Spring Fever in The Netherlands: Framing Child Sexuality in Sex Education and Its Controversies
In spring 2023, controversy arose over Spring Fever, an annual campaign to promote sexual and relationship education in primary schools in The Netherlands. This led to parliamentary questions and even death threats against employees of Rutgers, The Netherlands Center on Sexuality, which developed th...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Youth |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-995X/5/1/6 |
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| author | Willemijn Krebbekx |
| author_facet | Willemijn Krebbekx |
| author_sort | Willemijn Krebbekx |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In spring 2023, controversy arose over Spring Fever, an annual campaign to promote sexual and relationship education in primary schools in The Netherlands. This led to parliamentary questions and even death threats against employees of Rutgers, The Netherlands Center on Sexuality, which developed the program. This article examines how child sexuality was framed both in the Spring Fever project and in the resulting controversy. The analysis is based on newspaper articles from March to June 2023. One premise of Spring Fever is that children are seen as sexual agents able to develop their sexuality safely through age-appropriate education, which aims for children’s healthy development, including negotiating consent and experiencing pleasure. During the 2023 controversy, discourses of childhood innocence emerged in response to this, alongside accusations of focusing too much on “woke” themes, such as gender diversity. This paper concludes that, due to global anti-gender movements and local right-wing politics, the Dutch model of sex education—pragmatic, comprehensive, and evidence-based, as seen in Spring Fever—no longer maintains its depoliticizing effect. Additionally, the Spring Fever controversy signals a shift in the politics of sexual nationalism in The Netherlands. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ea589acb5d7941228d0a5ca2e0e7d8fc |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2673-995X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Youth |
| spelling | doaj-art-ea589acb5d7941228d0a5ca2e0e7d8fc2025-08-20T02:43:06ZengMDPI AGYouth2673-995X2025-01-0151610.3390/youth5010006Spring Fever in The Netherlands: Framing Child Sexuality in Sex Education and Its ControversiesWillemijn Krebbekx0Department of Anthropology, University of Amsterdam, 1018 WV Amsterdam, The NetherlandsIn spring 2023, controversy arose over Spring Fever, an annual campaign to promote sexual and relationship education in primary schools in The Netherlands. This led to parliamentary questions and even death threats against employees of Rutgers, The Netherlands Center on Sexuality, which developed the program. This article examines how child sexuality was framed both in the Spring Fever project and in the resulting controversy. The analysis is based on newspaper articles from March to June 2023. One premise of Spring Fever is that children are seen as sexual agents able to develop their sexuality safely through age-appropriate education, which aims for children’s healthy development, including negotiating consent and experiencing pleasure. During the 2023 controversy, discourses of childhood innocence emerged in response to this, alongside accusations of focusing too much on “woke” themes, such as gender diversity. This paper concludes that, due to global anti-gender movements and local right-wing politics, the Dutch model of sex education—pragmatic, comprehensive, and evidence-based, as seen in Spring Fever—no longer maintains its depoliticizing effect. Additionally, the Spring Fever controversy signals a shift in the politics of sexual nationalism in The Netherlands.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-995X/5/1/6anti-gender mobilizationchild sexualitysex educationprimary schoolThe NetherlandsSpring Fever |
| spellingShingle | Willemijn Krebbekx Spring Fever in The Netherlands: Framing Child Sexuality in Sex Education and Its Controversies Youth anti-gender mobilization child sexuality sex education primary school The Netherlands Spring Fever |
| title | Spring Fever in The Netherlands: Framing Child Sexuality in Sex Education and Its Controversies |
| title_full | Spring Fever in The Netherlands: Framing Child Sexuality in Sex Education and Its Controversies |
| title_fullStr | Spring Fever in The Netherlands: Framing Child Sexuality in Sex Education and Its Controversies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spring Fever in The Netherlands: Framing Child Sexuality in Sex Education and Its Controversies |
| title_short | Spring Fever in The Netherlands: Framing Child Sexuality in Sex Education and Its Controversies |
| title_sort | spring fever in the netherlands framing child sexuality in sex education and its controversies |
| topic | anti-gender mobilization child sexuality sex education primary school The Netherlands Spring Fever |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-995X/5/1/6 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT willemijnkrebbekx springfeverinthenetherlandsframingchildsexualityinsexeducationanditscontroversies |