Is Queer Sex Education in Ontario Finally Out of the Closet?

Abstract

In 2010, Ontario’s Ministry of Education introduced a revised Health and Physical Education (H&PE) curriculum that promised to be a vital health promotion initiative. Yet, after a minority conservative backlash, the Ontario government withdrew the sexual health sections from the elementary school curriculum, reverting it back to its 1998 content. This study is a content analysis, informed by queer theory and institutional ethnography, of the current and proposed H&PE documents, with a focus on the sex education component. This research aims to examine i) the specific differences between the new and old H&PE documents with respect to referencing and delivering sex education, and more specifically sex education on queer/trans* issues; and ii) the potential social exclusion that the absence of queer/trans* curriculum content imposes on youth. The findings demonstrate that evidence-informed policy development cannot always overcome political power imbalances, such as those created by the socially constructed ideology of heteronormativity. As the Ontario government prepares to implement the reformed curriculum, this study provides insight into its controversial history and the complexities of policy development—insights that may extend beyond this moment.