can't get STIs from gay sex for god knows what reason. It should be clearly taught sexual education that diseases are transmitted through the exchange of fluids and the inference that everybody is susceptible to getting STIs should logically follow, but perhaps most people aren't scientifically inclined enough to make the connection.

Including discussion about queer people in sex ed isn't just about STIs (also, gay sex and anal sex aren't synonymous (which is what you seem to be implying sometimes), so talking about other ways to get STIs doesn't necessarily including talking about LGBT+ issues). I think it's really important to cover sexual orientations and gender identity and everything related to it. Society is so heteronormative that a frank discussion about sexuality and gender identity in sex ed classes would definitely help people to feel included and come to terms with themselves (and others).

Also describing a sex ed teacher talking about queerness as "catering" sounds kind of homophobic. :/

 

[Poki]

Swear words, talking about sex or anything that might be considered pervy, age gaps in relationships (like gimmepie mentioned); y'know, stuff like that.

 

[Kanzler]

Also describing a sex ed teacher talking about queerness as "catering" sounds kind of homophobic. :/

Well, in many places it would be considered out of the norm, and a sex ed teacher talking about queerness would be going out of his way to do it (relative to everybody else). It's just how it is atm.

 

[Amaruuk]

Swear words, definitely. Never got why certain synonyms of otherwise benign words were somehow bad. Even if they can be used in a derogatory way, the words themselves aren't bad, it's the context.

Being open about sex and sexuality in general, straight or otherwise. I mean yeah, in certain company it'd be TMI to talk about sex stuff but sex is a normal biological function. In fact I'd extend this to any natural function or bodily thing, like illness (physiological or mental), miscarriage, etc.

Actually, I want to extend even further, to human feelings that aren't quite "taboo" per se but seem to be discouraged in our society from being expressed, particularly in social media and the internet in general. Online we're kind of pressured, if unconsciously, to portray only our best side, and hide things like loneliness, sadness, envy, and other negative emotions for fear of appearing like attention-seeking whiners or just negative in general, and if you're trying to market yourself professionally via the internet, you have to be extra careful. And if you don't have many trusted people to share these things with, it can be very isolating and heavy indeed. However, these feelings are just as much a part of the human experience as feelings of success and togetherness that we see more often in our feeds. This, at least for me, breeds feelings of inadequacy and makes me feel even more distanced, even though I know deep down that all those people are also human and probably feel the same way. Can we not all just be human?

 

[Gigadweeb]

Black comedy. If it's a joke, it's a joke. Lighten up a little.

 

[stp]

Black comedy. If it's a joke, it's a joke. Lighten up a little.

Black comedy is hilarious and absurdly true at times. When people get offended at George Carlin's bits, I can't help but laugh.

Pornography is still extremely taboo in many places and I have no idea why.

 

[Kawaii Shoujo Duskull]

Crossdressing. Its all just clothing, people can wear what they want.(Well, unless its in cases where you can't wear what you want for one reason or another like some jobs or whatever--but that goes without saying.) Its not hurting anybody. Get over it.


Also--I agree with the swearing thing. Its not bad. Its only bad if its used for bad things like insulting/degrading/making fun of people and etc. Though hearing words like that can get annoying after a while if they're said a lot, at least for me anyway.

 

[Sonata]

Tattoos or piercings. I mean, I can see why it wouldn't look good if you work a job where you work with the public because if you've got 3' tunnels it might be off-putting or if you have a bunch of tattoos that are very graphic that might be a problem. But they are easy to cover or get rid of, as long as you don't have facial tattoos, hand tats, or other very noticeable things.