With the endurance of the #MeToo movement, and the conversations it has engendered, more and more people are coming to understand that problematic situations aren’t as black and white as they first assumed. And they’re coming to understand why. While the incidents that have necessitated these conversations are upsetting, it’s also heartening to see people… Read more »
To stand up to bullying is to be a real-life superhero. To put yourself out there like that takes courage, inner strength, smarts, and determination. Which is why I’m about to reveal the full depths of my nerd-dom by telling you about my favorite superhero. When I first picked up a trade paperback of The… Read more »
Before we enter into our first romantic relationships (but after we have left the safe cocoon of all family, all the darn time), we learn to develop and maintain platonic relationships. These first friendships help us to learn various social and emotional skills—and they also provide us with our first examples of both healthy and… Read more »
There are many examples in daily life of how not conforming—of how making yourself visible by acting different from others—is to do the hard thing. Is it any wonder that, when the majority does something troubling or onerous or cruel, many of us just… let it slide? Go along? But to be an individual—to speak… 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 »
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 »
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 »
“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 »
I have—as of late—been researching programs that allow women to reclaim their sexuality, and to push back against those who would marginalize them and sexualize them against their will. Among these programs are those on bystander education. It’s a form of social justice advocacy that intrigues me, and which focuses on more than just the same… Read more »
Another week, another story in which power disparities have been abused for personal gain. This time, news outlets are abuzz with the fact that Bill O’Reilly has, at long last, been forced out at Fox News because of numerous sexual harassment allegations. Tales of people in positions of power using that dynamic for sexual gain is… Read more »
Last time we took a peek into the Let’s Erase Bullying manual, we saw how we might enable teens to puzzle out alternative means of dealing with the drama of their lives. Sometimes, however, problems are too large for them to handle themselves. And they shouldn’t have to. Which is why the second lesson in Let’s Erase Bullying concerns reaching… Read more »
This past week has seen the shocking revelation that Miki Agrawal, the former CEO of Thinx (the makers of “period underwear”), was fostering a “hostile environment” for her employees. And the most recent story to come to light is that she was sexually harassing her employees, engaging in unwanted groping, inappropriate office talk, and more…. Read more »
This past November, the Center for Sex Education released Let’s Erase Bullying, a teaching manual containing suggestions and resources educators can use to empower both victims and bystanders of bullying, and tips on how to educate bullies on the devastating impact of their actions. It’s a hot button issue at a time when bullying behavior is being legitimized… Read more »
We’re back to 500 Lessons in 500 Days again! This week I’m focusing on lesson plans from Changes, Changes, Changes, the CSE’s manual on puberty education. In classrooms with post-pubescent students, condom usage is a common topic of conversation. Pre-pubescent (or newly-pubescent) students need similar kinds of information and hands-on experience with body care products…. Read more »
When I think about footprints, I think about the beach and those long lines of footprints you can see trailing behind you, in and out of the tide lines. It’s a happy thought, that leaves me fidgety for vacation. And then there is the other kinds of footprints. While they also show where you’ve been, they’re… Read more »
On Monday I wrote about romantic and sexual relationships and the potential intersection with bullying. Today I want to think a little bit about stereotypes and how they lend themselves to an atmosphere that is accepting of bullying. Bullying can and is, of course, based on a wide range of “reasons” that include everything from… Read more »
Continuing my post from last week about bullying, today I am pondering what, exactly, constitutes bullying and how it relates to sexuality, sexual activities, etc. When we talk about bullying on a larger scale, I rarely see sexual contact as an integral part of that conversation. For example, bullying is rarely talked about as something… Read more »
I am thinking a lot about bullying these days, and so as I’m going through CSE manuals, I’m looking for those lessons that support participants as they stand firm in their own identities and sexual decisions. I’ve already talked about many lesson plans that address this issue, like Protect Yourself from Positive Images (about partner… Read more »
I had a parent ask me last week how I would approach a new sexual partner. She was getting at her concern for her daughter, who is single and sexually active, and whether her daughter would actually be able to ask about her partner’s STI status – or whether any sex at all was just… Read more »
Yep, that is the approach that most people take. Safer sex adds teeny tiny additional points to talk about and consider to a sexual connection. We have come, in the US, to see sex as something that we deserve to have hassle- and worry-free. I’m sure that it’s all the media stories – movies, music, TV, even advertisements!… Read more »
