The debate about sex positivity

Duration of activity: 45 min

Learning objectives:

Explore what is meant by the concept ‘sex positivity’
Identify the barriers to enjoying a positive, free and pleasurable sexuality
Explore how social expectations, values and taboo are restricting young people from exercising a sex positive approach to their sexuality.
Challenge common myths, stereotypes, attitudes and taboos about sexuality and encourage young people to adopt a sex positive approach

Materials needed:

List of statements for the debate
6 chairs (3 chairs opposite another 3 chairs) set up in a visible space in the room

Recommended prior reading

Step by step process of the activity:

Explain to young people that in this activity they will play a debate game. They will engage in a debate the same way as politicians do.
Two groups will debate each other on a certain statement. One group will agree with the statement and the other will disagree. This will be assigned at random by the facilitator.
Each group will have 1 minute to prepare their arguments beforehand. Then they have 30 seconds to present their arguments. The first group starts and presents its arguments for 30’; the other group then has to oppose these arguments for the next 30’’. The groups then go on for a second round and possibly a third round if they still have arguments to present. However, each statement will only be discussed for a maximum of 3 rounds and the debate would be considered complete after that.
It is important to explain to both the debate participants and the ‘audience’ that during the debate the participants are asked to play a role. They are not necessarily presenting their own (real) views but instead they have to support the arguments that have been allocated to their group. Quite often, this means that they will have to support views that are contradictory to their beliefs. But this is the beauty of the debate.
Once the debate for each statement finishes, the plenary can vote which team convinced them more and has ultimately won the debate.
Then you move on to the next statement and the groups discuss the new statement for 3 rounds and so forth.
To engage more participants in the debate, rotate the participants in the groups. One new member can substitute one of the existing participants in each group, once the debate on a statement has been completed. When it is time for the next statement, two new members join the groups etc.
To be fair, you can change which group agrees and which disagrees when you move on to a new statement. This way the groups would not feel that they are always forced to think of arguments that are contrary to their beliefs.
Also feel free to change the order of the statements or add new ones, according to where the discussion is headed during the debate. The most important thing is to help young people challenge existing limiting beliefs, myths and stereotypes.
In lieu of time restrictions, you may have time to go through 4-5 statements only, so choose the most appropriate/challenging statements for your target group.
Upon completion of the debate, you can wrap up the activity with a short debriefing.

Facilitation questions for reflection and debriefing: (25 min)

How did you feel during the debate? How was the experience for you?
How did you manage to find arguments that were opposing to your real beliefs? Where did you draw information from so you could present these arguments?
Do you think the statements that were presented represent facts or values?
Taking the first statement, for instance, what values are underlying it? Should we openly express what we enjoy/not enjoy during sex? What does negotiating our needs and desires connote (self -determination, a sense of agency etc.)? Are these aspects of a positive approach to sexuality you think? In what way?
How about the statements that were discussing exploring our sexuality or using non-mainstream means to explore our sexuality (sexting, sex online etc.)? What values are underlying these statements?
Do you think people need to be free to explore their sexuality?
Are they free to do so? What acts as a barrier in young people adopting a positive approach to their sexuality?
Can young people explore their sexuality in a safe and positive way? How can this happen (consent, sexual literacy, empowerment, sense of agency, self-determination, communication, negotiation, safer sex practices, steering free from coercion, abuse and exploitation etc.)

Take home messages and activity wrap up:

You can use the theoretical part of this module to guide you through your answers during the wrapping of the activity. Some indicative responses are also included below, in the worksheet. The important message of this activity is that sex positivity entails freedom, experimentation, openness, pleasure, and also a strong sense of personal agency -practiced in a consensual, safe and respectful manner, free from coercion and exploitation.

Tips for adapting the activity and follow up:

Instead of running the activity as a debate, you can run it in the form of the agree/disagree methodology, as outlined in activity 10.2 ‘Do you agree or disagree: Myths and realities about GBV’. Alternatively, you can give the statements below as a handout and ask young people to identify which statement represents a fact and which a value. You can then follow with the discussion in plenary.

Adapting the activity for online implementation

● Debates are usually difficult to implement online in their traditional format (i.e. with timed responses, need for arguments to be presented as ‘for’ and ‘against’ between two groups).

● One way to adapt this activity for online implementation is to turn it into an online quiz. Each statement can be followed by three options (i) Agree (ii) Disagree and (iii) It Depends/It is complicated.

● A short discussion can then follow each statement, following the tips provided under the ‘possible answers’ section above.

● Remember to generate a discussion around the ‘right’ answer. In reality, no ‘right’ answer may exist for each statement because of all the nuanced surrounding sex positivity and you want to avoid the risk to be too ‘one-dimensional. It is also important for participants to understand how sex positivity may be embraced/applied differently due to participants’ circumstances or cultural contexts.

● Certain platforms like Quizizz https://quizizz.com/) allow you to include an explanation to your answer and this can be helpful in providing some more specific content for participants. You can draw on some pointers presented in the ‘Possible answers’ above.