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Your Gender TRANSFORMATIVE EDUCATION Glossary

All the key terms you need to understand when preparing for Gender Transformative Education, quickly and effectively.

What is Sexuality?

Definition

Sexuality: Refers to intimate desires, attractions and feelings and behaviours related to those feelings and desires. 

Sexual orientation: Sexual identity or sexual orientation refers to a person’s identity with regards to the gender(s) they are attracted to (for example, straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual, etc.). Sexual orientation exists on a spectrum and may change for an individual over time. Gender transformative education affirms a wide range of sexualities. It reduces stigmas and shame around sexuality and recognizes that sexuality is a normal part of the human experience that is unique from reproduction. A gender transformative comprehensive sex/sexuality education encourages healthy relationships, consent, and pleasure.

References

Meyer, E. J. (2010). Gender and sexual diversity in schools (Vol. 10). New York, Springer.

Silver, R., & Kendall, N. (2023). Syndemic sex education. Sex Education, 23(3), 295-303.

TallBear, K., & Willey, A. (2019). Critical relationality: Queer, Indigenous, and multispecies belonging beyond settler sex & nature. Imaginations: Journal of Cross-Cultural Image Studies, 10(1), 5-15.

Pascoe, C. J., & Silva, T. (2019). Sexualities in education. Education and society: An introduction to key issues in the sociology of education, 81-95.

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