6 Harmful Beliefs About Sex From My Time at a Catholic All-Girls School
All of these beliefs have one thing in common: they represent a concerted effort to control the behaviours of young, impressionable women
For seven years, I attended an all-girls Catholic secondary school. Between the ages of 11 and 18, I was subjected to thrice daily prayers (in the morning, after lunch and before the end of the school day), periodic masses, spiritual retreats and indoctrination into the belief system of Roman Catholicism through mandatory religion classes. Religion was an academic subject like any other at the school. We had homework, participation grades and failure of this vital class could preclude you from receiving awards and important leadership positions at school.
For the most part, the Catholic School Board vehemently opposed the teaching of sexual education in school. We didn’t learn about the birds and the bees: sexual consent, reproductive health, contraception, none of it. I vividly remember taking a Biology class field trip to a local hospital to learn about some of the critical work they did there and witnessing our teacher interrupt the doctor’s spiel about the importance of using protection at our age. They don’t need to learn about that. Unsurprisingly, when I graduated…
