Sex education and masculinity: the ‘problem’ of boys

This article explores the common perception that it is boys who are the problem for sex education and sex educators. It focuses on the expectations of teachers and the role of pornography to challenge some of the underlying assumptions about the relationship between behaviour and learning. Using detailed descriptions from research in an all-boys school, it focuses attention on the problems that boys face in their efforts to obtain information about sex and to forge sexual identities within a highly restricted discursive frame. Drawing on examples from less dominant males, it illustrates the importance of looking beyond surface accounts of their disruptive behaviour and exploring other explanations that recognise the challenges they face in their day-to-day lives.