Leilane R. Spadotto DE CARVALHO and Ana Cláudia BORTOLOZZI
Doxa: Rev. Bras. Psico. e Educ., Araraquara, v. 25, n. 00, e024003, 2024. e-ISSN: 2594-8385
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30715/doxa.v25i00.18364 3
Introduction
Sexuality is a broad phenomenon present in the lives of all individuals and is considered
a fundamental factor for the healthy development of every human being (Brasil, 1997; Bastos;
Deslandes, 2005). It encompasses values, affections, emotions, experiences, affective and
interpersonal relationships, and beliefs, among other aspects, transcending the restrictive idea
that sexuality is merely synonymous with sex (UNESCO, 2019).
In sexuality, one also lives gender, identity, eroticism, sexual orientations, intimacy, and
affection, including thoughts, fantasies, beliefs, attitudes, values, practices, desires, etc. Thus,
although it encompasses and enables various dimensions of unique and intimate human
experience, "they are not always all experienced or expressed. Sexuality is influenced by the
interaction of biological, psychological, social, economic, political, cultural, ethical, legal,
historical, religious, and spiritual factors" (WHO, 2003, p. 5, our translation).
Furthermore, although sexuality is an individual expression, it is a construction
influenced by the context in which we live, varying culturally, temporally, and historically. In
other words, it is not a "natural" issue as it is experienced by cultural human beings (Bozon,
2004; Foucault, 1988; Mottier, 2008).
In contemporary sciences, the importance of positive experiences concerning sexuality
is recognized, but this is still a topic surrounded by taboos and myths, stemming from a history
marked by a long process of repression. According to Foucault (1988), this history revealed
social prohibitions (and permissions) that have been more prominent since the nineteenth
century, with justifications not only religious but also medical, limiting sexual life to the private
context of heterosexual couples for procreation purposes.
Conforming to the standards of what is considered "desirable," "normal," and "healthy"
sexuality, when aligning with a social norm—for example, being a man or woman,
heterosexual, white, thin—is generally demanding for everyone, and this complexity is
multiplied when there is a stigma of difference, such as disability (Bortolozzi, 2021).
The defining models of normality are learned through the processes of Sexual Education
(SE) that we experience throughout our lives in social settings such as family, media, and social
discourses: rules, orders, models, jokes, etc. (Bortolozzi, 2022; Werebe, 1988). This process
can be informal, through various discourses and cultural artifacts, and formalized in systematic
and intentional proposals for teaching about sexuality. In all cases, the behaviors, feelings,
ideas, identities, etc., that are considered "accepted" and "correct" carry a load of morality
constructed socially and historically.