Our sex education is woefully lacking

(Disclaimer: the last time I've had sex education is 2008. If it's gotten better now, let me know. Though looking at some of the topics on this sub, I kinda doubt it.)I'm not even talking about the often-criticized "abstinence only" education. I've had the supposed "fully comprehensive" sex education, and I think it's still inadequate in many ways.First, just to get it out of the way: no mention of childfree. That alone is bad enough. But that's only the beginning.The only thing it really does, is talk about protection. It goes over stuff like condoms, birth control pills, IUDs, etc. It also teaches about the various STDs. I've got no complaints about these topics.If the goal is to prevent unwanted pregnancies, why does the class not teach anything about the actual pregnancy? No mention of how uncomfortable, painful, and even life-threatening pregnancy can be. No mention of all the horrible injuries women can face during childbirth, which can cause lifelong physical and psychological trauma. Wouldn't that be one of the most effective ways to reduce unwanted pregnancies?One day, the teacher brought in three teen moms as guest speakers. All three of them ended saying how they were "excited" and "happy" to have a baby. I thought the point of the class is to discourage teen pregnancies? Why are they promoting and glorifying it instead???The class does mention sterilization, but it's framed in a very misleading, fearmongering way. My teacher talked about how a vasectomy is typical done after a couple has 2-3 kids and don't want any more, and even that can be risky, because, what if the couple breaks up, and the man wants kids with his new wife? Vasectomy reversal is expensive and there's no guarantee of it working! You can clearly see the breeder propaganda here. Only after discovering this sub did I realize that it's perfectly valid to get sterilized without having any children, and that the number of people who regret it is being greatly exaggerated.It doesn't teach anything about relationship skills, a topic closely related to sex. No mention of how to communicate with your partner, how to set boundaries, and how to treat your partner well. No mention of what a healthy relationship looks like. No mention of what a toxic relationship looks like, common red flags and how to deal with it. (I only had one romantic relationship in my life, and it was an abusive one with a huge narcissit. Had I learned relationship skills beforehand, even a little bit, I could have avoided having to (very slowly and painfully) figure out everything myself.) Especially because for me, sex education was part of health class. Aren't relationship skills a good topic to learn for this class?Speaking of abuse, no mention of reproductive coercion. All the contraceptives in the world can't help you if you're pressured by your partner and don't realize it or don't know how to deal with it. The class does mention physically tampering with contraceptives, but not emotional manipulation.No mention of "slut-shaming". Or "prude-shaming" or "virgin-shaming" for that matter, and how to avoid being pressured by these ridiculous standards.No mention of asexuals, transgenders, non-binary people, and other alternative genders/sexualities.This might sound crazy, but if the class is called "sex education", shouldn't it teach about, you know, sex? It doesn't need to go too in-depth, but I don't think it can hurt to talk about basics, like how to communicate with your partner, what having sex feels like, and common issues people run into. Maybe even teach a bit about the common sex positions, fetishes, and sex toys. This serves a dual purpose- it's not just about the information, but to help destigmatize sex, so that people don't feel embarassed or guilty over something that's actually perfectly normal. (Of course, this idea will never fly with the Bible thumpers and other socially conservative people.)What do you think? I'm also curious to know what other people's experience with sex education is. Did you have a better or worse experience than mine? via /r/childfree https://ift.tt/2HggMKy