Between what-is and what-could-be: Participatory Theatre as Transgressive Pedagogy in Sexuality Education

To foster a holistic understanding of sexuality among young individuals and empower them to make informed decisions that promote their well-being and rights, comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is frequently advocated as a scientifically supported and beneficial approach. However, CSE often adopts a liberal, individualised perspective on sexuality education, failing to adequately address the broader social conditions and structures that disproportionately affect the lived experiences of young people, particularly in relation to gender, class, race, faith, disability, and coloniality. Emerging as a political practice within marginalised and oppressed groups, participatory theatre has been used to amplify the voices of young people in discussions about sexuality and to create a space for collective actions that critically analyse and challenge intersectional inequalities. Drawing from academic literature and my own teaching experiences in the Vietnamese K-12 context, this paper examines the material, affective, and symbolic implications of participatory theatre and proposes how it can serve as a valuable pedagogical tool for transgressive, intersectional sexuality education.