Most modern sex ed is clinical. Diagrams. Anatomical terms. A doctor pointing at a plastic model. But Voorlichting 1991 (the Belgian version) did something radically different: it tried to tell a story.

The MP4 that floats around today shows a cast of young adults who look remarkably like your neighbors. They go to cafes. They drink soda. They talk. The "romantic storylines" are simple but effective. There is the nervous first date, the couple navigating the "will they/won't they" tension, and the awkward morning-after conversation.

Unlike the American "abstinence-only" videos of the same era, the Belgian approach assumed you were going to fall in love. It assumed you were going to have relationships. And then it asked: Now what?

"First Times: The Hidden Romances of Voorlichting 1991"
(A narrative/docu-fiction analysis of the film’s relationship dynamics)

Seksuele voorlichting in België in het begin van de jaren 1990 bevond zich op het kruispunt van veranderende maatschappelijke normen, gezondheidsbeleid (met name hiv/aids) en onderwijsvernieuwing. Dit document behandelt: