Mississippi Sex Education Lesson Reportedly Compares Non-Virgins To Dirty Chocolate (UPDATE)
Sex education in Mississippi still has a long way to go.
Parent Marie Barnard, who works in public health, recently told the Los Angeles Times that students in her sons' school wereinstructed to unwrap a Peppermint Pattie chocolate, pass it around and take note of how it soiled. Barnard said the lesson was designed “to show that a girl is no longer clean or valuable after she's had sex -- that she's been used.”
A representative for the Mississippi Department of Education was not immediately available for comment.
The Times reports that although sex education is now required in the state, school districts are allowed to choose between teaching abstinence-only programs or abstinence-plus programs, which touch on contraception. The outlet calculated that of the state's "151 school districts and four special schools, 81 chose abstinence-only and 71 chose abstinence-plus; some districts did a combination of the two."
In 2011, Mississippi passed a bill that required sex education be taught in schools. Educators starting implementing the lessons in the 2012-2013 school year.
According to a report from The Guttmacher Institute, Mississippi does not require sex education be culturally appropriate or unbiased. Additionally, parents are allowed to opt their children out of sex education.
The state currently has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country.
Unfortunately, lessons that compare non-virgins to dirty or used objects have been used in other states.
In November, worksheets obtained from a sex education course in Texas showed that teachers were instructed to “encourage students to stay like a new toothbrush, wrapped and unused.” Additionally, the worksheet said that, “people want to marry a virgin, just like they want a virgin toothbrush or stick of gum.”
The Guttmacher Institute notes that only 22 states in the country require that sex education be taught in schools. When sex education is taught, only 18 states require lessons include information about contraception.
UPDATE: April 6 -- The superintendent of the district accused of using the Peppermint Pattie analogy in the Los Angeles Times article told Mississippi outlet The Clarion-Ledger that the original story was misleading.
“The curriculum mentioned in the L.A. Times article was part of the initial and only state-approved pilot three years ago,” Oxford School District Superintendent Brian Harvey told The Clarion-Ledger. “We have been teaching an entirely different curriculum in our classrooms in the last two years."
So your friend who lives in Mississippi, tells you about this lesson about peppermint patties (whether it happened or didn't). What is your response to them? They ask you about your health class and what your friends know or not know about sex education. What would you recommend to them?
Comments (16)
wikiuser0635 said
at 3:40 pm on Mar 2, 2015
I would agree with them and disagree at the same time. I would recommend them to use protection and don't do drugs or drink when having sex.
wikiuser0623 said
at 3:34 pm on Mar 6, 2015
I would tell them that I completely disagree with the teachings. I feel that it is a person's choice as to whether they are sexually active or not and that doesn't make them "dirty" or "used". I would tell them to yes be safe and if they choose to not be abstinent then they should use protection while having sex. I would also tell them to look up videos on YouTube if they have any questions because there are many great videos if they are still a little clueless about sex ed.
wikiuser0640 said
at 9:15 pm on Mar 16, 2015
I'll recommend to my friend who is ready to talk about sex but afraid to ask an trusted adult I would not recommend that class I'll tell him or her straight up don't care how uncomfortable I am and honestly I confused with the Sex ed experiment ?
wikiuser0637 said
at 1:49 pm on Mar 19, 2015
That was of teaching is very wrong. I would say to stay away from it but if you do use protection
wikiuser0636 said
at 11:28 pm on Mar 20, 2015
In my opinion, I feel that this way of teaching students about how comparing this analogy to non-virgins isn't right. It all comes down to the individuals choice whether or not to partake in such activities and to use the best possible means of preventing any sort of risk if they choose to do so. Simply calling non-virgins "soiled" only displays a one sided opinion rather than giving them a choice whether to think it is or not. I would tell them the best way to go about teaching sex education is to always give both sides of the argument and let the individual decide what is right and what is wrong.
wikiuser0641 said
at 12:25 pm on Mar 22, 2015
Since having sex is individual's choice, people who are non-virgins should not be described as dirty and not valuable. However, having a safe sex and protecting themselves is very important.
wikiuser0642 said
at 8:47 pm on Mar 22, 2015
I would disagree because it's your own choice if you want to have sex with someone. I think everyone should use protection. I would tell them that the right way to learn is to know every side of someone's opinion.
wikiuser0646 said
at 8:13 am on Mar 23, 2015
sex always have a downfall to it and you both should talk about it before you decude to start undressing yourself be smart with your stuff
wikiuser0626 said
at 9:32 am on Mar 23, 2015
I would advise them to talk to their parents or doctor because I'm not licensed or educated enough to comfortly teach facts about sex education to someone else. I could tell the kid my opinions, but I certainly would be too worried about giving out false information.
Naug said
at 10:14 am on Mar 23, 2015
Thank you.
wikiuser0630 said
at 4:36 pm on Mar 23, 2015
I would tell my friend that what they've been taught is not correct and that they'd be better off learning on their own. The internet is a wonderful source of information and it can be accessed quite easily. In addition to that suggestion of self-teaching, I would say to talk with their parents or another adult figure about sex education because there may be other options available to them that they are unaware of.
wikiuser0632 said
at 5:52 pm on Mar 23, 2015
I would tell my friend that they had been taught a lesson from a very closed-minded and unaccepting curriculum. I would inform him/her that what he/she had heard is incorrect, and then I would offer my notes from my sexual education course. I would also comfort him/her by explaining that sexual activity has nothing at all to do with somebody's worth.
wikiuser0647 said
at 6:01 pm on Mar 23, 2015
Having sex doesn't make you a bad person. I would tell my friend that what they have been learning was wrong. If they had questions I would let them ask me or they could look it up. Teaching sex ed the wrong way just makes everything worse because then the students will not know how to have safe sex and it will ultimately lead to more disease and unplanned pregnancies.
wikiuser0624 said
at 10:24 pm on Mar 23, 2015
I wouldn't do drugs before sex because you don't know what your doing and always use protection.
wikiuser0627 said
at 8:07 am on Mar 24, 2015
I would not feel comfortable giving advice to a person about having sex. The right person to ask is your parents. The lesson about the peppermint pattie was very inappropriate and could be insulting to some individuals.
wikiuser0645 said
at 9:38 am on Mar 27, 2015
I would be a little concerned that this was being taught in a public school. I think that in a public school the lessons need to adapt to society today because kids will have sex so instead of telling them not to help them protect themselves. I would tell them that they could look over my notes from my own class.
You don't have permission to comment on this page.