How safe is it to rely on pop culture and content creators for sex education?

Despite the lack of formal sex education in India, adolescents today are a lot more exposed to the world of sex through several means. How reliable is it? 

Despite being the world’s most populated country, incongruously, sex has been one of the biggest taboos in India. Largely absent from academic curricula and household conversations alike, sex education has been shoved under the carpet for years together. In fact, in 2007, certain state governments like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh had declared a veto over the implementation of sex education in schools, and the injudicious verdict continues to be practised today. Moreover, when mainstream cinema tries to create awareness about the significance of sex education—and how a lack of it can be dangerous—in movies such as Oh My God 2, it is counterintuitively given an ‘A’ rating. Moving away from the conventional mindset and welcoming sex education in all respects is paramount for more reasons than one, especially in an age where misinformation can easily impact impressionable young minds.

Considering social media is the biggest touch point for adolescents today, many sex educators have turned into content creators/influencers and have taken it upon themselves to create sexual literacy. Dr Tanaya Narendra (@dr_cuterus on Instagram), Leeza Managaldas (@leezamangaldas), Seema Anand (@seemaanandstorytelling), Pallavi Barnwal (@coachpallavibarnwal), Karishma Swarup (@talkyounevergot), Dr Varuna Srinivasan (@drvarunasrinivasan) and community page Sex Education India (@sexeducation.india) are some of the names that have amassed sizeable followerships based on their sex education-first content. Subsequently, a novel wave of sexual wellness brands also surfaced. Needless to say, Indian pop culture, especially content on OTT, has gone big on the depiction of sex—good, bad and ugly included. Despite the lack of formal sex education in the country, adolescents today are a lot more exposed to the world of sex. Is that a boon or a bane? We ask key opinion leaders.

Why is sex education important?

The general perception that sex education is all about how to have sex is a perilously skewed one, believes Artika Singh, a sex educator who pursued anthropology with a major in public health focusing on reproductive and sexual health. “It’s a broader umbrella that encompasses safety, understanding your bodies, familiarising yourself with periods, variety of sexualities, the health aspect of sex, and most importantly, consent, which we begin teaching kids as young as five years old.” 

While for doctor and sex educator Dr Tanaya Narendra, body literacy (read: sex education) is as important as any other form of literacy, Dr Varuna Srinivasan, a physician, sexual health expert and author, emphasises “comprehensive sex education”. “Most of us have had some or the other sex negativity experience. So comprehensive sex education can offer a lot of benefits—delayed sexual debut, understanding your body and sexuality better, awareness about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the corresponding tests, understanding contraception, and simply reducing harm of any sort,” says Srinivasan. “Sex is very inherent to human beings, so no one can stop anyone from indulging in it. Sex education, however, provides the best tools to allow individuals to make informed choices,” she adds. 

Where do pop culture and social media lag? 

In the recent past, a couple of films and television shows have started spotlighting pleasure—think Lust Stories, Thank You For Coming, Lipstick Under My Burkha, and Made In Heaven among others. However, the aggressive, almost assault-like portrayal of sex in Indian cinema cannot be ignored. The outcome? An inadequacy in the comprehension—and therefore, enforcement—of consent. According to a survey by Tinder, 65 per cent of adults in India struggle with the concept of consent in a relationship. “While digital media has increased the propensity to come across sexual content, many times, the portrayal of intimacy, pleasure and even bodies is not very real. This inaccurate presentation can make viewers question their own bodies and intimacy, should they look different from what they see, especially if we’re talking about adolescents. Additionally, the depiction of using condoms and contraception is very skewed,” says Singh.

Indians today are comparatively more abreast with the term ‘LGBTQIA+’ than a decade ago, primarily due to the abrogation of Article 377 in 2018 and the freedom of identity expression on social media. Again, movies and shows like Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, Margarita With A Straw and Class have attempted to normalise dialogues pertaining to the much wider scope of sexuality. “The #MeToo movement or the repealing of Article 377 are significant milestones that have occurred in the last few years. They have made people more willing to acknowledge how important it is for us as a society to be able to talk about sex and sexuality, and how damaging the dominant culture of shame and silence is,” shares Leeza Managalas, a sex educator with a focus on gender and sexuality, author, and founder of sexual wellness brand Leezu’s. “I think social media and the Internet have also allowed many people to learn about and be exposed to a much wider range of perspectives than ever before. For example, when I was a kid, we didn’t even have access to the vocabulary with which to talk about gender identity outside the binary; today a lot of Indian teenagers have their pronouns in their bios [on social media]. There’s a long way to go, but these changes bring hope,” she adds. However, while such multimedia exposes you to the undiscovered, it can also leave you with a slew of unanswered questions. Adolescents then tend to resort to Google, which operates on the mechanism of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and ad placements—not necessarily the source of the most verified information. 

