'The Ravages of Permissiveness': Sex Education and the Permissive Society

Abstract

In this article we explore how sex education in schools has become an adversarial political issue. Although sex education has never been a wholly uncontroversial subject, we show that for two decades after the Second World War there was a broad consensus among policy-makers that it offered a solution to public health and social problems, especially venereal disease. From the late 1960s, this consensus came under attack. As part of a wider effort to reverse the changes associated with the 'permissive' society and legislation of the late 1960s, moral traditionalists and pro-family campaigners sought to problematize sex education. They depicted it as morally corrupting and redefined it as a problem rather than a public health solution. Henceforth, the politics of sex education became increasingly polarized and adversarial. We conclude that the fractious debates about sex education in the 1980s and 1990s are a legacy of this reaction against the permissive society.

‘It's got to be about enjoying yourself’: young people, sexual pleasure, and sex and relationships education

“…Following an HMI (His Majesty's Inspectorate) report that sex education in British schools was inadequate, in 1943 The Ministry of Education published the first guidance on sex education in the form of a pamphlet, Sex Education in Schools and Youth Organisations. Hampshire and Lewis (2004) stress that though this, and subsequent guidance, was tentative and not without controversy, objections were relatively latent for the next two decades.…”

“…Hampshire and Lewis (2004) point out that post Second World War policy makers broadly agreed that sex education was warranted as a solution to public health problems, particularly the increasing incidence of STIs. Following an HMI (His Majesty's Inspectorate) report that sex education in British schools was inadequate, in 1943 The Ministry of Education published the first guidance on sex education in the form of a pamphlet, Sex Education in Schools and Youth Organisations.…”

Sex, science and educational research: the unholy trinity1

“…Before inquiring into such redress and the role of educational research in its amelioration, it is helpful to address the questions 'why this, why now?' We do so only in passing and refer readers to the instructive history offered by Bonell and others (see Kellogg et al, 1975;Hampshire & Lewis, 2004). It seems that in 1974, the Spectator identified 'one of the most savagely damaging lobbies a society has ever had to confront', a danger so great that it might 'destroy the family' (Hampshire & Lewis, 2004, pp.…”

Initiatives to support the inclusion of pleasure in sexual health and sex education work with young people An impact evaluation

“…In sum, the booklet got caught up in broader, unending, adversarial debates about sex education (Hampshire and Lewis, 2004) and manifested in a formal complaint to the NHS Trust within which CHIVSH was located at the time. More ominously, the Director of the CHIVSH was subject to numerous negative communications including death threats.…”