We will acknowledge that cultural attitudes (SH) capacity to influence the individual behaviours, beliefs, and practices of peoples around the world. How sexual wellbeing is viewed and addressed within different societies will largely come down to the attitudes based in history, social and religious contexts. Then, the relationship between culture and sexual health will be explored based on the changing global context of sexual health.
This can influence cultural attitudes toward sex and lead to a sexually unhealthy lifestyle in communities.
The Role of Culture in Shaping Sexual Health
Sexual health culture is the customs and beliefs in societies about sexuality and reproductive health. And they have a real impact on how sexual health is thought about and acted upon.
Sexual Health Education and Interventions
The World Health Organization (WHO) report giving more attention to cultural mediators of sexual health interventions and programs. Awareness of these cultural beliefs is absolutely instrumental in how sexual health programming can be globally implemented.
1. Cultural Impact on Sexuality Health
Culture will also be considered in relation to aspects of sexual wellbeing such as sexual behaviour, access to healthcare, and attitudes to sexual education. Where talking about sex is considered a taboo, it may lead to people being under-informed and hence unaware of many concepts around sexual health that they should be educated on. A Guttmacher Institute study found that about 75% of young people living in states with sex education restrictions said they lacked the information they needed to avoid STDs and pregnancy!
Ironically, cultures that are more open about sexuality generally have better sexual health. When comparing sex ed in Scandinavia and the U.S., countries with comprehensive sexual education such as Sweden and the Netherlands, have much lower rates of teen pregnancy and STIs.
2. Cultural Perceptions and Sexual Health
Sexgate is a social situation in which cultural beliefs about sexuality determine when behaviours and practices related to sex are okay? Related to this, social norms (essentially traditional beliefs) can work in certain societies so as to stigmatise sexual practices or orientations. The unequal treatment of these minority groups has hence led to poor health outcomes for the LGBTQ+ community as a whole. As the Human Rights Campaign highlights, over 40% of LGBTQ+ youth in the US have reported being unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, revealing just how cultural practices can affect our mental and physical well-being.
Additionally, in some cultures, premarital sex is taboo and sexual health services are difficult for those individuals too. Even in countries like Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia, where adherence to tradition commands the strength of faith, discussing sexual health issues frankly renders those regions as challenged. The UNFPA indicated that these cultural norms often translate into limited access to contraceptive and maternal health services.
Sexual Expectations and Health
The expectations and behaviours surrounding sexuality and reproductive health are culturally situated. Norm differences across different societies are also major factors in the sexual health norms that each society follows.
1. Sexual Health Across Cultures
Sexual health is defined distinctively around the world and that depends directly from cultural contexts. Sexual health in some cultures is mostly discussed within the context of reproduction, with a great emphasis on making babies. In others, a wider view of sexual health incorporates pleasure, consent, and emotional well-being.
One reason, for example, is at the institutional level in Japan, where discussions about sexual health are still mainly framed as reproductive health with contraception and STI prevention. A study in The Lancet found that Japan among the developed nations has one of the lowest contraceptive use, reflecting deeply held cultural attitudes against family planning. Contrast that with the way sexual health is considered in a country like Canada, where the whole broad concept of sexual health exists and includes notions such as pleasure, consent, and even basic human rights around sexuality.
2. Sexual Health Practices Vary Across Cultures
Although clear-cut proof remains slim, it seems likely that cultural disparities in sexual health practices account for differences in health outcomes. Sexuality practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) have been sustained on the African continent based on cultures. According to WHO, FGM has already been subjected to more than 200 million women and girls globally that can cause terrible health assault, psychological injury. Resisting Cuts: Cultural Beliefs Often Thwart Efforts to Combat Female Genital Mutilation.
On the flip side, certain cultures are progressive in the way they approach sexual health. Denmark is one of those high-income countries where a full-scale comprehensive sexual education program forms an integral part of the school curriculum and serves as a reason for considerable awareness among their youth, because of which they have relatively lower STIs rates. In the Danish Family Planning Association, comprehensive sex education attracted 3 million users in its first month all but ensuring that Denmark would have one of the lowest rates of teenage pregnancy in Europe.
Cultural Effects on Sexual Education
Sexual education is largely contingent upon cultural attitudes towards sex, which naturally vary from culture to culture. Sexual education programs are more likely to work if the general population is comfortable talking about sexual health.
1. Global Sexuality Outlook
There is a vast difference in the perception of sexual health education all over the world. Sex education in Western countries is commonly included as part of the curriculum (for example in France) or defined as optional courses such as sexual health and reproduction. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 80 percent of high school students have taken some form of sexual education. Studies have suggested that this strategy helps shift knowledge and risky sexual behaviours among adolescents.
On the other hand, sexual education across regions continues to largely be a taboo, like in pockets of the Middle East or parts of Asia. Talks regarding sexual health are heavily censored or not prevalent at all in countries such as Iran and Afghanistan that as a result, huge numbers don’t actually know what STIs are, or anything about reproductive health. A review in the International Journal of Health Policy and Management showed that only 20% of young people had sufficient sexual health education in these regions.
2. Sexual Health and Our Culture
Participants will describe cultural factors as integral influences to sexual health education programs. In cultures that value virginity before marriage, comprehensive sexual health education programs may have difficulty gaining acceptance.
These policies are especially evident in the US, where an emphasis on abstinence-only education is a general norm that has always been debatable in terms of their effectiveness. And abstinence-only programs show no statistically significant reduction in adolescent sexual activity or decreases in STIs compared to comprehensive programs, according to research published in the American Journal of Public Health. The difference underscores the need for contextualised, culturally sensitive, and scientifically accurate sex education.
Strategies about Cultural Schemas in Sexual Health
An N-backfire1, as PrEP must also address cultural predispositions in order to impact sexual health outcomes. Effective ways to bring about systemic and positive changes will include strategies aimed at structural awareness, which are free from bias, and ensure that individuals can access resources to enhance their own experience.
1. Community Engagement
Talking to communities about sexual health can help disrupt harmful cultural norms and encourage healthy behaviours. Sexual health can be best promoted when the discussion is rooted in the local context of community-led initiatives, with respect for and starting from existing beliefs. The Population Council found that community-based programs involving cultural leaders and stakeholders were more acceptable and better attended.
2. Inclusive and All-embracing Education
Providing sex education in the most comprehensive, culturally-appropriate way possible; Writing on the Wall (WOW): Tracey Emin’s My Bed By making educational material more culturally appropriate, learners may be better able to receive and process information. Another study published in the Journal of Sex Research showed that people who participated in a culturally sensitive sex ed program were more knowledgeable and less stigmatised sexually.
3. Advocacy for Policy Change
Advocacy for policy change is a very much-needed part of sexual health rights and access to resources. Cultural attitudes can change for the better if policy follows that prioritises comprehensive sexual education and reproductive health services. A study published in the journal Global Health Action suggests that implementing positive sexual health policies at a country level was associated with better health-related outcomes and greater acceptance of a variety of sexual health practices.
4. Using Technology to Increase Awareness
Technological activity can be a powerful ally to alert and educate the populations on sexual health. Online platforms and social media can be used to share correct facts, dispel myths, and offer support. A research published by the Journal of Medical Internet Research showed an increase in young people engagement and knowledge around sexual health via social media campaigns.
Recognizing those deep-seated roots of culture could allow nations to develop a more culturally sensitive sexual health promotion, which creates an environment conducive to informed, respectful, and inclusive decision-making. This commitment to cultural consideration in global approaches will undoubtedly change the course of sexual health outcomes for the better and create a more even footing among sexual wellbeing strategies.
