Reimagining Gender and Sex Education as a Political Right

This chapter reconceptualizes gender and sex education not merely as a public health policy but as a political right fundamental to democratic life. Revisiting the 1999 ICPD+5 review, among others, it shows how early global commitments framed sexuality education in developmentalist and individualized terms, limiting its democratic potential. Drawing on feminist, queer, and democratic theory, the chapter demonstrates that gender and sexuality structure historical narratives, legal and economic arrangements, and everyday power, making education on these themes indispensable for meaningful citizenship and collective self-determination. It further contends that contemporary attacks on gender and sex education are not cultural backlash but efforts to erode democratic capacities. It concludes by defending such education as a collective good vital to sustaining democratic societies.