Constitutional Law

Article Says Abstinence-only Programs Advance Gender Stereotypes

Abstinence-only sex education programs are not only ineffective, but also advance harmful gender stereotypes, say Bonnie Scott Jones and Michelle Movahed, in a recent Issue Brief released by the American Constitution Society. The authors, both with the U.S. Legal Program at the Center for Reproductive Rights, examine a little-noticed aspect of an issue that has otherwise been much studied. In their article, “Lesson One: Your Gender is Your Destiny – The Constitutionality of Teaching Sex Stereotypes in Abstinence-Only Programs,” Jones and Movahed note that the programs used in the nation’s public schools “suffer from numerous flaws.” For example, some of the programs include the dissemination of lots of misinformation.

But they assert that some of the abstinence-only programs also contain the “deeply harmful flaw” of promoting gender stereotypes. Some of the programs “teach boys and girls their abilities, natures, capacities, and potential are defined and limited by gender,” states the article. The entire Issue Brief is available here.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on September 22, 2008 (boomark / email).