The book aims to change the conversation about sexuality education for adolescents, making it consistent with a democratic cultural politics that is attuned to changes in youth and popular culture. Traditional sex education is nearly obsolete; sexuality curriculum is now primarily learned through popular culture and youth culture, which teach young people what it means to be a man and a woman, gay and straight, white, black, and Latino, rich and poor – and what sexuality has to do with it. Ultimately, this book conceptualizes democratic sexuality education as a commitment to the idea that sexuality education should affirm the right of all young people to construct their own sexual selves and relations as much as possible, so long as they are non-exploitive, consensual, and informed.
