fuckyeahsexeducation:

This blog brought to you by someone from one of those grey states.

(Source: sexandhealthandshit)

Elizabeth Smart and Abstinence Only Education

jessicavalenti:

If anyone is still holding on to the idea that abstinence only education isn’t all that bad, check out this quote from kidnapping and rape victim Elizabeth Smart: 

Smart said she “felt so dirty and so filthy” after she was raped by her captor, and she understands why someone wouldn’t run “because of that alone.”

Smart spoke at a Johns Hopkins human trafficking forum, saying she was raised in a religious household and recalled a school teacher who spoke once about abstinence and compared sex to chewing gum. “I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’m that chewed up piece of gum, nobody re-chews a piece of gum, you throw it away.’ And that’s how easy it is to feel like you know longer have worth, you know longer have value,” Smart said. “Why would it even be worth screaming out? Why would it even make a difference if you are rescued? Your life still has no value.”

Make Consent a Mandatory Part of Sex-Ed in Public Schools

stfusexists:

feminist-space says, “I’ve been monitoring the progress of the petition, and while once in a while we have boosts, it’s been pretty slow. I want to make sure we get all the signatures by April 20th—would you be willing to help signal boost?” 

This is REALLY important! As a former US high school student, I can vouch that my sex ed was basically, “Here are all the methods of birth control, their failure rate, and this is what STDs look like.” And I was lucky enough to live somewhere that didn’t have abstinence-only sex ed.

Please take five seconds to make an account and sign it. If you’re not in the US and you need a zip code, use 21015 and allow me to welcome you to Harford County MD. 

Does the White House have the power to do this?

With sex ed, contraception–and Plan B–NYC teen pregnancy rate drops →

stfuconservatives:

The ultimate “checkmate, pro-lifers!”

I hope more schools implement the CATCH program soon. Every teenager needs accessible, confidential reproductive health care.

colfersaurusrex:

okay but an example of why we need better sex education in schools is the story of how I lost my virginity

i’ve included illustrations to further illustrate what im trying to illustrate to u today

Read More

The story is really fucking funny and this person has a great sense of humor about it, but they are not kidding about our schools needing better sex ed.

Like, if I hadn’t had fairly comprehensive sex ed, someone telling me to Google the hell out of everything sex-related, and a basic understanding of what makes a source reliable, this would probably definitely be me.

(Source: rexuality)

"

I’m all for teenagers not having sex until they’re emotionally ready and they’ve talked about safety and consent and expectations—but I don’t think adults should have sex if they don’t meet those conditions either. It’s important that adults don’t sexually exploit teenagers*—but it’s important that adults don’t sexually exploit other adults. I don’t think teenagers should see porn without context and perspective on how it compares to reality—you know how this sentence is going to end.

It’s probably true that it’s harder for teenagers to follow the rules of good sexual conduct, because of their age and inexperience (although having to do everything clandestinely and with no support system can’t help), but the rules aren’t fundamentally different for them.

"

http://pervocracy.blogspot.com/

I have such an activist crush on The Pervocracy

(via geekybombshell)

You’re not the only one.

(via fuckyeahsexpositivity)

(via fuckyeahsexeducation)

fuckyeahchoice:

rabbleprochoice:

stfuhatemongers:

fuckyeahchoice:

conskirs:

Oh … you didn’t already know that?  Puhlease.  If you leech off the government, I’m guessing you are smart enough to Google ‘free’ so you don’t have to pay for anything.

Yeah, good luck to people living in poverty and far away from any healthcare center. 

It’s not just a matter of ‘free condoms’, it’s accessibility and it’s choice. Condoms don’t work for everyone. Some people have allergies or sensitivities that make them impossible. They should have access to other birth control options as well. 

Not to mention, not everyone knows birth control even EXISTS or that you can use it without being condemned to hell or dying. Do you know what the state of sex education looks like right now? Some places may have fairly decent information, but others I can compare to the sex education I received in Libya about 30 years ago. (That is not good.)

Also, I’m only responding to the picture because the commentary is obviously just meant to be inflammatory and ridiculous. 

They forget that someone has to pay for those. It’s better if we make the insurance companies cover that stuff instead of donors and tax payers.
It’s not like Trojan is manufacturing and distributing those for free.

You know what? Why don’t you come back and talk to me once teenagers stop thinking that ingesting a large quantity of Mountain Dew will prevent pregnancy.

Maybe once we work on the comprehensive sex education thing we can revisit the whole “googling free condoms” thing.

Love,

Rabble

My partner thought, and this was just the other day, that if you have sex with someone right after you make them pregnant the sperm would ‘ruin’ the egg. Like, if you just keep having sex it will reset the pregnancy every time.

