In the south, what it takes is the courage of individuals. In the mid=1960s in central Florida, I taught high school biology. I went to the principal and told him that I wanted to teach a unit on sex education. His response was, "it's your ass on the line." I very carefully planned it. I told the biology students that I wanted to do it, and asked them all, by secret ballot, if anyone would feel more comfortable being taught, segregated by sex. One female said she wanted to be caught the unit in a girl's only group.

I went ahead and taught the unit, without a single complaint from students or parents. I have s strong hunch that the students who had parents who might have complained simply did not tell their parents.

If I had publicly asked for permission, I would not have gotten it.