“Queer Joy in Sex Ed Is an Act of Repair”: Queering Sex Education in New Brunswick, Canada, Through Cellphilm and Zine Production

Sex Education Queer Youth Need (SEQuYN) is a collaborative, arts-based action research project addressing gaps in sexuality education for 2SLGBTQ+ youth in New Brunswick, Canada. The project responds to the exclusion of diverse sexual identities and experiences from school curricula, a pressing issue across Canada. Launched in Spring 2020 amid COVID-19, SEQuYN involved gathering anonymous responses from 25 youth aged 18–29 about their sexual educational needs and experiences. Youth participants answered questions such as, “What do you wish you had learned in school-based sex education?” and “How can we reflect trans experiences in sex ed?” The research team transformed these responses into cellphilms (cellphone + film production). Later, we co-produced zines during a 2024 workshop, exploring the inclusion of queer joy in sex education. Our analysis, framed by queer joy, explores the process of making and sharing cellphilms and zines to mobilise sexual health information and queer youth perspectives, to foster the sex education queer youth need. However, we also question how likely New Brunswick teachers are to integrate these creative methods into their practice, as the existing curricula and policy context erases the sense of urgency or need.