Parents of students at a Florida high school are questioning why they weren’t warned about a sexually charged video that shows a man groping a woman and gay couples kissing.
The Planned Parenthood video was shown to students this month in an English Literature Class at Pine View School in Osprey, Fla., with the goal of teaching teenagers about consent, according to Fox 13 in Tampa.
“We are getting a flood of emails, phone calls and Facebooks,” Sarasota County school board member Eric Robinson told the television station.
Robinson added, “As an adult it can be hard to watch without being uncomfortable. I can imagine how a teenager would watch. The giggles and the gasps.”
The video begins with a male narrator asking viewers, “How do you know for sure if somebody really wants to have sex with you?” He then says, “Asking for consent doesn't have to be awkward. Asking for consent can be kind of sexy.”
The video shows images of a male and female couple, a male gay couple, and a lesbian couple kissing. It also shows a man grabbing a woman’s clothed breast.
The video was used by the Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center but never cleared by administrators, Robinson said. The group issued an apology.
“We sincerely apologize for the incident last Wednesday at Pine View,” the apology read. “The staff member did not follow established protocol regarding the programming presented, and the organization has acted to ensure that this does not happen again. SPARCC has had a positive relationship with Sarasota County Schools that has spanned more than 15 years and we take the trust placed in our organization very seriously. Preventing domestic/dating violence and sexual assault is central to our mission and SPARCC aims to be a trusted resource for our community.”
Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, MichaelFoust.com.
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