Abstract
On 12 May 2019, a newspaper article in the Sunday Times titled “Grade 4s to learn about masturbation in new Life Orientation curriculum” hit South African citizens by storm. This article caused panic amongst educators, parents and other ‘moral police’ in society. Most textbooks pertaining to the teaching of sexuality education as part of the Life Orientation curriculum focus on infections and diseases linked to sexual activity, as well as unintended pregnancies with an enormous silence on desire and pleasure. This encourages a negative view on sexual health that defines the dangers of sexual intercourse such as infections that includes chlamydia, HIV and gonorrhoea, teenage pregnancy and sexual violence and abuse. The focus on all the ‘dissonant effects’ of sexual intercourse has sidelined and ignored the positive considerations of desire and pleasure that forms part of sexuality education...
M.Ed. (Inclusive Education)