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This paper offers an examination of gay–straight alliance (GSA) members’ engagement with sex education, sexual health, and prejudice and discrimination in Canadian public high schools. It explores how five students’ (four straight and one gay-identifying) participation in GSAs served as a springboard for learning about and challenging stereotypes; prejudice; and discrimination directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) people. Queer theory provided the theoretical underpinnings of the study, offering a lens through which to examine the heteronormative underpinnings of education, and a means to interpret how homophobic discourses circulate in school and society. Empirical data were obtained via observational notes from visits to nine GSAs and semi-structured interviews with the five GSA members. Findings suggest that straight allies can use their heterosexual privilege to address LGBTQ issues with their peers. Through GSA involvement, participants learned to interrogate and combat stereotypes about LGBTQ people and HIV-related myths, as well as to engage in queer discussion and political action. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sexuality is an aspect of health and development that is often overlooked among people with physical disabilities, particularly adolescents. Studies have demonstrated that youth with physical disabilities show considerably lower levels of sexual knowledge and receive inadequate sex education compared to their peers without such disabilities. The data for this paper are part of a qualitative study that explored the experiences, barriers and challenges associated with sex education for youth with physical disabilities from the perspectives of young people themselves, their parents and the health professionals who work with them. The findings from this study highlight the tendency for parents, educators and health professionals to place the responsibility of delivering sex education to young people with physical disabilities on someone else who they believe to be more appropriately qualified to handle these types of situations. As a result, the findings illustrate that adolescents with physical disabilities do not always receive the necessary combination of comprehensive sex education within school environments, specialized information from health professionals, and informal sex education from family and peers that they require in order to gain the knowledge and skills needed to understand their own sexual capabilities and make informed decisions about their sexual health and intimate relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]