bbc: The roots of the modern sex education film go back a long way. Early examples were deeply moral movies made in the shadows of war, where young military men were warned about the dangers of loose women, and how venereal disease would ruin them.

This stark and unpleasant tale is a bit more Shakespeare than sex education.

Made in 1917 to prevent Canadian soldiers travelling to World War I catching syphilis and other sexually-transmitted diseases, it tells the story of Dick, a plucky soldier in London.

We see Dick accosted by a prostitute in the street. As they talk another Canadian intervenes and warns Dick away from the woman, giving him the card of a doctor he can visit.

The doctor takes our hero on a tour of hospital wards where he sees the lesions and other unpleasant symptoms that syphilis can cause. Dick realises the ladies of the night are not for him.

But back in Canada, it is revealed that Dick's brother Tom has not been so lucky. The film shows a flashback of Tom being robbed by a prostitute and it becomes apparent that Tom's wife has caught syphilis from him.

Tom is cured of the disease, but when his wife gives birth, the baby is blind.

"The film - as the biblical title suggests - is essentially a straight sermon, a form that its target audience would have found familiar both from church at home and during their military service," says Bryony Dixon, curator of silent films at the BFI.

gm: Duffy, the 24-year-old singer from ­Bangor, North Wales, with a 1960s pop sound and Brigitte Bardot hair, swept the Brits last night, picking up three awards in recognition of a remarkable debut in which her first album, Rockferry, sold 1.7m copies in the UK last year.

With a husky voice which has drawn comparison with Dusty Springfield, Duffy – full name Aimee Ann Duffy – has been bracketed with Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson as part of a British revival of the Motown sound, but her ascent has been faster than most.

This time last year she was playing small clubs in London but last night emerged as one of the world's ­leading acts following international record sales topping 5m.

"I used to watch the Brits at home with my sisters every year," Duffy said tonight. "It is so symbolic of British music it has got to be the most surreal thing I've done so far."

"British women are taking over," said Lionel Ritchie, who handed out an award at Earls Court, referring to Duffy, Adele and Estelle, who are winning fans around the world.

rl: In a society with an inclination to plaster sexual images everywhere, sex is still very much in the shadows. Sexuality is often laden with shame, embarrassment, guilt, judgment, and stigma, so its shadows can be heavy and frightening.

The shadow aspects of our sexuality are those parts of ourselves we dislike, judge harshly, or deny. To find your own examples, reflect on whether any of these experiences trigger your defenses:

Having had an abortion, being a closeted gay man, childhood molestation by a family member, shame about a college rape, a herpes diagnosis, the inability to orgasm, early ejaculation, dislike of body parts, being called a slut, being called a prude, feeling inadequate in bed, or having shameful sexual fantasies. Do any of these experiences strike a cord?

The causes of shadowed sexuality are abundant. Growing up in the U.S., we receive many mixed and negative messages about sex through our families, peers, religion, schools, the media, and the government. My “favorite” ambiguous message is “sex is a dirty thing you save for someone you love.”

It is no surprise that there is so much fear, discomfort, and denial associated with sex. But denial of what we fear does not make it disappear. As the holistic adage declares, “what we resist, persists.”

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