Action competence for sustainable sexuality: an analysis of Swedish lower secondary level textbooks in biology and religious education

ABSTRACT

Sexuality constitutes an important aspect of sustainable development as the concept is used by the United Nations. Education is commonly viewed as crucial to achieving sustainability, and promoting action competence is a key element in such educational efforts. This suggests that education should support individuals in actively seeking information and acting in relation to sustainability challenges. This article aims to understand the role of textbooks in promoting action competence for sustainable sexuality by analysing content about sexuality in Swedish lower secondary school textbooks in biology and religious education. Results show that sustainable development and sexuality are organised as separate topics in all the books. Textbooks in biology contain a fair amount of sexuality education content, but content in religious education textbooks is more limited. In general, sexuality is closely linked to reproduction and is marked by androcentrism, phallocentrism and ideals of monogamy. Content about sexuality is furthermore strongly normative and seldom introduces readers to different theoretical perspectives or viewpoints. Taken together, these factors limit the extent to which existing textbooks can promote action competence for sustainable sexuality.

KEYWORDS:

• Sexuality education; sustainable development
• education for sustainable development
• textbooks
• Sweden

Introduction

In the 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development, issues pertaining to sexuality are noted in several goals. For example, goal #3 includes the need to ‘ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including […] information and education’, and goal #5 stresses the need to ‘ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights’ and the elimination of sexual exploitation and harmful practices (UN 2015).

Education for sustainable development has been a crucial part of sustainable development since its introduction (WCED 1987), and there is a general agreement that public education is central to achieving sustainability (UN 2015; UNESCO 2002). Sexuality education is important in helping people make health-promoting and informed choices (Parker, Wellings, and Lazarus 2009), and for preparing ‘young people for participation in society as responsible, mature and community-minded citizens’ (Goldman 2008). Widely recognised as essential for sexual health (Loeber et al. 2010), high-quality sexuality education is also crucial for women’s health and empowerment (Ogu, Agholor, and Okonofua 2016).

Since education for sustainable development aims to create change, it is important to foster action competence for sustainable development among learners (Sass et al. 2020). The concept of action competence highlights how education can support individuals to actively seek information and act in relation to sustainability challenges. Education for sustainable development is therefore about

[D]eveloping the students’ ability, motivation and desire to play an active role in finding democratic solutions to problems and issues connected to sustainable development (Mogensen and Schnack 2010, 68).

Directed at engaging with complex and controversial concerns, action competence for sustainable development requires knowledge about many different issues and the ability to keep such knowledge up to date. It is therefore essential that education for sustainable development provides learners with insights into the interconnected and complex character of sustainability, and:

[T]hat knowledge from different fields should not exist in a fragmented fashion, but needs to be understood as an interconnected whole, while the learner should also be flexible enough to adapt their knowledge when new (possibly contradicting) knowledge emerges (Sass et al. 2020, 8).

In education for sustainable development research, there are indications that policy initiatives may have a small, or even negative, impact on school practices (Almers 2009; Olsson, Gericke, and Rundgren 2016). The gap between policy intentions, curriculum demands and classroom practices has been labelled the ‘Stevenson Gap’ (Stevenson 2007). It can be explained by the conflict between mainstream school practices focusing on individualistic and competitive goals such as independence and achievement – and thus reproduction of the existing societal structure – and the transformative goals and visions implied by education for sustainable development (Hacking, Scott, and Barratt 2007). Similarly, the gap between knowledge and attitudes regarding sexual and contraceptive behaviour, and everyday practice – sometimes called the KAB gap – has been observed (Edgardh 2002; Larsson et al. 2006). To date, there is distinct a lack of studies showing clear links between increased sexual well-being and sexuality education in schools (Ekstrand et al. 2011), just as there is between education for sustainable development and environmental consciousness (Olsson and Gericke 2017).

