Survey+Results

The participants of the "Let's Talk about Sex Survey" included a handful of HSU faculty members, but the majority were HSU students. They were not forced to participate, and were made aware that if they saw any area of the survey that didn't ring true for them, they were welcome to make suggestions for improvement. Altogether we received 86 responses, and the following results correspond with the question numbers from the survey. (There were a few people that skipped questions, so the numbers don't all add up to 86 each time).


 * Question #1**: 12 people said they did not receive sex education in either junior high or high school, and 74 said that they did.


 * Question #2**: Of the 74 people that did receive sex education, about half said that they were not adequately educated about sex based on the information made available to them.


 * Question #3**: Whether people received sex education in school or not, they were asked //where else// they learned about sex. The results were mixed: about 70 people selected a combination of an adult in the family, peers/friends, the internet/TV/media, and/or siblings that helped them learn about sex. Approximately 13 people selected "other resource" and wrote in some interesting responses. Of those 13, four said that Planned Parenthood helped them learn about sex, and two people said they learned from their school nurse. A couple people said they attended "family planning fairs" through church or college, while one person said that they learned "from all of the above and none of the above-no one ever went into detail and I was left confused." Finally, one person said they learned about sex by "having sex" and another person listed the "Red Hot Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magic" album as a source, and said that it "answered more questions than junior high sex ed." Who'd have guessed that one?!


 * Question #4:** Approximately 47 people said they were taught that abstinence was the best option for them until marriage.


 * Question #5:** Only 18 people said they were made aware of contraceptive options and resources for obtaining them, however, many of the people that were made aware stated they didn't learn from school.

Here are some of the responses: Pleasing a lady More detail Reputation Non-hetero only views Technique Myself STDs "I felt pretty prepared before I decided to have sex" Emotions and complex relationships UTIs and peeing after sex Lube during anal Physiological responses to arousal/orgasm Social impact "Vaccinations weren't available when I was in school-hopefully kids are being taught about them..." Sexual mentation Social pressures to have sex "Oh so many things, experimentation perhaps" The emotional impacts Love Power and domination Birth control, love, relationships, safe sex, pleasurable sex, my body, male bodies... "That birth control does work" Heartbreak Guilt about "going first" The importance of sex 1/4 of people have herpes Positions "How having children would affect my life" "Nothing. Educated myself and waited long enough to gather info from peers. LOL." Foreplay Emotional vs. Physical sexual connections Self-respect and protection. Reinforced right to say "no" Consequences, joy
 * Question #6:** This question was open-ended, and people were asked to fill in the blank in the statement "Looking back, I wish that I would have known about (blank) before having sex."

Emotional changes Sexuality as a continuum Abortion as legal/legitimate option Consent 18-22 year commitment to a child and the other parent "Knowledge is always better than ignorance" Sexual assault "I would like this to be ongoing and not just a one-time event or discussion"
 * Question #7:** For the final question, five people didn't respond, and only three people said no, they did not want their kids to receive sex education that covers: body changes during puberty, contraceptives, abstinence as an option (but not the //only// option), sexual orientation (without assuming heterosexual is the only option), and sexual pleasure. So, 78 people do want their kids to receive sex education that covers a wide variety of topics. There was also an option for people to add in topics (or comment on the ones we included), and here are some of the suggestions:


 * Page created by Tara Smith**