Sexual Education & Advocacy at Mizzou, a student-run organization, reimagines sex education by emphasizing trust, guest speakers and shared experiences
Sex education. It is an often regretted, never quite fulfilling curriculum that almost every student has experienced at some point. The term conjures images of textbook diagrams and deep discomfort. But Sexual Education and Advocacy at Mizzou wants to change the way MU students approach their sexual well-being.
“It always felt like the one scene in ‘Mean Girls’ with the gym teacher,” said Comfort Adegoke, SEAM Public Relations Chair. “Like, ‘You’re gonna have sex, and you’re gonna get pregnant, and you’re gonna die!’ That’s literally what it felt like throughout sexual education.”
Since its founding in 2022, SEAM has worked to reshape these lessons on sexual education that many have found to be less than informative. At their first meeting each year, members of the executive board ask participants to reflect on these experiences.
“Our first question (was) ‘What’s been your previous experience of sex ed?’” SEAM President Katie Schnelle said. “A lot of times I feel like that meeting goes really well because people are bonding over a shared experience that’s not so positive, but it’s like they all feel in that moment, ‘We as a people who have been deprived of this information really don’t know that much.’”
Every two weeks, board members present a variety of topics, such as consent and contraceptives. But the conversations at the organization’s meetings extend beyond sex. A meeting last semester was titled “Relationships and Responsibility,” where the board brought in guest speakers from the MU Counseling Center to speak on romantic and platonic relationships and boundaries. This semester, meeting topics include “Queer Film and Reflection,” and “Sex Myths: True or False.”
Meetings are held in the MU Women’s Center, which features bookshelves, soft armchairs and complementary tea. However, a cozy environment doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone at these meetings feels comfortable. SEAM focuses on creating a space where people feel empowered to openly discuss taboo topics with the goal of fostering education.
“We try to make it a space that essentially anything that has to do with sex and our bodies is something that can be talked about,” Adegoke said.
And for Schnelle, meetings have to remain confidential to ensure that taboo topics don’t become more stigmatized.
“We say ‘safe space,’ and it’s kind of a funny term, but it is a real thing,” Schnelle said.“It is making sure that (SEAM) is a place to share things, because it might feel like there’s even further stigma regarding the overall topic of sex education.”
SEAM navigates discussing certain stigmatized topics with accuracy and understanding. Its presentations include research and personal experience and when the board wants extra support, it looks to other MU resources for accurate and researched information.
“It’s always nice having a professor whose life’s work is dedicated to a specific issue,” Adegoke said. “They can come in and talk about their experiences that we wouldn’t be able to dip our toes into. It’s really interesting to get those other perspectives.”
Because of the sensitive nature of the topics discussed, SEAM strives to establish shared trust through a community effort.
“Just having that trust and knowing that no one is gonna go around telling other people something personal about you, I feel like that’s really good,” Adegoke said.
For Schnelle, SEAM isn’t just about bringing light to stigmatized topics or talking about sex in an isolation chamber. It’s about education and fostering community.
“It’s healthy to learn,” Schnelle said. “Just because you’re learning about it, doesn’t mean you have to engage, or just because you’re learning about it doesn’t mean that it’s inherently bad. At the end of the day, it’s just learning, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Edited by Eric Hughes | ehughes@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Stella Spragg and Hannah Taylor | htaylor@themaneater.com
Edited by Emilia Hansen | ehansen@themaneater.com
Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com