These observations point to the need for empirical investigation into the content of education for sustainable development (Öhman 2006). The analysis presented here builds on research focusing on the role of textbook content as part of this (Andersen 2018; Ideland and Malmberg 2014; Kowasch 2017; Biström and Lundström 2020, 2021). Importantly, while there are studies of sexuality content in textbooks (Honkasalo 2018; Gerouki 2008; Wilmot and Naidoo 2014; Røthing and Svendsen 2011; de Irala, Urdiain, and López del Burgo 2008; Reiss 1998; Myerson et al. 2007; Suarez and Balaji 2007; Snyder and Broadway 2004), these do not explicitly discuss education for sustainable development. The promotion of action competence in education for sustainable development is a multifaceted and dynamic process, potentially influenced by a wide range of classroom practices interacting with learners’ experiences over time. While textbooks are not the only important factor to consider, a key argument driving this analysis is that they are of crucial importance. Textbooks provide an indicator of what information students receive in the classroom (Wynes and Nicholas 2017). Research points to textbooks being widely used in schools (Blumberg 2008) and, with regards to sexuality education in Sweden, this commonly aligns with and follows textbook content (Skolverket 2000).

Textbooks also can do good in areas where teachers have trouble explaining things (Reiss 1998), indicating the need for well-made texts to support teachers. Lack of knowledge on the part of teachers has been pointed out as a major problem for sexuality education (Ahlberg, Jylkäs, and Krantz 2001), along with teachers not being properly educated and prepared for the work (Sherlock 2012). Knowledge gaps in teacher education regarding gender equality may lead to problems with identifying and dealing with problematic textbook content (Blumberg 2008). Despite this, school-based sexuality education holds great promise for improving sexual competence (Hirst 2008).

The context in Sweden

The Swedish Public Health Agency (Folkhälsomyndigheten) recognises that many of the goals in UN Agenda 2030 are related to sexual and reproductive health and rights (Folkhälsomyndigheten 2019). Suggesting a focus on action competence in sexuality education, they claim that:

[E]vidence based sexuality education creates the foundation for the students to develop their reflective, critical and communicative ability and strengthen the students’ opportunities to make informed and responsible decisions in the area of sexuality and relationships (Folkhälsomyndigheten 2019, 30).

Education for sustainable development has been made an integral part of education policy in Sweden in recent decades (Regeringen 2004). Sweden is generally considered progressive with regards to both education for sustainable development (Breiting and Wickenberg 2010) and sustainable development in general (Lidskog and Elander 2012). In the current 2011 curriculum, one overarching goal is that pupils should acquire ‘knowledge about the conditions for […] sustainable development [and] an understanding for the ways in which lifestyle impacts on health, environment and society’ (Skolverket 2015, 14). In this same document, ‘readiness to act’ and the ‘abilities for taking individual standpoints, and acting with responsibility taken both in relation to oneself as well as others’ are also prescribed as learning goals. It additionally argues for the need to adopt a cross-curricular perspective to develop students’ decision-making abilities.

In 1955, Sweden became the first country in Europe to make sexuality education mandatory (Parker, Wellings, and Lazarus 2009), and its work in this field is seen as pioneering (Stendig-Lindberg 1974) and setting a positive example (Goldman 2008). Sweden is generally progressive regarding sexuality education with a focus on gender equality and human rights (Sherlock 2012). The influence of gender stereotypes is minimised in curricula and textbooks (Blumberg 2008), and explicitly offensive content regarding gender and sexual diversity is not present in Swedish textbooks (Larsson and Rosén 2006).

Problems with quality and equality have nevertheless been identified in Swedish sexuality education (Folkhälsomyndigheten 2019). There are indications that students are not satisfied with what is provided (Ekstrand et al. 2007; Thorsén, Aneblom, and Gemzell-Danielsson 2006), and work on relationships, gender equality and LGBT perspectives are underdeveloped (Folkhälsomyndigheten 2019), while biological perspectives are too dominant (Skolverket 2000). There have also been calls for sexuality education to focus more strongly on norms regarding sexual behaviour (Ahlberg, Jylkäs, and Krantz 2001) as well as on enhancing teacher skills and confidence (Skolverket 2000; Folkhälsomyndigheten 2019).

