The joy of sex - sex education through the years!

Sex education is always a topic which stirs emotions. People have such differing views on who should teach it, and how. Schools are criticised for giving too much information and too little. Sometimes it can seem like a no-win situation.

But, it seems that it was ever thus. Sex education videos (and accompanying controversy) have been around for decades, and now the British Film Institute have released a box set of some classics, entitling them The Joy of Sex Education.

The notes accompanying the set, of 16 films, reveal that formal sex education emerged in Britain with the growth of the public school system in the mid-nineteenth century. There was concern about venereal disease, which was reaching "epidemic proportions" in the 1910s.

What the films clearly show is changing times, and a decline in the use of euphemism. This may well be fortunate. If you look at 1932's Mystery of Marriage (above) it purports to teach you about the "attraction of the species". These include mould, spiders, pollinating bumblebees and even people!

Many of the early films, say the BFI, "highlight Britain's horror at the very thought of sex and sexuality." But time moves on, and if you then jump to the far more recent clip of 1973 ("'Ave you got a male assistant please, Miss?") you'll see that attitudes were changing too. This film was released the year after Alex Comfort's The Joy of Sex, and show two students enjoying themselves, with no thought of contraception.

This film (you can see it below) is a more simple call for birth control, but with a scary voice-over giving details of abortions and illegitimate children. In fact, the clip ends with the stark (and somewhat odd message) "There's no need to make an abortion of it."

Read Rose Wild's Archive blog on this topic: Birds do it, bees do it,  bounders in stripy blazers do it....

Read School Gate on:

Why aren't students being told more about sex?

New sex education classes, let's hope there are teachers...

The 15 worst teachers in the movies

And if you're in the mood for love, why not try Money Central's ten tips for having a cheap, but romantic Valentine's Day!

The videos are:

Whatsoever a Man Soweth (1917)
A warning to WW1 soldiers about the perils of fraternising with loose women.

Any Evening after Work (1930)
This is about the dangers of leaving venereal disease untreated

The Mystery of Marriage (1932)
Birds, bees and bunnies show us how it's done.

How To Tell (1935)
Children learn the facts of life.

Trial for Marriage (1936)
Described as a "sizzling insight into student life in the 1930s!)

A Test for Love (1937)
A warning for women of vd. Directed by Vernon Sewell, who went on to become a prolific director
of feature films, including The Blood Beast Terror (1967), starring Peter Cushing.

The Road of Health (1938)

Love on Leave (1940)
A melodrama about romance during World War II.

Six Little Jungle Boys (1945)
Six men go off to war, but one is tempted by the sensual pleasures of the East...

The People at No.19 (1949)
Joan from No.19 gets an unpleasant shock.

Growing Girls (1951)
Mary learns how to survive puberty in this film made to show at girls' schools.

Learning to Live (1964)
Disapproving of sex outside marriage, this shows the tensions between the swinging 60s and a stricter moral code. Claire Rayner makes an appearance too!

Her name was Ellie, his name was Lyle (1967)
This US film about sex and syphilis is pretty liberal. Film fans, it also stars John Pleshette, director of Rocky II and star of Knots Landing!

Don't Be Like Brenda! (1973)
Oh, Brenda! She behaved foolishly. And now she's suffering the consequences.

Growing up (1971)
This explicit film caused uproar on its release. It got rid of euphemistic farmyard references in favour of footage of real people - Birmingham City Council banned the film under the 1964 Obscene Publications Act.

Ave you got a male assistant please, Miss? (1973)
- can be seen above.

Comments

[Whimsey]

I seem to recall that Harry Enfield did one of his spoof Public Information Films about 'a very nasty disease that upright young men can get from unsuitable young women' as warned by a 'chep' in a double breasted suit smoking a pipe, who then went on to advise young men to (a) steer clear of unsuitable young women (b) play more sport to take their minds off the unsuitable young women and (c) have cold baths to make them incapable of responding to any unsuitable young women who happened to be in the vicinity.

I remember in the early 70s as a young teacher, being asked to deal with sex education by a difficult secondary school leaving group of 15 and 16 year olds. One said that if he wanted children he would have to dig a pond as they had only been told about reproduction in fish and frogs. They were difficult so we agreed a kind of contract that they would be sensible if I did what they asked. They dealt with it in an adult, sensible way and we got on very well for the rest of their time at school. They seemed genuinely grateful that someone had trusted them at last. I left teaching shortly afterwards.

[Nazimudding Rangela]

Discussing sex is still a taboo and talking about it in open considered vulgar across the world. B’cause of “sex illiteracy” the subject remains a mystery till date. It means different things to different people. The subject will have to be taught at all levels especially in view of internet providing thousands and thousands of porn videos even to the school kids who will get little from them than getting ‘libido pleasure’.

[w a carr]

I saw a US film in the early fifties Cannot remember its name but it was about the danger of teen pregnancy I remember only one line from it which was spoken in a commentary. When the boy and girl were at last alone together, the line was AND SEX REARS ITS UGLY HEAD

[Pauline]

I remember 'Growing Girls' - they were still using it at my (rather old-fashioned) school in the early 1970s! It was full of rather funny notions about what you couldn't do during your periods (basically anything - you were expected to sit around fainting). The only married lady of mature years on the staff (the hockey mistress) had to tell us about sex (it wouldn't have been decent for the other, unmarried, biology teachers to have done so) and she made it all sound rather like hockey practice ('dribble, dribble, dribble, DRIVE!'). Rather wonderful, really.

[aria]

I'm surprised anyone was having sex in the 1970's if all the men had as much head and facial hair as these two men!!

I suppose it's good that they weren't just telling teenagers not to have sex at all, which would be unrealistic.

The 'don't make an abortion of it' comment at the end is a bit weird.

[Erik Bongers]

Harry enfield indeed!
See these videos that are strikingly similar to the one above!

Harry Enfield - The Congugal Rights Guide
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ivsb79-h90
Harry Enfield - Women Keep Your Virtue
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ0jRuASVEQ&feature=related

[Sue]

How long has Russell Brand been doing Sex Education Videos?

[elizabeth]

Our sex ed, in the 1970s, consisted of a Tampax promotional film

Helpful

But not informative about relationships

[Anne]

In the '70s we were shown a poster of a tree with all its leaves in the summer, then a bare tree in winter: this apparently explained periods to us!

[Miss Prim]

All this nasty behaviour only began after WWII. I have it on very good authority that people did not have S*X before then.
I blame the Americans, they brought it over here.

[Spike]

Surely it's should be souly focused on sex. Looking at the countries where under age sex and teenage pregnancy are low they do a good sex education program. However what they really do talk about which this country is seriously lacking is relationship. The different type of love there is in the world.

We should be focusing more on that. Sex education has it place but only within the context of a loving long term relationship like marriage.