Progressive Sexuality Education: The Conceits of Secularism

209 Pages·2016·1.318 MB·English

by  Mary Lou Rasmussen

Progressive Sexuality Education
This book engages contemporary debates about the notion of secularism outside of the field of
education to consider how secularism shapes the formation of progressive sexuality education.
Focusing on the US, Canada, Ireland, Aotearoa-New Zealand, and Australia, this text considers
the affinities, prejudices, and attachments of scholars who advocate secular worldviews in the
context of sexuality education and some of the consequences that ensue from these ways of
seeing.
This study identifies and interrogates how secularism infuses progressive sexuality
education. It asks readers to consider their own investments in particular ways of thinking and
researching in the field of sexuality education and to think about how these investments have
developed and how they shape existing discourses within the field. It hones in on how
progressive sexuality education has come to develop in the way that it has and how this
relates to conceits of secularism. This book prompts a consideration of how progressive
scholarship and practice might get in the way of meaningful conversations with students,
teachers, and peers who think differently about the field of sexuality education.
Mary Lou Rasmussen is associate professor of education at Monash University, Australia.
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Progressive Sexuality Education
The Conceits of Secularism
Mary Lou Rasmussen
First published 2016
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 Taylor & Francis
The right of Mary Lou Rasmussen to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by
her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
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and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
CIP data has been applied for.
ISBN: 978-0-415-84272-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-75846-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
For my parents, Marie and Jack Rasmussen and Lou Preston
Contents
Acknowledgements
1 Introduction
2 Faith, Progressive Sexuality Education, and Queer Secularism: Unsettling
Associations
3 Sexuality Education in Public Schools in Australia and Aotearoa-New Zealand
MARY LOU RASMUSSEN AND FIDA SANJAKDAR, MONASH UNIVERSITY; KATHLEEN QUINLIVAN, UNIVERSITY
OF CANTERBURY, CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND; LOUISA ALLEN, UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND, NEW
ZEALAND; ANNETTE BROMDAL, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND; CLIVE ASPIN, INDEPENDENT
RESEARCHER, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.
4 Sex Panics, Sexuality Education, and Secular Explanations
5 Pleasure/Desire, Secularism, and Sexuality Education
6 On Not Feeling Homophobic
7 Progressive Public Pedagogies of Pregnancy and Choice
8 Ireland, Canada, and Australia: Tracing Progressive Sexuality Education Across
Borders
  Conclusion: The Conceits of Secularism in Sexuality Education
Index
Acknowledgements
Writing this book has taken longer than anticipated. I want to thank the publishers for sticking
with this project through challenging times. Given the length of time it has taken to pull this
book together, I have also had the benefit of many conversations with peers that have helped
in the production of this manuscript, including William Pinar at University of British
Columbia, who was a generous host in the early stages of research for this book, as well as
Mary Bryson and Janice Stewart at UBC’s Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social
Justice. I also want to thank Jen Gilbert, who hosted a paper presentation at York University in
Toronto, and Wayne Martino, who also invited me to speak at the University of Western
Ontario. Nancy Lesko gave me the opportunity to discuss ideas associated with this text in a
class with graduate students at Teachers College, Columbia University, and Susan Talburt also
hosted a lecture relating to the book at the Institute for Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality
Studies at Georgia State University. I also want to thank Irina Schmitt, for an invitation to
present my work on Juno at the Centre for Gender Studies at Lund University, and Daniel
Marshall for joining me on the Rainbow Tour, where we have engaged in many conversations
about this manuscript.
In England, Ireland, and Wales I was also given opportunities to present on research related
to this project. At University of Limerick, at the invitation of Aoife Neary, I was able to discuss
ideas on secularism and sexuality education in the Irish context at a seminar “New
Foundations: School ‘Ethos’ and LGBT Sexualities.” I was also able to present ideas relating to
homophobia and religious and cultural difference at an Economic and Social Research Council
(ESRC)-sponsored seminar, “The Invaded Body,” organized by Emma Renold at Cardiff
University. A keynote address related to this book was also organized by Pam Alldred at
Brunel University, at an event titled “Knowing Young People: The Politics of Researching
Sexuality With Young People.” I also want to thank Pam for helping me think more about the
Irish context in relation the preparation of this manuscript.
I also want to thank Fida Sanjakdar, Clive Aspin, Annette Bromdal, Louisa Allen, and
Kathleen Quinlivan, researchers with whom I worked on the Australian Research Council-
funded Discovery Grant, Sexuality Education in Australia and New Zealand: Responding to
Cultural and Religious Difference. This grant overlapped with the writing of this book in
innumerable ways, and the conversations I had with these peers were incredibly generative in
imagining this book project. I also want to publically acknowledge the intellectual generosity
of this team in supporting me in the preparation of this monograph. I want especially to thank