Aim, data and methods

This article presents an analysis of content about sexuality in biology and religious education textbooks for Swedish lower secondary school (grades 7–9, i.e., ages 13–15). The overarching goal of the study was to explore how textbook content about sexuality supports or hinders the promotion of action competence for sustainable sexuality. Key questions asked are:

• How is content about sexuality presented and organised? How is such content connected to the topic of sustainability?

• How is sexuality constructed in the textbooks? What themes characterise the content on sexuality in textbooks?

• How does the presentation, construction and interrelationship between these issues affect the role textbooks play in promoting action competence for sustainable sexuality?

In Sweden, four main publishers produce textbooks for lower secondary level teaching.¹ In this article, the most recent editions of the latest textbooks on biology and religious education marketed by these publishers are analysed. The data set thus includes eight titles: four titles in biology (Andréasson et al. 2011; Fabricius, Holm, and Nystrand 2013; Henriksson 2015; Kukka et al. 2012), and four titles in religious education (Berg and Rundblom 2014; Berlin and Ring 2019; Högberg, Isaksson, and Sundqvist 2014; Olofsson and Uppström 2014).

Biology and religious education were selected because they are the two subjects in which sexuality education figures most centrally, according to the syllabi.² Previous research has also found that sexuality-related topics are more systematically engaged with in biology and religious education than in other school subject areas (Larsson and Rosén 2006). Interdisciplinary education seems, as a rule, to be favoured for education for sustainable development. In consequence, textbook content that articulates the connections between subjects likely better supports the development of action competence for sustainable sexuality.

The analysis adopted here utilises a thematic analysis approach (Braun and Clarke 2006). Themes constitute key patterns of meaning that can be described as ‘central organising concept[s]’ (Clarke and Braun 2017, 297), that can be manifest as well as latent in character. Themes accordingly can be partially overlapping and do not necessarily represent all the meaning in the text. The first step of the analysis gave attention to the organisation and presentation of content explicitly about sexuality and sustainability. At a second step, primarily guided by the table of content and index in each book, sections relevant to sexuality and sustainability were closely read. Particular attention was given to any links between sustainability and sexuality. Third, general themes within the content were identified and analysed in relation to previous research and relevant theory on the field. Lastly, overarching results and insights relevant to each research question were explored via an analysis with regards to challenges for the promotion of action competence for sustainability.

Findings

With respect to the organisation and presentation of content about sustainable development, all of the biology titles provided readers with clearly labelled content, primarily linked to ecology (see Biström and Lundström 2020 for a more extensive analysis of this content).

While sustainability was discussed quite extensively in the biology textbooks, content explicitly about this topic in the religious education textbooks was much more limited. Two of them (Berg and Rundblom 2014; Olofsson and Uppström 2014) did not mention sustainability at all, while the other two included in their index the terms ‘sustainable development’ (Berlin and Ring 2019) and ‘sustainability’ (Högberg, Isaksson, and Sundqvist 2014) respectively. One of these only briefly mentioned sustainable development (Berlin and Ring 2019, 319), while the other featured a paragraph discussing the relationship between quality of life and sustainability, and included a question asking readers to consider whether there were clashes between these: 'is a good life sustainable?’ (Högberg, Isaksson, and Sundqvist 2014, 413).

As regards sexuality, all the biology textbooks contained extensive content explicitly on this topic. Two of them had a chapter dedicated to sex (Andréasson et al. 2011; Fabricius, Holm, and Nystrand 2013), and the other two included sex as a specific section in the chapters ‘Between child and adult’ (Henriksson 2015) and ‘Your life’ (Kukka et al. 2012) respectively. In the religious education textbooks, there was far less content explicitly about sexuality, and what was mentioned was brief in character. None of them contained sections or chapters explicitly about sexuality in their table of contents. Two titles featured reference to ‘sexuality’ (Berg and Rundblom 2014; Högberg, Isaksson, and Sundqvist 2014), and one to ‘sex and love’ (Olofsson and Uppström 2014), while one feature neither sex nor sexuality in its index (Berlin and Ring 2019). In the titles that did feature content about sexuality, the subject was commonly addressed via topics such as marriage, love and family, which were discussed in all the religious education textbooks. This way, religious education textbooks tended to frame issues relating to sexuality as primarily family and marriage related, which is reminiscent of previous observations concerning primary school textbooks in Greece (Gerouki 2008).

