Biological Determinism and Gender Issues in Sexuality Education

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Abstract
There is currently a strong emphasis on biology and physiology in sexuality education in the schools. If social and cultural issues are ignored and physiology oversimplified, teaching sexuality as a science can produce a biological determinist view of gender issues. This paper specifically examines these ideas in relation to the ways in which discussions of the roles of sex hormones can reinforce sex role stereotypes, particularly in the areas of aggression and sex drive. The mistaken and potentially dangerous conclusions that can easily be drawn are that such culturally determined behaviors as male sexual aggression and female passivity are actually biologically determined and innate.