Birds Do It, Bees Do It: A Century of Sex (Mis)Education in the United States
Editor's Note: A marvelous online exhibit from the University of California, Berkeley and its libraries. Permanently online
From junior high school hygiene films to websites, public health campaigns, scientific studies, children’s books, bodice-ripper novels and (sometimes) parents, Americans have always found ways to learn about sex. That information has at times been incorrect or incomplete, and has rarely been delivered without a larger political or moral agenda. While attitudes towards sex education swing from the blissfulness of ignorance to the empowerment of liberation — and back again — every generation finds new ways to answer the old questions. Our desire to learn about desire has not changed. This exhibition draws from the resources of campus libraries, from our academic programs, and from social services provided for the Berkeley campus community.
This exhibition explores the many ways Americans have employed over the last century to teach and learn about sex. It draws from the resources of campus libraries, from our academic programs and from social services provided for the Berkeley campus community.
Early Twentieth Century
The use of ambiguous language, euphemisms and symbolism to describe sex and its related issues characterizes the public discourse on sex in the early 20th century.
World War II Period & the 1950s
In the popular imagination, post-war America was a period of wholesomeness and restraint. But it was during this period that Alfred Kinsey, published the Kinsey Reports, and Masters and Johnson began their research on the nature of sexual response.
Learning from Lesbian and Gay Pulps
Pulps were cheaply produced novels made to be sold at news stands, bus stations and drugstores — places where readers could make quick, anonymous purchases without being exposed by their choice of reading matter.
Academic and Scholarly Works at UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley scholars have been researching sex, sexuality, and sex education for decades — possibly a hundred years.
FemSex
One of two early student-facilitated classes on sexuality taught through the DeCal program, Female Sexuality offered a safe space for students to learn about power and privilege as it relates to their sexual health and experiences.
Campus sexual health at UC Berkeley
Peer-based sexual health and education have been an integral — if not sometimes controversial — aspect of campus student health since 1970.
Heather, Hope and more
One of the first children’s books to feature a same-sex couple, Heather Has Two Mommies (1989) was self-published by author Lesléa Newman who reflects that "it is important for children to see their own images reflected back to themselves..."
The Sexual Revolution
The confluence of several phenomena in the United States during the 1960s and early 1970s facilitated the development of the so-called 'Sexual Revolution.'
The Seventies: children, teens and parents
During the 1970s, as with the media and pop culture general, increasing sexual candor found its way into literature for children and young adults.
Pages: 1 · 2
More Articles
- On A Chilly Saturday, Winter Graduates Turn to Their Future: “Some of (your) most important lessons came from a real-life curriculum no one ever anticipated”
- Prices are Spiking for Homes, Cars and Gas; Don’t Be Alarmed, Economists Say
- Dreading the Doctor’s Office: An Interview With the Author of Invisible Visits; Black Middle-Class Women in the American Healthcare System
- Strong Evidence that Hotter Weather Increases Both Suicide Rates and the Use of Depressive Language on Social Media
- The Looming Threat to Sex Education: A Resurgence of Federal Funding for Abstinence-Only Programs?
- "Robots Can Learn a Range of Visual Object Manipulation Skills Entirely on Their Own"
- How Far Have We've Come? Janet Yellen, Her Resignation and the Current Economic Outlook
- Am I Wearing Out My Welcome? "Ad Astra Per Aspera", To the Stars Through Difficulties
- The Riding the Beast Exhibit: The Train That Carries Central American Migrants Across Mexico
- ‘Yes Means Yes’: Grappling With Teen Sexual Assault
