Creating Queer Spaces from Film Sets to Sex Ed Classrooms: Lessons Learned from Developing Inclusive Sex Education Training Videos

By Mia Barrett, M.Ed (she/her), dfusion Inc.

I grew up in a conservative household where sex, sexuality and bodies were shameful.  The sex ed I got in high school was fear-based and heteronormative. A key motivation for me in going into the field of Sexual Health Education was to help educators learn how to reach kids like me – the kids who weren’t sure who they were or how they were supposed to operate in this world.

When I tell people that I develop and evaluate sexuality education materials, they often respond by telling me about the sex ed they received in high school.  They recount the horror of images of late-stage STD symptoms, the graphic videos of vaginal birth, or the discomfort of watching their gym coach fumble a condom onto a banana.  People in the LGBTQ+ community share with me how they tuned out their sex ed because none of it felt relevant to them.  They tell me what they wish they had been taught as a teenager about how to have safer sex and healthy relationships as a queer person. Given that only 8.2% of students report receiving LGBTQ+ inclusive sex education and that many evidence-based curricula lack inclusive content, these conversations about un-inclusive sex ed motivate and inspire me to develop training materials for sexuality educators that help them gain the skills needed to teach LGBTQ+ inclusive sex ed.

Figure 1: The author on the film set for SkillFlix for Educators

As Project Director for dfusion Inc’s SkillFlix for Educators project, I knew this was an opportunity to create a meaningful resource for the field. SkillFlix for Educators is a digital training platform designed to help educators develop skills to effectively facilitate sexuality education, regardless of their curriculum or their own training background.   The pilot program evaluation of a subset of videos showed that educators who used SkillFlix for Educators demonstrated an increase in their ability to use skills to be inclusive of LGBTQ+ folks.   I knew that the next phase of SkillFlix for Educators, with more topics and more videos, had the opportunity to help educators deepen those skills.

SkillFlix for Educators uses short, scripted videos filmed on a set using professional actors and film crew.   The SkillFlix for Educators training includes 19 skills, each including 5-10 videos, with one skill focused specifically on creating an LGBTQ+ inclusive classroom.

In developing this training series, we learned to:

1.       Weave Inclusivity Throughout

Inclusivity doesn’t mean having just one lesson that acknowledges LGBTQ+ people.  It means incorporating an inclusive lens in every element of the class, from setting group agreements to safer sex lessons.  The SkillFlix for Educators training needed to model that comprehensive inclusion. An advisor to this project shared “We need to think of inclusiveness across skills. If teachers are using Group Agreement skills as part of their climate-building we really have to build the climate and make sure that we are inclusive and really bring everyone in....”.

2.       Include LGBTQ+ People

This may be obvious, but LGBTQ+ inclusion is only possible if you actually include LGBTQ+ people.  This means sharing LGBTQ+ stories, developing LBGTQ+ characters, hiring LGBTQ+ writers, actors, and advisors.  One actor explained, “As a young nonbinary demisexual, shoots and programs like these are very meaningful to me.” 

Several of the actors shared their perspectives about inclusion of LGBTQ+ people on set and in the classroom.  

3.       Create a supportive work environment

A film set brings together actors, writers, project managers, directors, camera operators and more.  We quickly realized that we needed to be as intentional about creating a safe space on set as we encourage educators to do in a classroom. This meant setting aside time at the beginning of the week for comprehensive introductions, providing privacy options for dressing and restrooms, and modeling expected behavior.

Since most LGBTQ+ youth feel excluded from conversations about sexual health, how can you further weave inclusivity through your work?  Where can you intentionally include LGBTQ+ people and create a supportive environment for them?

Article Details
Using LGBTQIA2S+ Inclusive Practices When Filming Sex Education Training Videos: Lessons Learned
Mia Barrett, MEd, B. A. Laris, MPH, Regina Firpo-Triplett, MPH, MCHES, Tamara Kuhn, MA
First Published November 29, 2022
DOI: 10.1177/15248399221139300
Health Promotion Practice

About the Author