Overall, biology textbooks contained much more content about sexuality than religious education textbooks. Religious education textbooks furthermore did not present the topic as central to the subject. These general conditions largely delimit discussion of sexuality to the realm of biology. There were furthermore few connections made between sexuality and sustainability in any of the analysed titles. The only direct link found was a two-page spread discussing sustainability issues related to the impact of contraceptive pills on the natural environment in one of the biology textbooks (Henriksson 2015). Since a multidimensional and complex understanding of both sustainability and sexuality likely constitutes a key condition for the promotion of action competence, the dominance of biology and the lack of social science perspectives, and the limited connections between sustainability and sexuality in textbooks, seems less than ideal.

It has been argued that the tasks and exercises set in textbooks could be especially important in the promotion of action competence (Kowasch 2017). In the analysed textbooks, tasks and exercises relating to the topic of sexuality commonly required readers to repeat the content previously presented in the text, or to offer individual opinions with regards to social aspects of sexuality. As examples of the latter, there was a tendency, as has been noted earlier in Finnish textbooks, to ask students to discuss subjects that the textbook had not dealt with in detail beforehand (Honkasalo 2018). These conditions limit the promotion of action competence by not encouraging critical discussion on the content of the textbook. They also suggest that certain aspects of sexuality reside in the domain of individual attitudes and values, rather than being issues that can be analysed using different tools and relevant knowledge.

There were however two notable exceptions in the analysed material that invited learners to reflect on and utilise different perspectives to think about complex questions. One of the biology books included the following question:

What can be important to keep in mind when you are about to have sex? Give some advice to a young couple who have just met and not had sex before (Andréasson et al. 2011, 294).

Additionally, one of the religious education textbooks encouraged students to use ethical concepts to discuss induced abortion (Olofsson and Uppström 2014, 273). The first of these examples is open-ended but required students to use information reflectively, the second encouraged the use of previously provided information to reflect on an issue from different perspectives.

Themes present in content about sexuality

Content about sexuality in Swedish textbooks was largely dominated by four themes: reproduction as the centre of sexuality; androcentrism-phallocentrism; penis in vagina intercourse as the generic sexual act; and the norm of monogamy for sexual relationships. While the first three of these themes were manifest in the more elaborate descriptions of sex-related issues in biology textbooks, the last theme characterised content in both religious education and biology textbooks.

Describing sexuality as an instinctive behaviour primarily connected to reproduction was dominant in the analysed material, in line with previous research (Larsson et al. 2006; Snyder and Broadway 2004). One clear example of this can be found in the heading ‘Sex made us survive as a species’ (Andréasson et al. 2011, 274). The three quotes below, the first from a religious education textbook and the other two from biology textbooks, also illustrate this tendency.

Humans, as well as animals, are divided into two sexes. That’s how animals have offspring, and humans have children (Högberg, Isaksson, and Sundqvist 2014, 160).

In species with sexual reproduction, behaviours have developed that facilitate fertilisation. This is where the desire to have sex comes into the picture. Throughout our long history, it has often led to reproduction and is therefore good for the survival of the species (Andréasson et al. 2011, 274).

Many animals, and humans too, have internal conception. This means that sperm and egg cells unite inside the body. Of course, this can only happen naturally if you mate. The desire to have sex (sex drive) is therefore important for offspring to be had. It is controlled by the same parts of the brain that controls hunger and thirst (Henriksson 2015, 160).

