Decolonizing Sexuality: CHamoru Epistemology as Liberatory Praxis

Abstract

This dissertation explores the sexual landscape of Guåhan, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Centuries ago, CHamorus, the indigenous people of Guåhan, viewed sex as a natural part of life that youth must be comprehensively educated about. After the introduction of Catholicism and the militarization of the island, CHamorus now see sex conservatively and treat it as a taboo subject. Today, young CHamorus engage in risky sexual behaviors at higher rates than their peers and have the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases. This study applies the foundations of postructuralism, postcolonialism, indigenous feminism, indigenous gender complementarity, and queer theory to create culture-based sex education curriculum. By weaving these seemingly contradictory theories into counterstories for curricular materials and activities, this study argues that by centering discussions around CHamoru epistemological views, sex education can create additional spaces of learning that seek to deconstruct colonial logics and instead serve as places of cultural resurgence. This dissertation critically analyzes historical accounts and key informant interviews to record shifts in CHamoru sexual thought and to focus on how sex education is implemented in Guåhan. A curricular analysis comparing Guåhan’s current sex education curriculum with culture-based curricula focuses on their alignment to national and local health education standards, incorporation of sexual health topics, and depth of cultural inclusion. Collectively, these methods examine Guåhan’s sex education landscape to see if changing narratives to reflect a CHamoru worldview can decolonize students’ sexual imagination. Additionally, culture-based sex education can allow youth to build individual skills that will help them engage in reproductive health behaviors and activities that are beneficial for them. Keywords: Culture-based Sex Education, Decolonial Education, Indigenous Complementarity, Deconstruction, CHamoru, Guåhan