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- Care of the Sexual Self
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Description
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.
Table of Contents
List of Figures
Introduction
1. The Scope and Character of Paternalistic Sex Education
2. Theoretical Paternalistic Sex Education
3. The Liberal-Consequentialist Model
4. The Liberal-Deontological Model
5. The Áskesis Model
6. Applying Áskesis Model to Sex Education
Conclusion
References
Index
Product details
| Published | 19 Feb 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (Epub & Mobi) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 336 |
| ISBN | 9781978767997 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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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

























