Scotland is on track to becoming the first country in the world to introduce LGBTQ+ education as part of its national curriculum from September 2020, setting an example for all countries around the world to follow suit. The programme will ensure that all students will receive a comprehensive education in LGBTQ+ issues such as discrimination against the community, its history and many others. However, what is most urgently needed - and appears to be missing - is the inclusion of compulsory LGBTQ+ inclusive sex education. Though sex education is currently compulsory in all UK schools, and has been since 2017, it is overwhelmingly heteronormative, meaning that in most cases it solely focuses on heterosexual relationships. In a world where LGBTQ+ issues are slowly becoming less stigmatised, schools must follow suit and reflect the needs of the younger generation by enforcing a comprehensive sex education plan that not only accommodates for those whom the current available sex education suits, but for all young adults regardless of sexual orientation.
Whether it is illegal or simply ignored, LGBTQ+ sex education is not available for most youth today, with only 12% of the population having received an all-inclusive sex education (according to a study conducted by the PRRI in 2015). Not only does this severe lack of representation in sex education have repercussions in terms of health, but also in perpetuating misinformation and heteronormative expectations that the youth today already have to conform to in a plethora ways in their day to day lives. The stigma surrounding homosexual relationships unfortunately still exists in society today, and so by making this simple change to the curriculum, governments could tackle the issue arguably where it matters the most: the attitudes and values of the youth.
Heteronormativity is a substantial issue, and one that the UK is still struggling with in 2020. This can be seen in almost all areas of society: from the underrepresentation in the media, to widespread views on marriage, heteronormativity essentially relies on the assumption that being straight and cis-gender (a term meaning that your gender identity aligns with your biological sex) is the ‘norm’. By continuing this issue in sex education, it reinforces the misconception that heterosexual couples are the ‘default’, and therefore the only ones worth educating. Health benefits resulting from comprehensive sex education is simply another benefit, amongst a wealth of others, afforded to those who conform to society’s unrealistic expectations of being straight. Though for some people LGBTQ+ sex education is a topic that is usually shied away from, by ignoring it all together in the national curriculum no positive change can be made, and LGBTQ+ youth, their health and their wellbeing, will continue to be put to one side and compromised.