Let’s Talk about sex ( ...education)!
By Lauren Throup and Nina Lemon
Happy Valentine’s Day! Amidst all the romance, chocolate and flowers associated with February 14th, we wanted to take a minute to discuss the continuing importance of sex ed, and why it remains such a crucial (if cringe-y) topic for both schools and young people. Playwright and artistic director of Peer Productions, Nina Lemon, shares her thoughts on sex ed and answers our questions about her play, Losing It.
Losing It is a unique resource designed to teach young people about sex and relationships in a memorable, accessible way - “because theres a bit more to it than sperm meets egg.”
Visit our dedicated page for Losing It via the button below, or read on for our interview with Nina.
Who, and what, is Losing It about?
Nina: ‘Losing It’ tells the story of a year 13 class who look back on their seven years at secondary school and their different romantic and sexual relationships and experiences. Through the characters different experiences, we learn about consent, internet safety, healthy relationships, gender and sexuality.
‘Losing It’ is a musical with humour throughout - Why did you want to include songs and comedy elements the way you did?
N: Songs are a really useful tool for education. It's possible to include a wide range of information in the lyrics and, as Bertolt Brecht explained, singing reminds the audience that they are watching a play. It draws attention to the theatricality of the event and so our young audiences are able to remain alert thinking critically about what they are watching. Talking about sex can be embarrassing so keeping the play light and allowing the audience the opportunity to laugh is really important.
How do you think modern technology is changing sex and relationships for young people? And how can sex and relationship education adapt to keep up?
N: My research with young people suggests that they have an unprecedented access to hard-core pornography from a young age on their mobile phones. Most adults who I talk to vastly underestimate the impact that this is having on young people’s understanding of sex and relationships. There is an understandable and justifiable desire from grown-ups to want to protect children and young people from sexual content. The problem is that most young people are already exposed to it. This means that they need open and frank sex education delivered by compassionate professionals more than ever. We cannot ignore this change in how young people are consuming sexual content and, especially when it is combined with a pandemic world where almost all interactions have been taking place online, young people need to develop empathic and communication skills in order to stay safe and mature, and be able to forge meaningful relationships if they so wish.
Was there anything you learnt whilst writing Losing It that you wish you’d known sooner? Or that you would want anyone and everyone to know before talking about sex ed?
N: The big thing that startled me when I was researching the play was the insidious impact of porn and rape culture on young people. Young people, of all genders, expressed unrealistic or damaging ideas about sexual relationships, with previously viewed as hardcore or extreme sexual behaviours viewed as mainstream. This means that often young people are pressurising themselves into taking part in sexual behaviours with which they are not comfortable.
What is one thing you remember about your experience of sex ed at school that you’d rather forget, whether it was awkward, or inaccurate, or just completely cringe-y? (For me it's the bananas….)
N: My own sex education, in the 90s, in an all girls grammar school, was fairly minimal. I mainly remember a box of contraceptives being passed around for us to look at. We were all aghast at the diaphragm which was approximately the size of my head. We all wondered if there was something wrong with us as we couldn't imagine how we would possibly insert it. It was only around the third year that this happened, in year 11, that a teacher thought to tell us that this was a demonstration model and not actual size! (Phew!)
Thank You!
Losing It, performed by this years cohort of Peer’s young actors, will be touring to schools across Surrey this summer. Visit our bookings page for more details, or get in touch with with our lovely admin whiz Alice with any questions or queries via her email - admin@peerproductions.co.uk.