"I hope the film provides inspiration to teens to be able to work on whatever issue is important to them."
As a 15-year-old girl in Lubbock, TX, Shelby Knox pledged to remain abstinent until marriage. But when she discovered that Lubbock had one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections in the state, Knox transformed into a feisty crusader for comprehensive sex education.
The Education of Shelby Knox, a documentary that premieres tonight on PBS, documents Knox's struggle to bring comprehensive sex ed to Lubbock. Now in her first year of college and involved with Voices for Choice, a Vox®: Voices for Planned Parenthood program, Knox took some time to talk with us about her experience as a teen activist.
When did you first see yourself as an activist?
When I joined [the Lubbock] Youth Commission. I joined to get leadership opportunities. That's when I realized that teen voices could make a difference — I could say what I was thinking and tell the leadership that kids weren't being heard.
What were your views on sex education before you became involved with the Lubbock Youth Commission?
I always knew abstinence-only education was going in one ear and out the other. Kids didn't want to hear that they weren't old enough to be having sex or that they weren't old enough to be making their own decisions. I had taken a health class that had covered very little, but I did not know the situation was as dire as it was before I joined the Youth Commission.
How did your peers feel about comprehensive sex ed?
Most of my peers felt they needed to be taught more about STIs (sexually transmitted infections) and condoms. A couple of them went to religious schools and were more in line with the abstinence-only information, but even they understood that STI rates were high and abstinence-only education wasn't solving that problem.
Have you ever felt conflict between your fight for comprehensive sex ed and your religious beliefs as a Baptist?
No. I think that teaching kids about responsibility and educating them are things everyone should be interested in — especially religious people. Some people say I am going against the Bible but I don't believe that. I am responding to human nature and helping kids so that their first sexual intercourse is not the only education they get.
How did you feel about the outcome of the film?
I'm very proud to be the face of this issue and I hope a lot of teens see it and learn that their voices matter. I hope adults see it and learn that teens are not getting enough sex ed. I hope the film provides inspiration to teens to be able to work on whatever issue is important to them.
Have you stayed active in the fight for comprehensive sex education now that you are in college?
I'm working with Vox. We organized the "Safe Sex Fest," which was amazing. We did condom demos and condom races and gave out info about emergency contraception [EC], which is under attack in Texas. At the same time, we were testifying at the state capital because there is a bill in Congress now saying that pharmacists can deny EC based on their moral beliefs.
If a teen wanted to implement comprehensive sex education in her high school, what would you recommend?
Get all the information about the policy in your school and where it comes from. One of my biggest regrets is that I should have started in Austin [the state capital] and not Lubbock. Texas has an abstinence policy and I could have tackled it from the top.
I'd say, get as many teens together as possible and show the administration that you are a group that knows what you are talking about and that these issues actually affect teens whom the administration knows.
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