Schooling Sexual Cultures : Visual Research in Sexuality Education

This volume explores how sexual meanings are produced beyond the traditional emphasis on curriculum, pedagogy and policy, taking account its material, spatial and embodied elements. Introducing innovative theoretical ideas on queer theory and ‘new’ feminist materialisms, it captures the sexual cultures of schooling by employing visual methods and student photo-diaries that allow readers to literally see through young people’s eyes.

Moving beyond the traditional focus on curriculum and pedagogy, this volume explores hidden dimensions of sexuality education in schools and how sexual meanings are produced. Challenging the standard understandings of sexuality education, Allen discusses how students’ knowledge of sexualities is often learnt outside the ‘official’ school curriculum in informal spaces such as the sports field, gym locker rooms and peer groups. By employing visual methods and analysing student photo-diaries, Allen’s original book captures a sexual culture of schooling that allow readers to literally ‘see through young people’s eyes.’ Introducing theoretical ideas in relation to queer theory and ‘new’ feminist new materialisms, this volume calls for a re-conceptualization of how sexuality comes into being at school, in order to take account of its material, spatial and embodied elements.