Overview

In response to the limitations of traditional US sex education models, this book presents a groundbreaking approach rooted in ancient practices of self-cultivation. Shaun Miller critiques existing frameworks—paternalistic, liberal-consequentialist, and liberal-deontological—arguing that they focus narrowly on behavior, outcomes, and consent while neglecting the deeper development of sexual identity and character. The áskesis model, in contrast, offers a transformative method that emphasizes self-discipline, emotional awareness, and critical engagement with societal norms. By applying áskesis to modern sex education, the book proposes a curriculum that encourages students to explore their authentic sexual selves and question heteronormative assumptions. The áskesis model moves beyond risk avoidance and simply giving or receiving consent: it empowers individuals to embrace diverse sexual and gender identities while fostering moral and emotional growth.

Full Product Details

9781666953992

Table of Contents

Reviews

Care of the Sexual Self offers an important, critical philosophical intervention in the field of sexuality education. Miller’s examination of the similarities in terms, assumptions, and logics underpinning ‘Patriarchal’ and ’Liberal’ school-based sex education (SBSE) approaches, and his careful analysis of their consequences on individual development and social relations, significantly deepens current scholarship on consent, heteropatriarchy, ‘readiness,’ and other key SBSE concepts. His proposed model of áskesis, or taking-care-of-the-self, draws on contemporary philosophers (Foucault, Murdoch, Nussbaum, Schusterman) to offer an exciting new vocabulary and framework for an SBSE rooted in students’ sexual subjectivity, existing knowledge and interests, and growth as relational individuals. * Nancy Kendall, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA *

Author Information

Shaun Miller teaches philosophy at Iona University, USA.

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