How do we take the best of 1991 and leave the awkward silence behind? Here is a hybrid model.
For Parents Teaching a 10-12 Year Old in 2025 (or any year):
The "top" results for sexual education in 1991 were often characterized by high-production-value educational films distributed by companies like Churchill Media and Disney Educational Productions. Titles such as Growing Up: For Girls and Growing Up: For Boys, along with the explicitly co-ed Human Growth series, became staples in American middle schools.
These films shared several distinct characteristics that defined the "1991 style" of education:
You hear jokes in the locker room. You see magazines under your dad’s bed. You watch music videos on MTV. Let’s get the real facts.
How pregnancy happens:
What no one tells you: You can get pregnant/get someone pregnant the first time you have sex. You can get pregnant during your period. Pulling out (withdrawing the penis before ejaculation) does not work reliably—sperm is released before the final ejaculation.
What about diseases? In 1991, we are very worried about HIV/AIDS. There is no cure. There is also herpes, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and genital warts (HPV). You cannot tell if someone has an STD by looking at them.
The only way to 100% prevent pregnancy and STDs is to not have sex. That is called abstinence. The second-best way is using a latex condom every single time, from start to finish. Condoms are sold in drugstores. They are not embarrassing to buy—the clerk has sold 500 that day. Keep one in your wallet? No—heat ruins them. Keep them in a cool, dry place.
For girls: The birth control pill exists. But it does NOT protect against AIDS or herpes. Only condoms do that.
