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Growing Up (1971 film)
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Wikipedia article
'Growing Up' is a sex education film for schools, 23 minutes in length, first shown in April 1971, which was made by Dr Martin Cole. It is now available as part of 'The Joy of Sex Education' DVDBFI video (2 Feb 2009) ASIN: B001MGUAEW and was described by one critic as "the most famous and controversial inclusion",[http://www.moviemail-online.co.uk/scripts/reviews.pl?attribution=Alex%20Davidson Moviemail] Film Reviews By Alex Davidson and by Peter Bradshaw of 'The Guardian' as the "undoubted masterpiece of this double-DVD set".Peter Bradshaw [https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2009/feb/11/sex-education-films "Sex education films: they don't make them like they used to"], 'The Guardian' (film blog), 11 Feb 2009
At the time of its release it was said to be "the most explicit and frank film ever made for use in schools","A sex-act film for children", 'Daily Mirror' 13 January 1971 and attracted condemnation by Mary Whitehouse, Lord Longford,"Peer slams school sex film", 'Daily Mirror', 17 April 1971 Margaret Thatcher"That sex film gets 'X' certificate", 'Daily Mirror', 22 April 1971 and members of the Women's Liberation Movement who all, excepting Thatcher, attended the first public screening.Roger Lewin [https://books.google.com/books?id=s_mRNA9HJwgC&pg=PA301&lpg=PA301&dq=%22Martin+Cole%22+biologist+sex&source=bl&ots=N8vs_kRQ5e&sig=d1Cbx3MtEI8UraazkiRdz0y2N48&hl=en&ei=cF-4TLrBJoyOjAfou-WpDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=true "Growing up too fast"], 'New Scientist and Science Journal', 6 May 1971, p.301 Made two years before its earliest public showing, Cole though soon regretted a traditionalist description of gender roles in the film's opening commentary. The function of women was described as "giving birth to children", while it claimed men were "better at giving birth to ideas", a sequence which the Women's Liberation Movement objected to.[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11691820/Martin-Cole-sexologist-obituary.html "Martin Cole, sexologist - obituary"], 'Daily Telegraph', 22 June 2015 There was a version of the film shown to Aston University students earlier for feedback prior to the final version being released. It features scenes rather than drawings of naked people, which included intercourse and masturbation. Teachers and pupils gave it positive feedback, but the absence of a discussion of venereal disease (VD) was noted by sympathetic reviewers.
The film triggered a national controversy;Limond, David (2008) 'History of Education' '37' (3) 409–429 "I never imagined that the time would come: Martin Cole, the Growing Up Controversy and the Limits of School Sex Education in 1970s England"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7892257.stm "The Joy of Sex Education"], BBC Magazine, 16 Feb 2009"Educationally speaking, it is a rotten film", Whitehouse said after viewing the film, "which makes children no more than animals."Dominic Sandbrook 'State of Emergency, The Way We Were: Britain 1970-74', London: Allen Lane, 2010, p.421-22 Margaret Thatcher, then secretary of state for education who had sent an advisor to view the film, told the House of Commons on 21 April that she was "very perturbed" at the thought of the film being shown in schools and suggested local education authorities consider it "with extreme caution".
After insisting on a screening, the education authority in Birmingham, where Cole lived, banned the film from being shown in the city's schools.Chris Arnot [https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/how-lack-of-orgasms-turned-to-lack-of-interest-remember-the-sex-therapist-whose-patients-were-treated-by-surrogate-lovers-chris-arnot-tracked-him-down-happily-practising-in-suburban-birmingham-1487642.html "How lack of orgasms turned to lack of interest"], 'The Independent', 28 July 1993 There is no record of the film being shown to school children anywhere by the end of 1971, although it was shown to students at Oxford University.
In 1976 the film was shown to pupils at Milham Ford Girls' School, Oxford with the support of the then headmistress and the majority of the governors. A number of parents and pupils subsequently raised concerns with the National Viewers and Listeners Association.Groser, John. "Minister faces legal action over sex film." 'Times', 5 Aug. 1976, p. 4. 'The Times Digital Archive', link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS68910853/TTDA?u=oxfshlib&sid=TTDA&xid=b9cb40c0. Accessed 2 May 2021.
Further reading
*Limond, David (2008) 'History of Education' '37' (3) 409–429 "I never imagined that the time would come: Martin Cole, the Growing Up Controversy and the Limits of School Sex Education in 1970s England"
References
Category:1971 films
Category:Aston University
Category:British documentary films
Category:Documentary films about sexuality
Category:Sex education in the United Kingdom
Category:1970s English-language films
Category:1970s British films
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