The desire to have sex is therefore said to derive from the reproductive drive of our species. While this theme was dominant in all biology textbooks, there were attempts to nuance the view. Two of the textbooks briefly stated that sex was not only about reproduction (Henriksson 2015; Andréasson et al. 2011) and one of them featured a page providing examples of non-reproductive sex among other animals (Andréasson et al. 2011). However, compared with the dominant theme of reproduction in all titles, these statements were marginal in character.

Defining human sexuality as primarily reproductive went hand in hand with descriptions of genital anatomy, sometimes literally in statements such as ‘genitals exist for humans to reproduce’ (Andréasson et al. 2011, 280). Biology textbooks were also characterised by comparisons highlighting the difference between male and female sexual anatomy. A common way to visualise the genitals, present in all biology textbooks, made use of separate drawings, one illustrating typical female anatomy and the other male, with lines indicating the names of different parts. This way of depicting human genitalia directs attention to the differences between male and female anatomy while obscuring similarities between them. Furthermore, there are differences between how male and female genitals were visualised. While all biology books provided cross-sectional illustrations of both female and male genitals, and also featured drawings of the external female genitalia viewed from below, between spread legs, two of them did not contain visualisations of the external male genitals (Andréasson et al. 2011; Fabricius, Holm, and Nystrand 2013), and two featured male genitals shown only from the front (Henriksson 2015; Kukka et al. 2012). These visualisations further highlight differences and obscure similarities. Additionally, illustrations of the external female anatomy have lines indicating the anus, while the drawings of males do not, thus further marking the organisation of ‘sexual spaces of female and male bodies’ (Thanem 2010, 93) as different, and further reinforcing stereotypical constructions

Content concerning genital anatomy in the books examined was strongly andro/phallocentric, providing narratives in which males were the norm against which females were compared. This tendency was particularly pronounced when it came to descriptions of the clitoris. All the biology textbooks compared the clitoris to the penis, while the opposite never occurred. The andro/phallocentrism was evident in the textbooks in terms of how vaginal lubrication was equated to male erection (Kukka et al. 2012, 217). Yet another typical example, present in all the biology textbooks, were descriptions of the clitoris as anatomically similar to the penis, focusing particularly on erectile tissue (Andréasson et al. 2011; Fabricius, Holm, and Nystrand 2013; Henriksson 2015; Kukka et al. 2012).

What is the woman’s equivalent to an erection called? (Kukka et al. 2012, 250).

The labia and clitoris have erectile bodies, just like the man’s penis and glans (Kukka et al. 2012, 217).

Androcentrism and phallogocentrism make their appearance yet again in descriptions of sexual practices focusing on penis in vagina intercourse. In part, this theme was conveyed by giving more space to descriptions of penis in vagina intercourse. However, it was also reinforced by the absence of linguistic markers for the practice (Myerson et al. 2007), with a tendency to conflate general terminology such as ‘sex’, with penis in vagina intercourse (Sörensdotter 2012; Tiefer 1994). This excessive focus on penis in vagina intercourse reinforces the idea that this is ‘real sex’ (Hirst 2008). Echoing previous findings in Norwegian research (Røthing and Svendsen 2011), this conflation was clearly illustrated by the heading ‘Intercourse – to have sex’ in one of the biology textbooks (Kukka et al. 2012, 227). Recurring throughout the textbooks are statements suggestive of other kinds of sex, but in context, they tend to reinforce their exceptional character.

There are different ways to have intercourse. A common practice is for the penis to be brought in and out of the vagina, and feelings of lust rise in both. This is called vaginal intercourse. Other ways are oral when using the mouth, or anal. Everyone decides for themselves (Fabricius, Holm, and Nystrand 2013, 380).

The dominance of penis in vagina intercourse is closely connected to the link between sexuality and reproduction in textbooks. This is manifested visually in two biology textbooks featuring cross-section illustrations of penis in vagina intercourse related to descriptions of conception (Andréasson et al. 2011, 283; Kukka et al. 2012, 232), but it could also sometimes be found in text passages like below:

Sexual intercourse can mean different things. Biologically, sexual intercourse means reproduction between a man and a woman (Kukka et al. 2012, 227).

