ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a few of the important cultural narratives found in our society that influence the conversation about sexuality in education. It discusses cultural narratives that work to form our understanding of sexuality, but the ones discussed here are prominent narratives found in the media consumed by youth and influential in the way in which schools address sexuality. All topics of social identity and cultural politics, the representation of sexuality in our language has become an important site for care and reflection. Heteronormativity assumes that heterosexuality is "normal", and all other forms of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression are not. In The Education of Eros: A History of Education and the Problem of Adolescent Sexuality, Dennis Carlson argues that four major "problems" became central concerns of American high schools: the problem of becoming adjusted to normal family life and gender roles, the problem of the unwed teen mother, the problem of sexually transmitted diseases, and the problem of homosexuality.