“There is a lot of one-dimensional advice on the Internet that continues to reinforce gender norms. For instance, a ‘male dating coach’ could still be talking solely from a man’s perspective, while some women might continue to perpetuate the same societal norms that don’t bring about any systematic change,” says Srinivasan. A lot of people on social media are also self-proclaimed experts, “and you can tell that because they refrain from sharing their qualifications.” Mangaldas points out that general sexual illiteracy becomes the biggest advantage for such imposters. “There is so much nonsense peddled as fact. Many people posing as spiritual gurus and ‘motivational’ speakers are typically charismatic con artists looking to take advantage of people at their most vulnerable, and it’s sad that it so often works,” she says. 

While social media has made sex and sex education less of a taboo in India, “consuming information from unreliable sources that are simply looking at capitalising this new-found curiosity and interest is a con,” believes Narendra. “Take actor Ranveer Singh’s recent advertisement with a brand called BoldCare that went viral on social media. While the brand says that it wants to normalise issues around men’s sexual health, what they are doing instead is selling a climax-delaying spray. This is not normalising conversations around men’s sexual health; instead it is giving them a product they don’t need, which, in turn, could numb the penis.” She also finds Google to be a source of misinformation. “I am all in for influencers creating content around such topics, as their influence could help sway people’s opinions and mitigate the stigma associated [with sex]. However, it is imperative that they involve medically qualified experts in such conversations.”

While Srinivasan does believe that the accessibility of such information at your fingertips can allow for more and more people to educate themselves in private, it reduces the pressure on education systems to incorporate sex education in their syllabi, which is what should ideally be done. Skimping over the chapter on the reproductive system in class, briefing young girls about menstruation in isolation (sans boys), and maintaining the hush-hush surrounding sex and sexuality only propagates harmful stereotypes. “While some people mistakenly think that access to sex education will result in everyone rushing to have more sex at a younger age, in fact, studies globally have shown that young people who who have access to comprehensive sexuality education and who can talk to a parent or trusted caregiver about sex, sexuality, and sexual health, are more likely to delay having sex, and less likely to make choices that put their or another’s health and safety at risk,” says Mangaldas. 

Identifying credible sources

“As readers and viewers, we don’t have the tendency to run a fact-check on information that we consume, but we should do so in cases where sensitive topics are involved—anything to do with sex, for example,” cites Singh. “It’s also important to understand that India doesn’t necessarily offer any specialised training for sexual health. So, will a doctor with an MBBS degree have more clinical knowledge? Yes. But, do they automatically have more knowledge about sexual health? No, not always. Also, sexual health and sex education become two different things from a medical perspective; while you do need a doctor to cure the former, the latter isn’t really a ‘medical’ concept, and can be imparted by someone who isn’t a quintessential doctor as well, provided they have other necessary qualifications,” she elaborates.

To make your navigation towards credibility idiot-proof, Singh recommends remaining curious. “As a writer and educator, I always back what I am saying with quotes, research links, and most importantly, logic,” she begins, indicating that the absence of such data are red flags. Ensuring you’re relying on information that is from a source that fosters inclusivity is key. “A pleasure-positive approach to sex education provides not just information about the risks involved such as infection and accidental pregnancy, but also a vision for good sex that is safe, consensual, pleasurable, and joyful. The emotional/social aspects of sexuality– such as identity and relationships—are also discussed, not just the anatomical/reproductive aspects. Lastly, the information is inclusive, not just cis-heteronormative,” shares Mangaldas. Along the same lines, Singh adds, “Many creators/educators and sexual wellness brands may actually lag behind in presenting queer-inclusive, trauma-inclusive, and disability-inclusive content. It’s not criminal to not know, but in a unique case like India, where sexual literacy is at a bare minimum, there is more responsibility on brands, writers and educators than the readers.” 

“I’m a physician with a deep understanding and interest in public health, but I know there are a lot of queer people who are passionate about spreading awareness, and that doesn’t essentially require any degree. However, vetting information is key,” says Srinivasan. “While being a doctor doesn’t give me an edge as such, I think studying sexual and public health from a population-specific manner helps me create content that addresses concerns unique to social groups.” Mangaldas adds, “It’s also worth understanding that while ‘qualifications’ can be helpful indicators of credibility, there are also doctors and political and business leaders—whatever other benchmark you see as a qualification—who spout misinformation, hate, prejudice, and propaganda—so you have to question everything and develop your own critical thinking skills.” 

Way too many people, companies, media platforms, and governments, globally, want to take advantage of the fact that most people are lazy about how they consume information and therefore highly susceptible to bullshit. So you have to put in the work to be intellectually rigorous in the way you consume information, concludes Mangaldas. 

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