Out of 160 Fresno Unified high school students who took a survey conducted by The Fresno Bee, more than half said they had only “learned a little” about sex in school. Sixteen percent said they had learned nothing at all.
In Asian American families, where the subject of sex is particularly taboo and parents may lack sex education themselves, discussions about sex are less likely to happen. Reporter Thy Vo set out to document the consequences for young Asian Americans.
In the years after coming out to his family as a teen, Lotus Dao felt alienated from them. Lacking support, he began abusing cocaine and alcohol, and struggled with an eating disorder. His story is not uncommon in a community that does not openly discuss sex and gender, Thy Vo reports.
Sexual health and reproduction are not openly discussed in the Vietnamese family beyond discouraging premarital sex, and there are few resources to help families navigate the challenges of a cross-generational, cross-cultural "sex talk."
