Chris Lieberman, FISM News
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHF) is currently promoting the use of a sexual education curriculum in public schools that promotes ideas such as “porn literacy” and “queering sex ed,” according to a report from the Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF).
IFF explains that the IDHF has been using federal funds to pay for curriculum from Education, Training, and Research (ETR), a non-profit organization whose stated goal is “advancing health equity.” To provide sex education for public schools, IDHF has acquired ETR’s Reducing the Risk curriculum, a curriculum that is endorsed by Planned Parenthood.
“ETR’s Reducing the Risk curriculum promises to teach abstinence,” writes IFF writers Anna Miller and Dr. Scott Yenor. “Instead, ETR delivers a variety of approaches, including an ‘LGBTQ Inclusive’ curriculum that injects education with an emphasis on ‘gender identity, sexual orientation, and behavior.’
ETR also advocates for teaching elementary students about ‘porn literacy,’ which involves instructions on ‘kink and power, pleasure, sexual identity, sexual acts, and sexual exploration in relation to pornography.’”
Idaho’s government offers “porn literacy” to students, planned parenthood curriculum and advocates for abortion.
If this can happen in Idaho, it can happen anywhere. pic.twitter.com/e0mjPIB0vo
— Anna K. Miller (@annakate_miller) September 13, 2022
In another video posted to Twitter by Libs of Tik Tok, ETR instructors discuss the importance of teaching “porn literacy.” One remarks that, “It’s so important we normalize that [porn is] a natural human experience.”
ETR literature states that pornography literacy should be a “required topic” in sexual education. IFF cites an ETR training video in which sex education facilitator Jess Melendez asserts that “porn literacy should start in elementary schools with ‘intimate safety conversations.’ In middle school, students should be able to ‘identify sexually explicit media and pornography.’ High schoolers should be schooled in finding out ‘how can porn that depicts racism be harmful to a viewer.’”
As a porn literacy activity, ETR also recommends having students watch the AMAZE Org video, “Porn: Fact or fiction,” which includes cartoon characters making sexual innuendos and performing sex acts. At one point, a girl in the video exclaims while looking at a tablet, “Wow! That’s so big. I never knew it could be so huge!”
ETR’s curriculum has made its way to Idaho’s public school system through the state’s individual health districts. Idaho’s North Central Health District’s website includes a link to ETR’s web store, where educators can purchase ETR curriculum and training. The health district’s page also includes a link to help Idaho teens with unwanted pregnancies find access to abortions.
As IFF also notes, it appears that the IDHW is aware of ETR’s agenda, being that the department’s own website helps to direct teens to Planned Parenthood facilities.
The fact that a state as supposedly conservative as Idaho could be using such materials in their public schools has raised concern among many on the right. Conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey condemned Idaho’s use of these materials, tweeting, “Teaching children ‘porn literacy’ in school is sexual abuse.”