Sex education is a part of the curriculum in many schools, but classes may not always cover topics related to sexual health and safety in same-sex relationships.
Some states are ensuring that sex education courses are more inclusive: In California, a law recently passed that mandates sexual health lessons must include material specifically geared toward LGBTQ students. In neighboring Arizona, lawmakers are working to repeal a law which forbids sex education promoting a "homosexual lifestyle.” And in Washington, the Healthy Youth Act passed in 2007 says that sex education classes must “be appropriate for students regardless of gender, race, disability status, or sexual orientation.”
New data from YouGov finds that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe students should learn about sexual health for same-sex activity.
Close to eight in 10 (77%) Americans say students should learn about sexual health for heterosexual sexual activity. Those who think students should not learn about sexual health for heterosexual (11%) or homosexual (21%) sex tend to be in the minority.
Some differences of opinion around this topic exist between political groups. Nearly four in 10 (38%) Republicans say students should not learn about same-sex sexual health, along with 21% of independents and 9% of Democrats. But pluralities of Democrats (84%), independents (64%) and Republicans (49%) are in support of students learning about same-sex sexual health.
Those who are ideologically “very conservative” are the only sampled group in which a majority (53%) are opposed to students learning about same-sex sexual activity in school.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, bisexual Americans (83%) and gay/lesbian Americans (84%) are among the most likely to say that students should learn about sexual health as it pertains to same-sex relationships.
Do you think students should learn about sexual health for same-sex relationships? Sign up to be on our panel and make your voice heard. See full survey results here.
Related: Nearly half of Americans say sexuality is a scale
Methodology: Total unweighted sample size was 3,721 US adults ages 18+. The responding sample is weighted to the profile of the sample definition to provide a representative reporting sample. Interviews were conducted online between May 28 - 31, 2019.
