"That's already being done": Symmetrical analysis of Chile's sexuality education policy

Abstract

In this article we analyze the deployment of the Chilean sexuality education policy between 2009 and 2020. Methodologically, we proceed by means of a qualitative study from a symmetrical perspective, resorting to documentary analysis to interrogate a corpus composed of 38 documents of declarative, historical, normative and/or technical types that referred to the problematization, construction and/or evaluation of the Chilean sexuality education policy between the years 2009 and 2020. The results address four particular axes: the emergence of the problematization of sex education, its general functioning, the interpellations it has experienced, and the strategies that have been used to sustain it over time. By way of discussion, the hybrid character of the sexuality education policy across health and educational fields is raised. Finally, these components transcend the politics of consensus, since they not only seek to eliminate political conflicts, but also establish the idea of participation limited exclusively to freedom of choice.