Pedagogies of sexuality: discourses, practices and (mis)encounters in integrated health care for adolescents

Abstract

This ethnographic study analyzes sex education actions undertaken by health professionals in a primary healthcare center and in a public school in a peripheral neighborhood in São Paulo. Educational interventions focused on the individual responsibility of girls and the risks related to teenage pregnancy. The notion of pregnancy as a disruptive factor in life projects was in line with the traditionalist common sense present in girls' daily lives, reflecting gender asymmetries. However, the sexual health needs reported by adolescents involve comprehensive subjects such as gender diversity and sexuality, mental health issues and changes experienced in early adolescence. Sexuality education is part of the process of construction of the individual and can contribute reflections and experiences that engender a practice of care for self and others.