Media Landscapes: ‘Meet the Maker’—The Highs and Lows of Translating Gender and Sexuality Research into Practice

Researchers in gender and sexuality (G&S) education need resilience in improving the gendered and sexual lives of young people. Accusations of their agenda, social engineering, man-hating or corrupting influence are rife in media and educational communities. This piece considers an experienced researcher’s use of data to develop teaching and professional development resources for school-based sexuality and relationships education and teacher education. It specifically considers the 2004 Catching On resources and Australian STD/AIDs Prevention Education project work since the 1990s. It offers long-term lessons on the media landscape issues for emerging and established G&S education researchers, and making an impact.