The language of the right: Sex education debates in South Australia

Abstract

In 2003 a campaign took place against a new model of sex education in South Australia. This campaign, organized primarily by Christian Right1 groups, included community forums, a letter-writing campaign, extensive media coverage and a parliamentary debate. This paper analyses the language, arguments and strategies used by those who opposed the programme and explores some of the challenges in responding to this in a way that destabilizes the 'family values' discourse rather than reinforcing it through entrenching predictable binary positions. While this debate did not result in the withdrawal of the programme, it provides an important insight into the emergence of a more active Christian Right in Australia and signals that the gains made to implement comprehensive sex education should not be taken for granted. It also reveals the influence of the US Christian Right where similar language and arguments have shaped their government's conservative abstinence approach to sex education.