The Talk: How the Christian Right and the Liberal Left are Talking about more than Sex
Location
AUDITORIUM ROOM 137A
Start Date
4-4-2018 9:20 AM
End Date
4-4-2018 9:35 AM
Name of Project's Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Martha Copp
Faculty Sponsor's Department
Sociology
Type
Oral Presentation
Project's Category
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract or Artist's Statement
Sex education has been an American morality war from the beginning. This thesis studies the rhetoric the two major types of advocacy groups, the Christian Right and the Liberal Left, uses to discuss sex education. I conducted a content analysis of six sex education advocacy organizations. I used three organizations from the Christian Right: The Heritage Foundation, Family Research Council, and Focus on the Family and three advocacy organizations from the Liberal Left: American Civil Liberalities Union, Guttmacher Institute, and Planned Parenthood. I coded and analyzed the most relevant content each advocacy organization uses on their online platforms. As a result of my analysis, I found that the Christian Right and the Liberal Left are not debating sex education with each other, but talking to their respective bases as an audience. Meaning that no actual debate about sex education is happening in America. Furthermore, when the advocacy organizations discuss sex education, other connected issues are entangled in the debate: this is not just about sex education. Sex education is at the center of other issues both the Christian Right and the Liberal Left discuss such as: healthcare, morality, marriage, education, and STIs. Sex education is a morality war, because it is about more than sex education it is about the foundation of the Christian Right and the Liberal Left.
The Talk: How the Christian Right and the Liberal Left are Talking about more than Sex
AUDITORIUM ROOM 137A
Sex education has been an American morality war from the beginning. This thesis studies the rhetoric the two major types of advocacy groups, the Christian Right and the Liberal Left, uses to discuss sex education. I conducted a content analysis of six sex education advocacy organizations. I used three organizations from the Christian Right: The Heritage Foundation, Family Research Council, and Focus on the Family and three advocacy organizations from the Liberal Left: American Civil Liberalities Union, Guttmacher Institute, and Planned Parenthood. I coded and analyzed the most relevant content each advocacy organization uses on their online platforms. As a result of my analysis, I found that the Christian Right and the Liberal Left are not debating sex education with each other, but talking to their respective bases as an audience. Meaning that no actual debate about sex education is happening in America. Furthermore, when the advocacy organizations discuss sex education, other connected issues are entangled in the debate: this is not just about sex education. Sex education is at the center of other issues both the Christian Right and the Liberal Left discuss such as: healthcare, morality, marriage, education, and STIs. Sex education is a morality war, because it is about more than sex education it is about the foundation of the Christian Right and the Liberal Left.