1.11 Peer Impacts on Values and Beliefs Around Sexuality

Peer group is another major influence on personal values and beliefs. Up until middle school, adults are one of the primary influences on a child’s life, but after that, peer groups start to be the most prominent. Think back to your youth. From whom did you get most of your information on sexuality? Many people cite their peers as their primary source. This can have both positive and negative outcomes. Did any of your friends tell you that they heard that you couldn’t get someone pregnant if you had sex standing up, underwater, during menstruation, or in other ways? Or that you can’t acquire an STI from oral sex? These and many other sexual myths are typically transferred among peers. The problem is that it’s difficult to judge where peers are getting their information or if it is from a reliable source. Even if they heard it in a health class, it may not be accurate. Researchers have determined that abstinence-only-until-marriage education uses sex-negative language and can actually perpetuate myths, such as abortions cause breast cancer or infertility (Waxman, 2004; Woebse, 2014). These types of experiences could dramatically shape how students feel and act regarding their sexual wellbeing, as well as the accuracy of the information they relay to peers (Waxman, 2004; Woebse, 2014).

On the other hand, if friends have access to accurate and unbiased information, whether from a parent, sibling, community organization, or other source, this can have a positive impact on a person. Research shows that young people trust other young people, which is why trained peer educators are often used to communicate health information (Mahat, & Scoloveno, 2018; Wong et al., 2018). Young people are more likely to be open and honest with their peers when it comes to their personal behavior and questions compared to a health teacher who is older than them. And in situations where students don’t have access to school-based sexuality education that is inclusive of LGBTQIA2S+ identities, peer groups can step in to provide information.

Another area of influence is the everyday language that your peers use. Take for example someone using language that sexualizes and exoticizes BIPOC folks or someone who uses the phrase, “Don’t be a pussy” as an insult. How would you react if you heard these things? Think back to when you first heard about your peers becoming sexually active; how did your friends or other people talk about them? How did that differ based on their identities? Alternatively, consider how it might be different to be surrounded by peers who used inclusive language, like using a person’s correct pronouns or refraining from gendering anatomy. Often, this language gives cues to what is and is not acceptable behavior in that environment, or the social norms. Value judgments are associated with behavior, and may differ based on gender identity, or sexual or romantic orientation, race, age, body size, disability, and other aspects of our identities. These experiences from our youth can go on to shape the views we hold later in life.