PIX
|
SYNC/COMM
|
Time
|
Opening shots of education - EG: Students in classrooms, hands raising, sex ed classes
|
Comm: Sex Education. Two words sure to inspire nervous whispers and awkward giggles in classrooms all across Britain. However, if you’re one of many young, bisexual students then this class may only be giving you half of what you need.
|
|
Zak walks onto screen
Mix with actuality
|
Sync: I’m Zak Wilkins, a genderfluid, pansexual filmmaker. I came out as bisexual when I was 14 and then bouncing between identities for six years after as I struggled to find a label I felt appropriately described me.
|
|
Zak sat on bench
|
Sync: I’d been aware I wasn’t straight for years and hoped sex ed might help clear up some of my confusion. Instead, I was taught about heterosexual sex, heterosexual relationships and heterosexual health risks. With no mention of sexuality or gender identity I used the internet to educate myself - leading to years of self loathing and confusion.
|
|
|
Sync: It wasn’t until I was 20 that I truly felt comfortable with and confident in my identity but I’d always hoped that my school could have given me the information I needed to make this realisation sooner.
|
|
Actuality -
Full Family
Molly
Debbie and Darrell
|
Comm: I wanted to see if sex education had gotten any better in the 8 years since I struggled through it so went to meet Molly, a thirteen year old student who’s just had her sex ed classes and her parents, Debbie and Darrell to get their opinions on what their daughter should be taught.
|
2 mins
|
Interview in vision - Presenter
Molly
|
Sync Zak - So you recently had sex ed, what sort of topics did you cover?
|
|
|
Sync Molly - We were taught about straight relationships, pregnancy and stis. We didn’t talk about lgbt people at all.
|
|
|
Sync Zak - Do you think you should be taught about lgbt relationships?
|
|
|
Sync Molly - I think learning about lgbt relationships would be useful because then lgbt people in the class wouldn’t feel so isolated.
|
|
Actuality -
Debbie & Darrell
|
Sync Zak - How do you feel about your kids being taught about lgbt issues?
|
|
Interview in vision -
Debbie & Darrell
|
Sync Debbie - I don’t see why not. When I was younger we knew nothing about gay people. I didn’t know anybody that was gay until a family member came out. Maybe not when they’re young but as they get older it’s an issue they should become aware of.
Sync Darrell - I don’t think it should be taught until then in years 10 or 11, when it’s relevant to learn about sexuality. If we teach secondary school kids.
I definitely don’t think primary school kids should be learning about sexuality. At primary school, all they should need to know is about puberty.
|
|
|
Sync Zak - Would you feel confident answering questions about sexuality if your children came to you instead then?
Sync Debbie - I’m more than happy to talk about sexuality with our kids.
Sync Darrell - We’ve always taught our kids to be honest.
Sync Debbie - Like when Tommy came out ...
|
|
Actuality of Tommy
|
Sync Tommy - Introduces self
|
|
Interview in vision -
Tommy
|
Sync Tommy - I came out to my friends at school first. My parents came after that ...
|
|
|
Sync Tommy - My sex ed had some coverage of lgbt relationships but it was very basic. I had a close friend come out and after that a lot of us started thinking about sexuality and realising we might not be straight.
A lot of my information about straight
|
5 mins
|
Screen grab from national curriculum page
|
Comm: The current sex education curriculum states “It doesn’t promote … any particular sexual orientation.”
|
|
Zak
|
Sync: Although schools are supposed not to promote any specific sexuality, a large majority of schools still appear to be teaching with a heteronormative bias.
|
|
CU
|
Sync: For young people questioning their own sexuality, this erasure can only serve to maximise their confusion.
|
5mins 30
|
On screen text reads:
"It's basically as if trans people don't exist within the concept of sex, nor LGBT people at all.
|
Comm:
"It's basically as if trans people don't exist within the concept of sex, nor LGBT people at all.
|
|
The only couples that we talk about are cis straight ones.
(Cisgender = Somebody that identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth)
|
Comm:The only couples that we talk about are cis straight ones.
|
|
Sitting there as kid who's questioning and being shown "this is what's normal" is crushing because it feels like there's no space for you in the world.
|
Comm:Sitting there as kid who's questioning and being shown "this is what's normal" is crushing because it feels like there's no space for you in the world.
|
6 mins
|
Sequence: Zak meeting with Hilary Cooke.
|
Zak Comm:I went to meet with Hilary Cooke from MGSDC, the Medway Gender and Sexual Diversity Centre.
|
|
Sequence: Interview set-up, Zak and Hilary talking.
|
Zak Comm: MGSDC go into schools delivering LGBTQ+ edcuation sessions. I wanted to find out the importance of their work.
|
|
INTERVIEW WITH HILARY COOKE
|
INTERVIEW WITH HILARY COOKE
|
|
INTERCUT WITH ACTUALITY OF THEM TEACHING IN SCHOOLS
|
|
|
INTERVIEWS WITH STUDENTS
|
INTERVIEWS WITH STUDENTS
|
9 mins
|
Zak sat on bench
|
Ultimately, the careless teaching of sex-ed is having a serious impact on not only LGBTQ+ people but heterosexual and cisgender people, being taught narrow heteronormative viewpoints.
|
|
Zak stands, walking towards the camera
|
However, the government has recently pushed forward the agreement to update the current British sex-ed curriculum.
|
|
Screen grab from new curriculum plans
|
However, it still lacks a clear approach to queer issues and could just as easily repeat it’s precessor’s mistakes. With hopes, it is a sign of good things to come for LGBTQ+ students and boring sex ed classes everywhere.
|
|
CREDITS
|
|
10 mins
|
