ABSTRACT

As school boards, teachers, young people, parents, and legislators argue over whether, what, and when young people should learn about sexuality in school, they are also struggling over what it means to be a sexual person. They are helping to decide what kinds of sexual behaviors, identities, and decisions are acceptable in their schools, neighborhoods, and towns. They are helping to define “good” sexual citizens by delineating which sexual desires, behaviors, and identities confer the rights and responsibilities of belonging, and which preclude full, legitimate citizenship.