The Impact of Sex Education on the Status of Women in the United States

Abstract

As social identities are more and more developed and people’s awareness of self-identity is blooming, sexual-related topics are frequently becoming the most highlighted topic in nowadays social topics. Sexual minorities and women as two relatively disadvantaged groups in social structure, LGBTQ+ and women’s rights, and status occupied greater weight in motions and social norms. Self-identification and self-protection are where sex education is involved. Sex education is an important part for an individual to form a sane identity, and it does not merely exist in school but (should) exist in society outside of schools’ high walls. Sex education is an important step to equip the educated with the essential knowledge to protect themselves away from sexual problems, conduct safe, healthy, and responsible sexual behavior and enhance reproductive health. This article will use a case study to examine how sex education relates to women’s status or social identities by comparing the sex education curriculum and social situation in two major American states, Texas and New York. Analyze how different pedagogical, curricular, and instructional approach greatly impacts the status of women in these states, exploring the laws and the regulation that govern these practices. This article will show how they impact women´s physical and mental health, their income levels, and their professional advancement. It will argue how systematical sex education affects the status of women in New York and Texas and conclude the effective measure to improve the women’s status, which would be helpful to present the importance of sex education, and provide feminism and also sexual minorities a new key effective point to sustain their rights.