This is the first in a series of posts meant to prepare you for this year’s National Sex Ed Conference. This week, we spotlight Dianne Browne, Ph.D., CFLE, Project Director of Camden Healthy Start at Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative, who will be speaking about reproductive justice on Thursday, December 7, 11:15 a.m. – 12:15… Read more »
We are running excerpts from How I Got Into Sex…Ed. Get a free copy of the ebook here. Order the print book here. Joycelyn Elders, MS, MD How I Got Into Sex…Ed How I Learned to Swim in Jello Looking back, I can see that life is about passages; development in one area evolves somehow into another… Read more »
Thrive St. Louis Program Continues Draw Fire from Locals Throughout the past year, we’ve shared stories out of St. Louis about push-back against the abstinence-focused Thrive program. The controversy continues with the circulation of a petition asking Lindbergh Schools’ Board of Education to remove the program from the district and replace it with a more comprehensive… Read more »
We are running excerpts from How I Got Into Sex…Ed. Get a free copy of the ebook here. Order the print book here. Lauren Barineau How I Got Into Sex…Ed Growing up, my family dynamic was one of open dialogue, which sometimes included typically taboo subjects such as sex. One specific discussion that I believe directly shaped… Read more »
Michigan Senator Pushes for Affirmative Consent Sex Ed Bill In Michigan, Democratic Senator Curtis Hertel Jr., is sponsoring a bill that would require schools that already teach sex education to include information about the importance of asking for consent. Hertel believes affirmative consent is important because of the way in which the onus too often… Read more »
The news cycle this past week has been dominated by multiple sexual assault and harassment allegations against film producer and studio executive Harvey Weinstein. Many women in the film industry—including big names like Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie—have stepped forward to share their own stories of sexual coercion and inappropriate behavior. What’s saddest of all… Read more »
Sex Ed Class at University in China Becomes Most Popular Class At China’s Wuhan University of Technology Huaxia College, a new elective titled “Sexual Health and Culture” has become the hottest course on campus. Some say the popularity of this class only underscores the need to reform China’s sex ed system, and to provide students with… Read more »
Last time we posted an excerpt from Let’s Erase Bullying, we touched upon the issue of what it takes to be a responsible bystander. This next lesson takes things a step forward, teaching students how to stand up when they see harmful behavior in the spirit of fostering a safe learning environment. And being able to create… Read more »
Forest Hills, Michigan, Public Schools Pull the Plug on Abstinence-Only Curriculum In Michigan, Forest Hills Public Schools has announced that it is ceasing its abstinence-only curriculum. The new curriculum will be abstinence-based, and will include a lesson on contraception. CNN Runs a Documentary Series on Sex Ed in America Last week, CNN debuted a documentary… Read more »
Schools in Los Angeles Testing Out New Sex Ed Lessons This year, the Los Angeles Unified School District is testing out new sex ed lessons for fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students. This is being done in anticipation of a new health textbook that the state’s Board of Education is working on right now, and the… Read more »
Queensland High School Draws Fire for Displaying Adult Toys Alongside Other Sexual Health Paraphernalia A high school in Queensland, Australia drew fire from parents and, eventually, education officials after displaying adult toys alongside condoms and sexual health brochures. The target audience was students ages 14 and 15. Parents took to social media to complain, and… Read more »
Parents in Victoria, Australia Shocked Over High School’s Push of Abstinence-Focused Sex Ed Parents of students at Officer Secondary College were displeased upon receiving an email promoting abstinence as part of the school’s Respectful Relationships curriculum, a state government initiative aimed at stamping out domestic violence, and which is also designed to challenge gender stereotypes… Read more »
I’ve been writing a lot about gendered relationship dynamics lately. The ways in which we’ve been conditioned to behave with each other. The ways in which this sometimes keeps us from valuing our own needs and personal boundaries. I even took a five-week empowerment self-defense class that really made obvious the ways in which I tend… Read more »
U.S. Senators Reintroduce Bill To Expand Sex Ed Programs A group of U.S. Senators has reintroduced a bill that would significantly expand sex ed programs, ensuring federal funding for programs that are “evidence-based, age appropriate, medically accurate, and culturally appropriate.” Called the Real Education for Healthy Youth Act (REHYA), it would establish stricter criteria for sex… Read more »
Parents in San Diego Continue to Protest Sex Ed Curriculum We’ve linked in the past to stories of parents in the San Diego Unified School District calling for a suspension of the present sex ed curriculum. The unrest continues, and parents in the district have created an online petition calling for the program’s suspension. At… Read more »
Trump’s Proposed 2018 Budget Favors Abstinence-Only Sex Ed Doing what he does best, sexologist Justin Lehmiller gives a breakdown of how Trump’s proposed 2018 budget would provide more funding to abstinence-only sex ed programs than ever before. Check out the numbers here. Georgia Public Schools Continue to Field Sex Ed Complaints In Gwinnett County, Georgia, parents, students,… Read more »
Earlier this year, Netflix released the 13-episode, original TV series 13 Reasons Why, a drama-mystery about a high school student who commits suicide after a series of bullying incidents. While the show received positive reviews from many critics, it also brought controversy, with many viewers criticizing its portrayals of teen angst, depression, self-harm, and suicidal ideation, warning… Read more »
Abstinence-Only Programs Rebrand Themselves With The Term ‘Sexual Risk Avoidance’ With plans to renew funding for abstinence-based sexual education programs looming, those behind such programs are attempting an image rebranding, renaming themselves sexual risk avoidance programs. Such linguistic wordplay is an attempt to project an image of public health promotion. Salon has a great write-up… Read more »
“Am I in a healthy relationship?” It’s a tougher question than you might think. Because oftentimes, when you’re in the thick of it, you can’t see the ways in which your partnership is unbalanced. You don’t notice the red flags. And if you do, they don’t necessarily scream out at you as loudly as they… Read more »
How Trump’s Proposed Budget Would Affect Sex Ed Probably one of the largest concerns since the presidential election has been the question of what impact the election results would have on sex ed funding going forward. Over the past eight years, more and more funding has been funneled toward comprehensive sex ed programs, while funding… Read more »
