Lee is a 15-year-old boy living in Los Angeles, California. He attends a multi-cultural high school comprised of 2,200 students of various backgrounds. Recently, he has been required to enroll in a sex education class where the students learn about different events in culture that lead to our knowledge regarding sex today. Mrs. Gabbert is the teacher and has been teaching this sort of class for 15 years. Lee notices that a lot of the boys chuckle and laugh when it comes to serious issues regarding sex. The boys seem to mainly ask questions about condoms and birth control, and when the teacher answers their questions, they whoop and holler. The girls find it rather immature, and they tend to divert the questions more towards teen pregnancy and abortion. The topic of abortion strikes a chord with Lee, as he has been brought up to believe that all life should be valued, but some in the class disagree and think that a woman’s body is hers to deal with and make the choices as she pleases. Others take a more moderate approach and believe that abortion is only right if the mother’s life is in danger or she is a victim of rape.

To give a counter-opinion, Lee thinks an alternative to abortion is the legal adoption of the babies by a qualified set of parents. This causes a split in the classroom, though, as some believe that qualified adoption means a typical husband and wife, while others believe adoption should be open to gay and lesbian partners. Still others think that adoption should be available for those who are single, as long as the income is available to support it. This became such a hot topic in the classroom that Mrs. Gabbert decided to setup a debate about these issues. She provides the students with a series of questions to answer regarding the topics, and they are to act as a group to answer the questions and present their stance on the topics.

Based on what you have just read and using your textbook as a reference, answer the following questions:

1. how would you give a biological definition of sex? Give your own definition and what you think it means in the context of society.

2. How do you believe the sexual revolution and counter-revolution, has influenced the events taking place in this class? Support your statements with examples (from textbook or other sources).

3. Examine the different issues at play here. Why do you believe the girls may be more concerned with teen pregnancy and subject of abortion more so than the boys?

4. Why might the boys think condoms and birth control are funny subjects? What influence do you believe the subjects of pornography, prostitution (especially in media), and pre-marital sex have upon adolescents?

5. Examine the three theoretical analyses of sexuality. Which one do you believe applies to this situation? According to information from the textbook, which theory do you believe these children probably believe?

6. What influence do you believe the recent gay rights movement has had on this classroom environment? What does the textbook have to say regarding matters of sexual orientation?

7. Why do you think both the boys and girls may have equal opinions regarding matters of abortion? Explain the two major positions of abortion and how this may influence the different generations.