Beyond ‘Cultures of limitation’: young people and sexuality education across the island of Ireland

Sexuality education continues to attract sustained attention from policymakers, educators, and young people themselves, yet operates within deeply political terrain shaped by anxieties about gender, sexuality, morality, and young people. This chapter examines how young people have been represented within sexuality education policy and curricula across the island of Ireland from 1995 to present day, revealing persistent "cultures of limitation" (Ferfolja and Ullman 2020) that constrain possibilities for inclusive, affirming and rights-based sexuality education. Across four historical periods, we demonstrate how, despite shifting policy rhetoric, young people have been consistently positioned as passive recipients rather than knowledge producers or co-designers of their own education. Until recently, both jurisdictions shared similar limitations, with young people, particularly those who are queer, disabled, or from minority ethnic backgrounds, consistently positioned as passive recipients rather than knowledge producers. However, recent divergence has emerged with Ireland's curriculum redevelopment process which represents slight progression in affirming trans young people's rights and addressing who has been missing from sexuality education, while Northern Ireland has experienced significant retrenchment, including removal of trans guidance for schools in 2025. The chapter concludes by offering disruptions to dominant representations and imagining alternative visions that position young people as rights-holders, agents, and collaborators in transforming sexuality education.