Blue-state school district's 'Comprehensive Sexuality Education' curriculum defines variety of gender identities, sexual vs. 'romantic' orientations: 'Metagender,' 'panromantic'

A school district in Oregon is teaching tenth-graders about various gender identities and the differences between sexual and "romantic" orientations, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported.

Documents obtained by the DCNF revealed that the sexuality curriculum at Hillsboro School District is defining terms like "metagender" and "panromantic."

The curriculum, created by teachers and counselors, includes a "Gender & Sexuality" presentation that asks tenth-grade students, "How do gender stereotypes influence people's behavior?"

"In this lesson, students will distinguish differences between sex, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation/attraction. They will start to explore some gender stereotypes in the US as well as within other cultures around the world with a gender box activity," the curriculum states.

As part of students' learning objectives for the course, they are asked to identify three gender identities and sexual orientations, as well as "describe the difference between sexual orientation and sexual behavior."

The curriculum encourages students to "practice non-judgment" and be "open-minded."

"Gender is a cultural construction," states the presentation, along with a link to a "map of gender-diverse cultures" on PBS.

The district's curriculum promotes "equity" and lists gender-neutral pronouns, including "they," "them," "ze," and "zir."

One of the presentation's slides includes a diagram of a person and breaks down the differences between "gender identity," "assigned gender/sex at birth," "gender expression," "sexual orientation," and "romantic orientation."

According to the curriculum, "who a person is romantically attracted to" can be different from "who a person is sexually attracted to."

Students are then taught about various gender identities, including "transgender," "cisgender," and "non-binary." "Metagender" is defined as someone who "identifies as neither cisgender nor transgender." It also explains that "agender" is a person who "does not experience gender," while "gender fluid" is an individual whose identity "varies over time."

Similarly, the presentation breaks down sexual versus romantic orientations, defining terms including "heterosexual," "homosexual," "bisexual," "pansexual," and "asexual." Students learn that "demisexuals" experience "little to no sexual attraction until a close bond is formed," while "panromantic" people feel "romantic attraction regardless of gender."

The district's curriculum provides students with three examples of individuals who identify with varying gender identities, expressions, and orientations. One example, "Cece," goes by "she/her" pronouns, was "assigned" male at birth but identifies as a female who is both sexually and romantically attracted to men. Another example, "Casey," was "assigned" intersex at birth, does not identify as male or female, has multiple gender expressions, but is not sexually or romantically attracted to anyone.

A Hillsboro School District spokesperson told the DCNF, "Our CSE [Comprehensive Sexuality Education] curriculum was created by teachers and counselors, in collaboration with and adapting resources from the State of Oregon, local community organizations and curriculum publishers."

"You can find a list of the CSE lessons and the Oregon Health Education Standards they meet on our website. Our teachers must teach the standards and are given training and support to do so; however, if they do not feel comfortable or confident in delivering CSE lessons, they can request that other trained staff members do so on their behalf," the spokesperson added.

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