What’s Sex Got to Do With It? Considering Sexuality in Research on Curriculum, New Technologies, and Youth Identities

• In Event: Roundtable Session 58
  In Roundtable Session: Sex, Scandal, and Pop Culture: Considering Technology in Curriculum Theory

Abstract

A great deal of recent research in critical media literacy/new literacies focuses on new technologies and their relationship to student literacies. To date, however, this research largely ignores how sexuality shapes students’ experiences with these technologies and the implications for curriculum development, youth identities, and student literacies. This oversight is particularly noteworthy, given the pervasiveness of sexuality in technology and in adolescents’ lives. In this paper, I make the case for considering the significant role sexuality plays in these contexts. I illustrate how the fusion of three seemingly disparate fields – critical media literacy/new literacies, public health education/policy, and critical sexuality education – can lead to a future research agenda for doing so.

Author

• Catherine S. Ashcraft, University of Colorado - Boulder