From purity rings to 'Don't Say Gay,' the right's war on sex ed never ended

"Recently, the Administration for Children and Families sent letters to health departments in states and territories across the United States, requiring them to remove "all references to gender ideology"from the Personal Responsibility Education Program that provides federal funding for sex education. It's a disturbing move that mirrors how, from the 1980s through the early 2000s, the Bush administrations threatened to and did cut federal funding to states and schools that refused to teach abstinence-only sex education as part of the Purity Culture Movement."

"Similar to contemporary "Don't Say Gay"movements that empower parents seeking to remove references to LGBTQ+ individuals from classrooms and libraries, abstinence-only sex education has been proven to be deeply ineffective and harmful to children. These parallels are more impactful than ever, as the administration regulates what sex education can be taught in schools by withholding funding. It's a sex education version of "Don't Say Gay" that shows how modern anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is a new form of purity culture, and one bent on eliminating not only representation but also education about LGBTQ+ bodies."

The Administration for Children and Families required states and territories to remove references to gender ideology from the Personal Responsibility Education Program, which provides federal sex education funding. The directive echoes federal funding pressures from the 1980s through the early 2000s tied to abstinence-only programs under the Purity Culture Movement. Contemporary "Don't Say Gay" efforts similarly push to remove LGBTQ+ references from classrooms and libraries and to regulate what can be taught by withholding funds. The Adolescent Family Life Act funded chastity programs in the 1980s, and Bowen v. Kendrick in 1993 led to restrictions on religious promotion and a requirement for medical accuracy, while later reports documented widespread inaccuracies in abstinence-only materials.

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