Abstract
The purpose of this work was to gather knowledge surrounding high school sex education courses and the impact of that educational experience on an individual. Additionally, the study was conducted to affirm experiences of inequity within the sex education system for queer youth. The researcher recruited participants who self-identified as queer and graduated from high school between the years of 2010-2014. Participants were asked a series of 12 retrospective and open-ended questions for their interview. Using snowball and convenience sampling techniques, six participants were recruited to complete in-person interviews. The narrative experience allowed participants to expand on their individual experiences to explore communal themes. Questions were hypothetical and reflectively phrased to allow for contemplation on the adequacy of their high school sex education experiences. More specifically, this study used an ethnographic approach where the researcher transcribed and analyzed interviews to identify and collect themes for further interpretation. The researcher used her background in queer and feminist theory as a framework for analysis. In conclusion, participants unanimously identified as experiencing a lack of visibility and safer sex education related to their queer experiences, often feeling completely left out of conversations in the classroom or having minimal recognition. In addition, the research further affirmed inequitable educational practices in sex education courses which continued to effect students into their college careers. The researcher identified findings which maintain problematic approaches in teaching young queer people how to access safer sex practices, gender identity affirmations and healthy queer relationships.