Such a perspective is in line with previous research on biology textbooks showing sexual behaviour equated with penis in vagina intercourse and ‘defined as the penis depositing sperm into the female’ (Snyder and Broadway 2004, 627). One of the main ways in which the primacy of penis in vagina intercourse was asserted was by describing the physiological responses associated with sexual arousal as preparations for penis in vagina intercourse. The following three quotations each illustrate this tendency:

When men become sexually aroused, erectile tissue in the penis fills with blood. Then the penis becomes so stiff that it can be used during sexual intercourse (Fabricius, Holm, and Nystrand 2013, 374).

During a loving foreplay with kisses, hugs and caresses, the body prepares to have sex. … During foreplay, desire increases and the man’s penis becomes stiff. In women, the nipples stiffen, the clitoris becomes blood-filled, and the vagina moist. The moisture is called lubrication. One gets horny (Fabricius, Holm, and Nystrand 2013, 378).

When women feel sexual desire, the erectile tissue fill with blood and the vagina becomes moist. It is called lubrication and corresponds to the man’s erection (Kukka et al. 2012, 217).

Importantly, the descriptions of sexual responses of males and females are asymmetric. Descriptions of male sexual response commonly centre on erectile tissue and the penis getting hard. Female erectile tissue response is not in focus, but instead, lubrication is highlighted. Furthermore, the erection of the nipples is described as a female phenomenon, thus sexualising female nipples and rendering male nipples invisible.

An important final theme in textbook content about sexuality concerns the notion of monogamy in descriptions of sexual relationships. In the textbooks examined, this was sometimes implicit and taken for granted, but it could also be explicit. For example, puberty was often described as the start of an interest in, and search for, a monogamous relationship. The following quote forms the caption under a picture of two people kissing:

The changes during puberty usually mean that you become interested in finding someone to be with on a deeper level. You are affected by hormones that enable you to fall in love (Henriksson 2015, 161).

Narratives such as this give the impression that interest in a monogamous relationship is biologically based, and that sex is something practised by two (not one and not more than two) individuals. Andréasson et al. (2011, 278), for example, claim that sex is between ‘two people’, and (Kukka et al. 2012, 227) say that ‘a couple’ can have sex in different ways in different places.

You have to take care of yourself and eventually maybe also a family and children. Having a long-term relationship with a partner means constant adjustments and compromises (Fabricius, Holm, and Nystrand 2013, 392).

The monogamous norm is further reproduced in content about jealousy and fidelity in biology textbooks, as the two quotes below illustrate:

Most people think it’s important to be faithful to the one you are with (Kukka et al. 2012, 227).

One reason [for jealousy] may be infidelity. Your partner may have had sex with someone else. Most people think that fidelity is important (Fabricius, Holm, and Nystrand 2013, 371).

Textbooks thus tend to present both monogamy and normative family structures as taken for granted parts of life. Previous research has documented this tendency in religious education textbooks (Larsson and Rosén 2006), but it is evident here in biology textbooks as well. In the studied Swedish textbooks, these expressions are typically not gendered, making them less heteronormative than observations made in other contexts (Wilmot and Naidoo 2014). In religious education textbooks, the focus on marriage, and discussion about whether sexual practices are to be allowed before or only after heterosexual marriage, further contribute to the reproduction of normative narratives. In this way, religious education textbooks perpetuate the idea that same-sex relationships (Wilmot and Naidoo 2014), as well as extramarital sex, are contestable.

Discussion

Textbooks can be viewed as tools for social reproduction and change through education (Brugeilles and Cromer 2015; Lerch et al. 2017). They may also be regarded as indicators of the current social and political climate, and thus, how groups and ideas carry weight in official knowledge. There are signs that because of their rhetoric and their placement within the education system, students perceive textbooks as unbiased sources of information (Schrader and Wotipka 2011) rather than the instruments ‘masterfully crafted to achieve a social end’ (Wineburg 1991, 502) that they ultimately are. The structure of textbooks makes the content appear neutral (Luke, Castell, and Luke 1983). By their very nature, textbooks imply that they contain much, if not all, of the relevant information on a topic – thereby laying down the epistemological foundations of a culture (Issitt 2004) while also limiting possibilities for learning (Snyder and Broadway 2004). Biases that reflect taken-for-granted notions can be hard to identify, enabling them to be ‘hidden in plain sight’ within a textbook (Blumberg 2008). With these arguments in mind, the observations made with regards to textbook content in the presented analysis indicate limitations with respect to the promotion of action competence.

