Editing SIECUS

{{short description|Non-profit national advocacy group dedicated to promoting sex education}}
{{Infobox organization
| image               = 
| caption             = 
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| predecessor         = 
| formation           = {{start date and age|1964|07|01}}
| founder             = [[Mary Calderone]]
| extinction          = 
| type                = 
| status              = 
| purpose             = [[Sex education]]
| headquarters        = [[Washington, D.C.]], [[United States]]
| leader_title        = President
| leader_name         = 
| key_people          = Christine Soyong Harley<br>([[President (corporate title)|President]] and [[chief executive officer|CEO]])
| remarks             = 
| name                = SIECUS
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| size                = <!-- only needed for images under 220px, and don't use px, just use a number -->
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| abbreviation        = 
| region_served       = United States
| membership          = 
| website             = {{URL|siecus.org}}
}}
The '''Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States''', or simply '''SIECUS''', is a national, [[nonprofit organization]] based in [[Washington, D.C.]], dedicated to advancing sex education through advocacy, policy, and coalition building. SIECUS develops, collects, and disseminates information, promotes [[comprehensive sex education|comprehensive education about sexuality]], and advocates the right of individuals to make responsible sexual choices.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nsvrc.org/organizations/103 |title=Sexual Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) |accessdate=15 July 2013}}</ref> It is widely regarded as the institutional voice of these concerns and a pioneer of the [[comprehensive sex education]] program.<ref>{{cite book |title=Talk about sex: the battles over sex education in the United States |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P4CE9fp8j-EC |last=Irvine |first=Janice M. |publisher=University of California Press |year=2002|isbn = 9780520235038}}</ref>

==History==
[[Image:Mary Steichen Calderone.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Dr. [[Mary Calderone]], founder of SIECUS.]]
The organization was founded in 1964 by [[Mary Calderone|Dr. Mary Calderone]], then medical director at [[Planned Parenthood]]. With the conviction that sex education was sorely lacking in American society and simply "handing out contraceptives was not enough," Dr. Calderone quit her position at Planned Parenthood and established the '''Sex Information and Education Council of the United States''' (later renamed as "Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States"), the first and only single-issue, national advocacy group dedicated to promoting sex education.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Irvine |first1=Janice M. |title=Talk About Sex |date=2002 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |pages=17–34 |url=https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520355002-004 |chapter=1|doi=10.1525/9780520355002-004 }}</ref> Driven by Dr. Calderone's dynamic talks across the nation and its mission statement, "to establish man's sexuality as a health entity," the organization became an essential umbrella group for school administrators, sex educators, physicians, social activists, and parents seeking to access information about teaching sexuality education.<ref>{{cite book |last1=More |first1=Ellen S. |title=Transformation of American Sex Education: Mary Calderone and the Fight for Sexual Health |date=2022 |publisher=NYU Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-1479812042}}</ref>

During her tenure at SIECUS, Dr. Calderone lectured extensively across the [[United States]], addressing high school and college students, parents, educators, religious leaders, and professional groups on sex education. Known as the "'''mother of sex education'''"<ref>{{cite book |last1=More |first1=Ellen S. |title=Transformation of American Sex Education: Mary Calderone and the Fight for Sexual Health |date=2022 |publisher=NYU Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-1479812042}}</ref> as well as the "'''grande dame of sex education'''",<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lief |first1=Howard |title=In Memoriam Mary Calderone, MD, MPH |journal=Journal of Sex Education and Therapy |date=1998 |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=112–114 |doi=10.1080/01614576.1998.11074216 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01614576.1998.11074216 |access-date=19 December 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Dr. Calderone was an instrumental figure in the advancement of [[sex education]] in the [[United States]], and credited with transforming sex education from "a series of vague moral lessons focused on disease and reproduction" to a scientifically informed, [[comprehensive sex education|comprehensive framework]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Moran |first1=Jeffrey |title=The Grandmother of Sex Education |url=https://www.vassar.edu/vq/issues/2001/01/features/grandmother-of-sex-ed.html |website=Vassar University |access-date=22 December 2022}}</ref>

