The pleasure imperative? Reflecting on sexual pleasure’s inclusion in sex education and sexual health

Abstract

This article offers an empirically grounded contribution to scholarship exploring the ways in which pleasure is ‘put to work’ in sex and sexuality education. Such research has cautioned against framing pleasure as a normative requirement of sexual activity and hence reproducing a ‘pleasure imperative’. This paper draws on interviews with sexual health and education practitioners who engaged with Pleasure Project resources and training between 2007 and 2016. Findings suggest that practitioners tend to understand pleasure within critical frameworks that allow them to avoid normalising and (re)enforcing a pleasure imperative. Accounts also show negotiations with, and strategic deployments of, values surrounding sexual pleasure in society and culture. While some accounts suggest that a pleasure imperative does run the risk of being reproduced by practitioners, notably this is when discussing more ‘contentious’ sexual practices. Interviews also demonstrate that practitioners attempting to implement a pleasure agenda are faced with a range of challenges. While some positive, holistic, and inclusive practice has been afforded by a pleasure approach, we argue that the importance of a critical framework needs to be (re)emphasised. The paper concludes by highlighting areas for further empirical research.

Keywords:

• Pleasure
• pleasure imperative
• sex education, sexual health
• anal sex
• rights
• young people

Notes

1. The national context of sex education in these countries have parallels but also differences with that of the UK. In the USA, provision varies widely between schools that adopt an Abstinence Only Until Marriage curriculum, and those that employ more comprehensive and evidence-based models (Lamb, Lustig, and Graling 2013). In Australia, relationships and sexuality education is a designated part of the National Curriculum for Health and Physical Education (ACARA 2016), although the interpretation of the National Curriculum is determined by state and territory governments (Caldwell 2017). In New Zealand, sexuality education is a compulsory learning area of The New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education 2007), but there have been recent calls for greater inclusion of LGBTQ-relevant material ( Stuff 2017) and issues of consent ( NZ Herald 2017).

2. Michael (freelance sexual health trainer, trans man, 30s); three sexual health promotion workers (James: cis gay man, 40s; Laura: cis lesbian, 50s; Kate: cis woman, heterosexual, 40s); Linda (child sexual exploitation worker, cis woman, heterosexual, 50s); Fran (community outreach worker, cis woman, heterosexual, 50s); Two managers of a youth charity (Simon: cis gay man, 50s; and Susan cis lesbian, 40s); Polly (researcher and educator, cis woman, heterosexual, 50s); Ruth (sex and relationships education specialist, cis woman, heterosexual, 30s); Marie (sexual health doctor, cis woman, heterosexual, 40s). All white British. Pseudonyms have been assigned to all participants to retain anonymity.

3. A UK high-street chain of shops selling erotic products such as lingerie and sex toys.

4. After its publication by the Sheffield Centre for HIV and Sexual Health (CHIVSH), the Pleasure booklet and the Centre received a great deal of publicity. Much of the coverage was distorted by the mistaken assumption that the booklet was directly aimed at young people and not practitioners, with a Mail on Sunday article judging the booklet to be ‘do-gooding gone crazy’ (Freeman 2009). The furore culminated with a formal complaint to the NHS Trust within which CHIVSH was located at the time, and aggressive communications to the Centre’s Director.