The ability to promote action competence for sustainable sexuality can be affected by how textbooks organise content about and describe sex and sexuality. Sexuality education has been criticised for being too focused on biology (Parker, Wellings, and Lazarus 2009; Sherlock 2012), and biological perspectives often dominate sexuality education even when the subject is expected to be interdisciplinary (Bolander 2009). In this study, this tendency was evident in the fact that the biology textbooks featured more content on sexuality than the religious education books. The biology textbooks examined in this study broadly defined sexuality in reproductive terms, characterised by androcentrism and phallocentrism. They also tend to reduce sexual practices to penis in vagina intercourse. Religious education textbooks similarly tended to advance a reproductive perspective on sexuality, and their general lack of attention to the subject contributes to the dominance of biological perspectives. Both of these forms of dominance are problematic for the promotion of action competence because they limit the conditions for discussing the moral, ethical and normative aspects of sexuality required for sustainable sexuality (Lundin 2014).

This highlighting of differences between males and females in biology textbooks also constitutes a challenge. Institutionalising differences risks legitimising hierarchies. Ideas about men’s and women’s different biological roles in reproduction, for example, can be central in maintaining gender inequalities (Hirdman 1990). As Bourdieu argues, social hierarchies are constructed in ways that include the physical body:

These universally applicable schemes of thought record as differences of nature, inscribed in objectivity, variations and distinctive features (of physique for example) which they help to make exist at the same time as they ‘naturalise’ them by inscribing them in a system of differences, all equally natural in appearance (Bourdieu 2001, 8).

Thus, biological gender differences may be used to argue that social differences are essential, positive and inevitable (Libbon 2007). A key challenge for sustainable sexuality, therefore, lies in disentangling the links between biological patterns and heteronormative stereotypes (Lundin 2014). The tendencies in Swedish textbooks observed here, in combination with their structure and content, may limit critical thinking in learners, constituting a challenge for the promotion of action competence.

A fundamental problem with the representations observed is that the they risk portraying all sexual behaviours not linked to reproduction as unnatural (Snyder and Broadway 2004). Another is that qualities such as ‘normal’ or ‘natural’ come to be seen not as human (and social) creations, but as reflections of nature itself (Lundin 2014). This makes it difficult to understand the range of sexual interactions humans engage in. The lack of content about sex and sexuality in religious education textbooks, combined with the lack of nuanced description in biology textbooks, presents sexuality in a reductive and overly simplistic way. Arguably, this turns even well-intentioned textbooks into tools for reproducing the existing social order, rather than a means to promote action competence.

The absence of explicit negative stereotypes attached to gender and sexuality diversity in textbooks may support action competence. However, there are other findings pointing to more problematic concerns. The separation of sexuality from other sustainability issues in the textbooks, along with the significant dominance of biological perspectives, does not support an integrated and multidimensional understanding of sustainability issues. Insufficient support for a critical and nuanced interpretation and understanding of sexuality along with a lack of discussion of normative scripts, and the identification of structural problems, similarly seems to limit conditions for the promotion of action competence for sustainable sexuality.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. These are Gleerups, Natur & Kultur, Liber, and Sanoma.

2. Syllabi for Swedish school subjects are available online at: https://www.skolverket.se/undervisning/grundskolan/laroplan-och-kursplaner-for-grundskolan/kursplaner-for-grundskolan. I searched for ‘sex’ and counted the number of times this was mentioned in the syllabuses for all subjects, the centrality of the concept was gauged by looking at where in the text, in what context, and in what way, it was mentioned.