Representing Uncertainty in the Sexuality Curriculum: Understanding Conflicts Over Meaning in a Participatory Media Project

• In Event: Complexities of Student (Dis)Engagement

Abstract

The adjacent fields of curriculum studies and sexual health education share an interest in understanding how youth learn about sexuality and gender through analyzing media and creating their own media stories. Media representations have for some time now offered an important context for youth to acquire information about sexuality and reproductive health, learn to deconstruct normative ideologies and stereotypes, and experience the emancipatory possibilities of self-representation. The paper will explore findings from an in-depth, qualitative case study of a community-based sexuality and media education program, and discuss the implications of these findings for educational research on the emotional difficulties and interpretive dilemmas that both produce the sexuality curriculum, and enable youth to develop their own perspectives on sexuality and gender.

Author

• Karyn E. Sandlos, School of the Art Institute of Chicago