Developing Sex Education

Before the advent of the twentieth century, there was no formalized and accurate sex education to speak of, as people back then only knew of sex as a way to reproduce or to satisfy their carnal desires. It was only in the 1830s that a bit formal sex education began to form when American and English health reformers and ministers began to publish pamphlets and books on the subject. These were theological and philosophical information aimed to help young boys, and seldom only addressed women, to control their sexual urges till they get married. It was only in the 1880s that sex education literature began to include women. The more formal movement for sex education started only in the early twentieth century, where sex education was no longer that focused on suppressing sexual urges or morality but on teaching the public about the many facets of sex.

Developing sex education

It was during this time that there was already a growing concern on practising safe methods of sex not only to avoid unwanted pregnancy but also the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. In 1914, reforms to achieve medical and moral improvement related to sex were made. It was the American Social Hygiene Association (ASHA) that lead this reform. It was during this time that a series of sex education lectures were given and a program in “sex instruction” for high-school-age youth was proposed. It was from there that sex education took off and began to resemble that which we are familiar today.