Innovation and Integration of Sexuality in Family Life Education

Published date01 July 2020
AuthorStephen T. Russell,Allen B. Mallory,Meg D. Bishop,Armin A. Dorri
Date01 July 2020
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12462
S T. R, A B. M, M D. B,  A A. DUniversity
of Texas at Austin
Innovation and Integration of Sexuality in Family
Life Education
As a fundamental aspect of the human expe-
rience, sexuality is experienced at every stage
in the life span. Sexual values, behaviors, and
health are important components of individual
and family well-being. Educating about such
a fundamental aspect of life is both obvious
and crucial. In this article, we consider the
potential of sexuality education in the eld and
profession of family life education (FLE). We
critique sexuality education in the United States
and the marginal place of human sexuality in the
FLE eld. We then offer recommendations for
incorporating life span, socioecological, fam-
ily systems, and intersectionality perspectives
into sexuality education, and recommendations
for FLE and sexuality education research and
practice. We argue that educating about sexu-
ality in the context of FLE—and activating the
profession of FLE for sexuality education—will
strategically advance sexuality education,
sexual health, and the eld of FLE.
Sexuality is a fundamental aspect of the human
experience. Sexuality is experienced at every
stage in the life span, and intersects with feel-
ings, experiences, and practices at all levels,
from intrapersonal to interpersonal, social,
and cultural. Further, sexuality is an impor-
tant component of public health, individual
Department of Human Development and Family Sciences,
University of Texasat Austin (stephen.russell@utexas.edu).
Key Words: family life education, sex education, sexuality
education.
health, and healthy families; educating about
such a central aspect of life is both obvious
andcrucial(Satcher, 2001).YetintheUnited
States, education about sexuality (or “sex edu-
cation”) has been contested for decades (Schalet
et al., 2014). We believe the eld and profession
of family life education (FLE) is positioned to
play a more central role in sexuality education
than has been the case to date.
In this article, we argue that strategically
educating about sexuality in the context of
FLE—and activating the profession of FLE for
sexuality education—will advance sexuality
education, sexual health and well-being, and the
eld of FLE. To make this case, we begin with a
review of theories that are foundational for both
FLE and sexuality education. We,then, critically
analyze both U.S. sexuality education and the
position of human sexuality in the eld of FLE.
Those critiques illuminate gaps that FLE could
ll with respect to sexuality education. We con-
clude that life span and intersectional diversity
are crucial approaches for the provision of sex-
uality education and provide recommendations
for future research and practice within FLE.
T F
Sexuality encompasses a broad range of topics
and dimensions, including physical, mental,
and social well-being across the life course
(Satcher, 2001); further,sexuality isembedded
in and inuenced by interpersonal relation-
ships, as well as by broader sociocultural values
andbeliefs(Darling&Howard, 2015).This
Family Relations 69 (July 2020): 595–613595
DOI:10.1111/fare.12462
596 Family Relations
understanding of sexuality can be informed
by and is remarkably aligned with core theo-
ries and frameworks that guide FLE (Darling
et al., 2017, 2020;Darling&Howard, 2015),
including the life course perspectives (e.g.
Elder,1998), socioecological theory (Bron-
frenbenner, 1979),systemstheory(Jurich&
Myers-Bowman, 1998),andintersectionality
theory(Crenshaw, 1989). Lifecourseperspec-
tives focus on how multiple forces—individual
agency, social ties, life events, historical
time—work together to shape individuals’
trajectories from birth until death. Socioecolog-
ical theory addresses the multilevel interactions
between individuals and small (e.g., family)
to large (e.g., public policy) social contexts,
and how those interactions shape behavior at
each level. Systems theory moves beyond the
individual to describe how the interdependence
and patterns of interaction of actors within
family, institutional, and cultural systems shape
actions that may carry over to other systems of
interaction. Originating from the Black feminist
movement(CohambeeRiver Collective, 1977)
and coined by Kimberly Crenshaw, intersection-
ality theory emphasizes that individuals have
multiple overlapping identities, tied to social
systems of privilege and oppression, which put
people at unique social locations that affect their
lived experiences.
Each of these theories have been fundamental
to contemporary research and theory regarding
sexuality and are considered essential for effec-
tive sexuality education by leading authorities
on sexuality education, such as the Sexuality
Education Information Council of the United
States (Future of Sexuality Education Initiative
[FoSE], 2012) and the World Health Organiza-
tion (United Nations Women& UNICEF, 2018).
Because sexuality is embedded in relationships
and cultures, and dynamic throughout the life
course, sexuality education should both be
informed by and address these aspects of human
sexuality.
Fundamental assumptions of life course the-
ory, socioecological theory, systems theory, and
intersectionality theory hold that there is an
interplay between the individual and family with
social, cultural, and historical contexts. When
integrated through the lens of human sexual-
ity, these theories help illuminate how people
negotiate and understand their sexuality and
sexual experiences at the dynamic interplay of
their relationships and sociocultural contexts
(Fine, 1988;Salazaret al., 2010).Aunifying
assumption across each theory is that individuals
are nested in a particular social ecology and that
the interchange between the individual and the
environment shapes individuals’ experiences.
Individuals understand and experience sexu-
ality in the context of their family upbringing,
cultural values, and sociopolitical contexts. Yet
individuals are more than subjects of their social
ecology; they have agency within those con-
texts. Thus, a second unifying principle focuses
on human agency, or the mutuality between
individual action and the affordances (that is,
constraints or opportunities) provided by the
social context over an individual’s life course.
At most life stages, people have the capac-
ity for self-determination or agency within the
context of a particular sociohistorical time (as
informed by life course theory). Their agency
is dened by the bi-directionality of inuence
between the individual and larger social contexts
(as informed by socioecological theory), recog-
nizing the interdependence of the individual and
other components of the systems in which they
are embedded (as informed by systems theory).
Agency and empowerment are core assumptions
of feminist theory, and an intersectional feminist
lens suggests that a person’s agency can be con-
strained or augmented by their unique congu-
ration of social identities and social location at
the intersections of larger social systems. From
the lens of human sexuality, this understanding
of human agency illuminates the ways that sex-
uality has distinct roles and meanings at different
stages of the life course and across distinct his-
torical periods, and that historical, social, legal,
policy,and practice contexts shape human sexual
identity and experience.
There are also the distinctive contributions of
each theory that together point to fundamental
diversity in human sexuality. A focus on the
life course directs attention to heterogeneity
in individual trajectories, even in the face of
similar life backgrounds or experiences; that
heterogeneity is the basis of diversity in future
outcomes. The socioecological model indicates
that people interact with multiple hierarchical
social contexts simultaneously and that the
amount of inuence one has varies by proximity
to these contexts. Systems theory holds that
individual patterns are constrained by the larger
pattern of interactions in a system, and that
these patterns of interaction carry over from
one system to another. Intersectionality theory

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