Control and Agency: Sex-Ed Phallacies and Possibilities in the HRCE

Co-researchers curated this quilted collage to portray the roots of harmful sex education and the possibilities and responsibilities of transformative sex education. The quilting bee, positioned on the top right side of this co-created collage, is a signifier of weaving together stories, experiences, and implicit and explicit perceptions of sex education shared through the creative act of collaging. The stitches represent the pieces of tape, torn and placed through processes of mutual agreement to solidify our visual and the many meanings and messages it emboldens. The bee, holding the needle and thread, represents transformative sex educators and their work weaving together their students' context, histories and experiences to foster a welcoming space. It simultaneously symbolizes the pieces of silenced narratives that students and transformative sex educators weave together to imagine a different curriculum grounded in agency and liberation. Using our collective analysis as a guide, we curated our quilted collage to portray the roots of harmful sex education and the possibilities and responsibilities of transformative sex education. This choice reflects the prevalence of splitting in our collages, contrasting shame with joy and fear with pleasureful possibility.