Adolescent Ambiguities in American Pie

Abstract

Popular culture is a key site in the formation of teen knowledges about sex. Yet formal sex education programs have largely ignored this arena. In this article, the author proposes the need to critically incorporate popular culture into sex education efforts to develop programs that resonate with teens' experiences and, at the same time, allow them to construct more equitable social relations. The author illustrates how this might be done through an analysis of the recent teen film American Pie. In addition, the author identifies specific implications and resources for broader theoretical efforts to reconstruct discourses of masculinity, femininity, and sexuality.