I received a standard biology based sex ed, menstruation, STIs, condoms and a healthy dose of shame and fear. Pretty standard fare.

My actual sex ed was self led as an adult.

Accessibility was not a consideration during my education.

My sexual partners taught me waaaay more about sex than school ever did.

Also, porn is NOT 'real' sex. That shit can fuck up your expectations.

Dutchie here! As I have one working eye, accessbility wasn't a problem for me. I can tell you something about our sex ed program though.


Please note that the law actually asks way less than what I will describe, but this is what is being taught in most secondary schools. (Most meaning there are exceptions!)

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In my school, sex ed was part of the biology program in our second year of secondary school (age 13-14). Our class was (as in all subjects) a group of mixed sexes and both sexes had to learn the exact same thing. Everything was tested at the end of the chapter, basically the same way as all other tests in biology were.

We had to learn about the reproductive systems, both male and female. Basically anatomy and physiology of how that stuff works. The same detailed level as we would spend on how the heart and circulation works. We had to learn about contraceptives, how effective they are and what makes them less reliable. We also learned about things like coïtus interruptus and not having sex around the most fertile period. We also learned that the only surefire way to prevent STD's and pregnancy is to not have sex at all. We also learned about oral sex and how to protect yourself/the other when doing that. We also talked a bit about homosexuality, but it was considered not useful to speak about it because everyone knows (I disagree, personally). There might have been some mentioning of being transgender, but it wasn't really discussed (I disagree on that as well). We didn't learn a lot about how to actually enjoy sex, or even what areas are sensitive or not (I disagree on that, too).

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That's basically what I can think of right now. I'm definitely willing to help, so feel free to ask questions!

Sex ed in Virginia consists of: If you have unprotected sex the girl will get pregnant without fail and you will probably die from getting a STD, but if you don't have sex at all your life will be amazing and you'll live forever.

Everyone received a packet filled with written information and anatomy diagrams. My packet was converted into braille with tactile diagrams.

My dad gave me most of my sex ed and explained everything I needed to know. When I asked about liking boys (I'm bi) he took a gulp and did the same. School sex ed was pretty useless for me as most of it was done by video with no audio description though my friends told me what happened. By the time I was 15 I was fully sexually active so did most of my learning on the job so to speak.

I had "sex ed" in 5th grade in Colorado. More like puberty ed.

They taught us that boys couldn't pee with a boner, that men couldn't lactate, and that you only needed to start wearing deodorant around age 13. They also said that women on their periods couldn't get pregnant, which my mom and dad learned the hard way was incorrect. Now they have me lol.

It was all auditory though, so I had no visual issue.

I received sexual education the same as the rest of my peers in grades 6-8, ages 11-13 in Phys. Ed./Health class. So I got tactile diagrams specially made, and there were videos which we watched.

I'm from Switzerland. A good amount of my early sex education came from my parents. I was fortunate enough to be raised by very progressive-thinking and easy-going parents. Especially my dad is cool in this regard. His goofy comments and jokes can sometimes be a bit cringy but in a charming way. When I was 12 he had a really wonderful father-son convo with me that I still remember today. We talked about girls and masturbation. He asked me about my experiences and told me very personal memories from his own puberty. I still really cherish this memory. Long before that, around age 3-4, my mom began to read picture books to me. They had illustrations of naked people and explained things like pregnancy.

Later, in school, I had sex ed twice. The first time was in Elementary School, around age 11. Our teacher made all of us write questions onto paper slips and put them into a cotton bag. The girls would ask questions that address male sexuality and vice versa. We then spent several lessons going through all of the questions. The teacher would always first read the question and then ask one of the addressed group girls/guys to answer it. For example a boy might ask "what does it feel like to be on your period?" and one of the girls would answer it for everyone. If nobody raised their hand, the teacher would simply pick someone. Afterwards, the teacher would add a few points, maybe correct something, explain it with easy science etc. I remember it was fun but of course we were all super embarrassed and giggling constantly. "She said penis!! Hihihihi!!!"

Later, in high school, I had sex ed one more time (around age 17) but by now we were all pretty grown-up and also the material was much drier. It heavily focused on biology, anatomy, physiology and at the end there was an exam. We knew the exam would be difficult because all of our biology exas were, and so there wasn't much to laugh about anymore.

During my time in high school I spent one year in America as a foreign exchange student. From this experience I would say the biggest difference between Switzerland's and America's sex ed is that Swiss schools operate without any fear or intimidation. Also, our teachers didn't have an obsession with STDs. I felt like my American teachers had a weird obsession where they couldn't talk about anything else. I don't remember any of them ever saying: "you know guys, sex is a really awesome and fun activity." All I ever heard was "BEWARE THE STDS!!!!" In my school in Switzerland it wasn't like that. We did learn about HIV and other diseases but it was just one issue among many. I think in the end our teachers tried to give us a pleasurable take on sex rather than a scary one.

In terms of accessibility, it wasn't a huge problem me back then because my vision was considerably better. As a child I had about 30/100 vision on both eyes. In high school this figure had already dropped dramatically; my left eye was now completely blind and my right eye was down to 20/100. However, this was still enough to study all the school material as long as my teachers made enlarged photocopies for me (which they did).

Unfortunately, life itself hasn't given me many chances to explore my sexuality and I very much blame that on my blindness/disability. I see other people in this thread talking about their "sexual partners" (plural) and I'm both amazed and envious. I was always very much rejected as a potential boyfriend (let alone a hookup) by the female world. I know this is because of my disability because I've been complimented on my looks and I'm a pretty smooth talker. Also, the indifference from the female world has increasingly gotten worse the worse my vision became. Now that I walk around with a white cane I don't think women my age even view me as a "guy" and therefore as a potential sexual partner. I think there is this weird idea that sighted people unconsciously carry around with themselves that blind individuals are like a neutered, asexual species. It's particularly difficult for blind guys - at least in my country. Most women here still really like the traditional gender ideas, even among the young generation. So, a man has to be a strong protector and all that. If you're blind however, you tend to come across as insecure and many times I have gotten this vibe from girls my age of "oooh, yeah uhhh... this stumbling around and accidentally walking into stuff... big, big turn-off." As you can perhaps imagine, I'm rather bitter about this whole thing.