Her popularity eventually made her a target for right-wing politicians, and conservative religious groups like the [[Christian Crusade]], the [[John Birch Society]], and the [[Moral Majority]], who spent an estimated $40 million on a vicious smear campaign to discredit her.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Oyler |first1=Lauren |title='Not Just a Series of Genital Acts': The Woman Who Revolutionized Sex Education |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/mary-calderone-woman-who-revolutionized-sex-education/ |website=Vice |date=17 February 2017 |access-date=22 December 2022}}</ref> In 1968, [[Billy James Hargis]] and Gordon V. Drake targeted SIECUS, and in particular, Dr. Calderone, in the famous ''[[Is the School House the Proper Place to Teach Raw Sex?]]'' pamphlet, as well as other similar publications, claiming that the organization sought to undermine Christian morality, promote [[promiscuity]], and corrupt children. The pamphlet also argued that sex education is part of a "giant [[Communist]] conspiracy."<ref>{{Cite book |page=20 |title=Sexuality: a search for perspective |year=1971 |publisher=Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. |first1=Donald L. |last1=Grummon |first2=Andrew M. |last2=Barclay |first3=Nancy K. |last3=Hammond |url=https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22were+explicit+in+regarding%22+%22search+for+perspective%22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The American school board journal, Volume 157 |page=12 |first=William |last=Bruce |url=https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=%22part+of+a+giant+communist+conspiracy%22+%22school+board+journal%22&btnG=Search+Books |publisher=National School Boards Association}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newsweek.com/2009/10/27/the-sin-of-yielding-to-impure-desire.html |title=The Sin of Yielding to Impure Desire: a brief history of sex ed in America. |publisher=Newsweek |date=2009-10-28 |last=Cornblatt |first=Johannah}}</ref> After years of vitriolic attacks and death threats from extremist groups, Dr. Calderone retired from SIECUS in 1982, at the age of 78.<ref>{{cite book |last1=More |first1=Ellen S. |title=Transformation of American Sex Education: Mary Calderone and the Fight for Sexual Health |date=2022 |publisher=NYU Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-1479812042}}</ref>

==Recent work==
===Comprehensive sex education===
As an early advocate of scientifically-informed sex education, SIECUS is a pioneer in [[comprehensive sex education]]. According to the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), the guidelines for comprehensive sex education are as follows:<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Malone|first=Patrick and Monica Rodriguez|date=Spring 2011|title=Comprehensive Sex Education vs. Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs|jstor=23032415|journal=Human Rights|volume=38|issue=2|pages=5–22}}</ref>

* appropriate to the age, developmental level, and cultural background of students;
* respects the diversity of values and beliefs represented in the community;
* complements and augments the sexuality education children receive from their families, religious and community groups, and healthcare professionals;
* teaches not only about abstinence, but also contraception, including emergency contraception and reproductive choice;
* teaches about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) issues and questions issues;
* teaches anatomy, development, puberty, and relationships;
* teaches all of the other issues one would expect to be covered in a traditional sexuality education class; and
* should be science-based and medically accurate

===''SIECUS State Profiles''===
SIECUS also disseminates the ''SIECUS State Profiles'', which provide an in-depth and up-to-date look at the state of sex education in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the other U.S. territories. Each profile includes an overview of each state’s current sex education laws, policies, and guidelines, newly introduced legislation, and relevant action that advocates have taken to advance or defend sex education in their communities.<ref>{{cite web |title=The SIECUS State Profiles |url=https://siecus.org/state-profiles/ |website=SIECUS |access-date=31 December 2022}}</ref>

===The Future of Sex Education===
In collaboration with two other organizations, [[Advocates for Youth]] and ''Answer'', a national organization based at [[Rutgers University]], SIECUS funds and manages the '''Future of Sex Education''' (FoSE) project, which seeks to create a national dialogue about the future of sex education and to promote the institutionalization of comprehensive sexuality education in public schools. The FoSE's National Sexuality Education Standards and National Teacher Preparation Standards influence policy-makers and educators alike.<ref>{{cite web |title=Future of Sex Education |url=https://www.futureofsexed.org/ |website=Future of Sex Education |access-date=31 December 2022}}</ref>

===Other===
SIECUS is currently a member of the [[National Coalition Against Censorship]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ncac.org/about-us/coalition|title=The Coalition|publisher=National Coalition Against Censorship|access-date=July 2, 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
<!-- please add a short description [[WP:SEEALSO]], via {{subst:AnnotatedListOfLinks}} or {{Annotated link}} -->
{{div col|colwidth=30em|small=yes}}
* {{annotated link|Comprehensive sex education}}
* {{annotated link|Mary Calderone}}
* {{annotated link|Reproductive health}}
* {{annotated link|Reproductive rights}}
* {{annotated link|Sex education}}
* {{annotated link|Sex education curriculum}}
* {{annotated link|Sex education in the United States}}
* {{annotated link|Sexual revolution}}
{{div col end}}
<!-- alphabetical order please [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.siecus.org/ Official website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110709073838/http://futureofsexeducation.org/ Future of Sex Education] Project of SIECUS, and others, includes evidence-based sex education standards.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sexuality Information And Education Council Of The United States}}
[[Category:Political advocacy groups in the United States]]
[[Category:Sex education in the United States]]
[[Category:Sex education advocates]]