Teen boys feel uncertain about exploring the perceived realities of youth sexual culture

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While typical consent education in secondary schools may justify or provide a ‘road map’ to consent, teenage boys feel uncertain and anxious about exploring the perceived realities of youth sexual culture, according to new research from the University of Surrey.

The research explores how boys are taught about consent in school and how they relate to and interpret educational messages about consent.

The study included classroom observations, individual focus groups with boys, and discussions with teachers. Participating schools included a co-educational academy in a relatively middle-class (white British) monocultural (white British) semi-rural area; a boys’ academy in a socio-economically disadvantaged metropolitan area serving predominantly black and minority ethnic students; and an independent boys’ school in an urban area that serves a group of relatively socio-economically privileged.

Dr Emily Stey, study author and senior lecturer in Criminology, said:

Abstractly, most boys found these lessons useful and provided them with a clear set of restrictions that they had to follow. However, it seemed that they were often framed as initiators of sex and it was clear that they experienced some of the tensions and dilemmas they faced, as initiators, in securing a partner’s approval sexual.

“I think we need to think about the premise and goals of consent education. My discussions with boys have often explored the nature of ‘choice’ and the limitations of choice that exists.

“Instead of hoping that knowledge changes behavior in a linear and desirable way, we may need to think about why this does not happen. We can then begin to use consent education to enable young people to practice and develop the skills and emotional literacy required to support their rights and each other’s rights to free and informed choice.” .

“Education must deal with the realities of ambivalence, ambiguity, and uncertainty, rather than trying to quell this through the rational education of consent. The path to consensual and affirmative sexual relations is far from smooth, and we need to move forward in helping young people navigate the bends and bumps – both expected or encountered.

Educating young people about consent in schools in England is required as part of the RHSE curriculum.

Sexual violence, abuse, and harassment (SVAH) among young people is recognized as a global problem. In July 2020, the Invite All website was created, which encouraged young people to share testimonials about their experiences with SVAH in schools. There are now more than 55,000 degrees, with more than 3,000 named schools. A rapid response report by UK schools regulator Ofsted followed and detailed a worrying normalization of SVAH in state and independent schools and colleges. It was determined that gender non-conforming girls and youth are disproportionately likely to be victims of SVAH, while boys are more likely to perpetrate SVAH.

The RSHE on Sexual Consent in England usually educates about the law and ‘affirmative consent’ – which places the onus on sex initiators to secure consent through clear and straightforward agreement. However, this presents consent as something to be obtained as a minimal condition rather than being established ‘with enthusiasm’, which often diminishes boys’ ability to perceive themselves as having rights to obtain their sexual consent. Moreover, it has been found that this often creates a sense of responsibility, even burden, that may manifest itself in resistant and hostile attitudes.


Dr Emily Stey, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, University of Surrey

While the boys in the study believed that SVAH boys may have problems with impulse control and self-regulation, many of them reported a personal lack of emotional literacy and self-knowledge. They perceived a lack of space to interact with and explore their feelings and found it difficult to know how they could express feelings during sexual interactions.

source:

Journal reference:

City, E.; et al. (2022) Teaching adolescent boys about consent: Law and positive consent in boys’ social, sexual, and subjective cultures. gender roles. doi.org/10.1007/s11199-022-01335-9.

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