Researcher and activist Jenny Sperling

Let's talk about sex ed: who teaches what, and when, and how. This episode, we talk with Jenny Sperling, whose research included revisiting health class: going back to high school and—most importantly—listening to students to find out what they wish they were learning. Why is it so hard to create a good sex ed curriculum? And how does sex ed even happen during remote education anyway? 

Jenny Sperling (she/her) is a PhD student in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education with emphases from the Feminist Studies department and from the departments of Linguistics, Sociology, and Communication. Prior to doctoral work at UCSB, Jenny received her M.A. in Education from UC Berkeley and her B.A. in Spanish from here at UCSB. Her scholarship engages with historical and sociopolitical foundations of United States public education, adopting an approach that examines the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, and critical youth studies. Through critical ethnographic research, her current work illustrates how current understandings of gender and sexuality in high school school-based sexual health classrooms limit opportunities to provide inclusive approaches to sex education. Please feel free to contact her at jennysperling@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

This episode first aired on KCSB-FM 91.9 on February 9, 2021. 

Bits of music you may have noticed: Yo La Tengo, "Georgia Vs. Yo La Tengo," Ultravox, "My Sex," Dr. Lonnie Smith, "Sexx Laws."