I assume depending on where you grew up or your curiosity while growing up, you totally learned about sex during your middle school to high school years. The question, however, is what exactly did you learn about sexual relations between men and women? And immediately we’re off on the wrong foot!
So this obviously was a long time ago for me, but at best back in Catholic school in 7th and 8th grade we brought in a special counselor to teach the class about sex at some point during the year (I’m in my 30s!). So naturally aside from the very basics (or concerns), any other types of sexual education you either learn from other people your age, in summer workshops, or in college. And then after college you just learn from other adults or porn. Certainly there are likely different experiences from me, but from a general perspective growing up it certainly felt like talking about sex was not taboo but not in substantial detail.
And also from a general perspective, it’s very limited in what you learn as well. Think you’re figured out that we didn’t learn about same-sex relations back then, but stuff about self-pleasure or even general terms weren’t mentioned either. You’ll find out all of that by reading Sex Ed 120%, which likely will win you over with its charm and humor, and then educate you with its talk about dental dams, every slang for the vagina, and the penis of a sugar glider.
Naoko Tsuji is fed up with the suboptimal sexual education in schools. She becomes a health teacher and aims to teach sex education at her new school properly. But after attempting to give away condoms and dental dams to her class at an all-girls school, she gets chewed out by the nurse and other staff. Undeterred, she interests a couple of students with her knowledge, and that leads to giving them lessons even after classes have ended.
The good news for Tsuji is those couple of students are very interested. From a boys-love fan to a lesbian to an avid-cat lover, this ends up opening the spectrum of what can be discussed in this manga. And I mean the spectrum is wide! This is rated mature so certainly this should be read if you’re ready. But the manga is presented in a pretty easy-to-understand fashion with drawings that are fairly safe. It also has topics that I think should be taught if you’re running a sexual education class for those in high school.
What likely helps is how far this series is aiming to go. It’s certainly not limiting itself to relationships with men and women. Heck, there’s even one chapter that calls out a love hotel for denying two gay men from staying there. No, this manga goes as far as exploring the types of genitalia for animals (some have more than one!), being the one to initiate sex, one person eventually being able to say she’s “out” with her closest friends, and being positive about a person’s body.
What also helps are the characters. Tsuji’s passion certainly stands out, but the students she teaches are fun as well. Matsuda might have BL in her brain a lot yet seems to understand being respectful; Moriya is the one in the cast with a girlfriend and general societal worries; and Kashiwa’s the go-to person for animals and their body parts, though she also has a thing for cats. All three girls really take to Tsuji’s teachings, and even the nurse slowly starts finding some of Tsuji’s knowledge acceptable.
It’s clear a lot of research went into the making of Sex Ed 120%, and it’s great to say it comes through well. The humor definitely helps, but its variety is also a factor as to why I was never bored throughout the read. Kikiki Tataki wrote in the afterword about being terrified about touching this topic and potentially getting backlash, but I think this is written in a way that’s fine. If you’ve been aiming to educate yourself about sexual education or in need of a good read, there’s no reason you should miss trying this manga out.