Students and staff engage in sexual discourse at SDEI event
The Office of Student Diversity, Equity and Inclusion hosted its event ‘We Don’t Talk About Sex In Our Cultura’ where guest speaker Bernadette Blanco, Director of Education at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (PPGC) discussed the importance of talking about sex, sexual orientation or sex education in an open and comfortable way, especially for young adults. The event was hosted as part of Hispanic Heritage Month.
PPGC is an affiliate that covers all of southeast Texas and across Louisiana. They are also a non-profit organization whose vision is centered around healthcare, education and advocacy.
Blanco explained what Planned Parenthood has to offer, then dove into their values. Blanco encouraged everyone in the room to think about their own values and views on sex and sexuality.
“When we think about our values, I’d like you all to think about your upbringing and how that experience has shaped who you are,” Blanco said. “Our personal experiences are all very different and how we identify ourselves is very different based on that experience.”
Blanco then asked the group to participate in surveys where everyone was presented with questions pertaining to how one identifies and what age group one identifies as. Those in attendance answered questions about how they were taught about sex and how one’s family talked about sex and sexuality at home.
Most of the survey participants expressed they felt their parents did not openly talk about sex enough in the home during their adolescence. Some even expressed that their schools did not give proper or adequate sexual education.
“When young people have access to this information, [sexual education] they are more empowered to make the best decisions for themselves,” Blanco said.
Blanco went on to explain how it is common for caring adults or parents to use slang terms when talking about their body parts. Blanco it is important to teach children the correct terms like penis or vagina early on because it makes them more likely to be safer when it comes to sex, and more comfortable in their sexuality in the future.
The event ended with open conversation which gave students and faculty the opportunity to voice any of the experiences they had in their lives pertaining to sexual education or their own sexuality.
“It’s all about empowerment,” Blanco said. “The reason we come to universities and talk about these topics is so they can feel more empowered about sex and their sexuality.”
To learn more about the resources Planned Parenthood has to offer or to get any questions answered go to their website where you can chat online with a health educator or text “PPNOW” to 774636 (PPINFO) to get answers.