This is someone I have two children with and listens to me rant all day. 

I mean, it was funny but at the same time… scary, right? 

Hey conservatives,

Stop trying to prevent schools from teaching children critical thinking skills that will help them evaluate the information Google presents.

Then we can talk.

Just kidding, we won’t. We’re finally going to get our money’s worth, and you can all just

(Source: )

So while researching for the last anon, I discovered a really incredible resource:

letsgetrealawkward:

SIECUS

Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.

Apparently that’s a thing. That we have. And it is FABULOUS.

Their website is incredibly informative and looks rather surprisingly inclusive.

Explore the site if you want!

(via fuckyeahsexeducation)

early2bed:

Why yes it is a gender neutral how babies are made book and it made me cry. By Cory Silverberg. Swoon. (Taken with Instagram)

Read an interview with the author here. He has great advice for talking to kids about sex, sexuality, and gender.

(via fuckyeahsexeducation)

Mississippi Learns The Hard Way That Abstinence-Only Sex Ed Enables Teen Pregnancy Epidemic →

Color me unsurprised. I do want to highlight this paragraph:

…as misguided as abstinence-only sex ed is, advocates who fight teen pregnancy say education is only one piece of the puzzle. An article published yesterday by the Associated Press quotes a representative from the Mississippi Women’s Fund who says that poverty and class mobility are also big parts of the problem. Young women need to know they will have educational and job opportunities awaiting them if they don’t become young mothers. 

There are plenty of stories (and studies) of people who don’t expect to go to college or get a high-paying job. [Young] parenthood is the end goal they’ve seen all their lives, and it’s not surprising when many of them don’t take precautions to prevent it. By giving kids and teens opportunities for affordable education, they begin to have more realistic choices about their futures.

Side note, from the AP article mentioned:

Some in the small town about 70 miles south of Memphis, Tenn., still think teen pregnancy should be addressed in the home, not the classroom. Harold Smith, a local evangelical pastor, said sex outside marriage is a sin and parents - not educators - should teach children to avoid it.

“You’ve got to spread the gospel,” Smith said. “If they get a hold of God just right, they won’t have (children).”

(Source: thesexpotblog, via fuckyeahsexeducation)

I’m going to be making some posts. Thoughts?

rabbleprochoice:

bebinn:

rabbleprochoice:

They’re going to discuss the various things about pregnancy in a more medical/scientific way because the body is amazing and it is seriously COOL to see everything it can do. Here is what I’m planning:

• A post about embryology: the terms we use, fetal developmental stages, and gestational age
• A post about how a body menstruates and what happens in the body that causes the menstrual cycle
• A post about how a body senses it is pregnant and maintains that pregnancy
• A post about thins that happen to the body during a pregnancy and the common complications or symptoms people have throughout a pregnancy
• A post about common reasons why a spontaneous abortion would occur
• How our bodies make sperm and eggs

Are there any other posts ya’ll would like me to write up about the body (it doesn’t just have to be about pregnancy)?

Love,

Rabble

Are you going to go into detail on the process of fertilization? I’ve wanted to know more about that for a while.

Related to menstruation and how we produce eggs - do you know details about how hormonal birth control works beyond what Planned Parenthood and the like have on it? Like, what exactly do progesterone and estrogen do to regulate ovulation? It’s been a while since my one semester of biology…

Thanks, Rabble! It’s awesome having someone around who studies medicine.

Oh, I’ll definitely be talking about the hormones in the body and how the hormones in birth control pills work within the body. Hormones have quite a bit to do with the functions in our body but especially when it comes to things like ovulation and pregnancy (and homoeostasis a la the kidneys which are quite fascinating and ungodly complex if you’re interested in that stuff…seriously…kidneys are like the greatest organ, just saying). Hormones will make an appearance in every one of these posts (learning about hormones in the body is actually what inspired me to make these posts so they will definitely be talked about) and probably featured in them, as well since they are so incredibly important to how the body functions (we wouldn’t be able to live without hormones, our bodies would not be able to control many basic functions).

I’ll talk about fertilization and the processes associated with that in the post about embryology which I think will be the first or second post I’ll be writing (I think I’m gong to write the one about sperm and eggs first).

Love,

Rabble

I’m going to be making some posts. Thoughts?

rabbleprochoice:

They’re going to discuss the various things about pregnancy in a more medical/scientific way because the body is amazing and it is seriously COOL to see everything it can do. Here is what I’m planning:

• A post about embryology: the terms we use, fetal developmental stages, and gestational age
• A post about how a body menstruates and what happens in the body that causes the menstrual cycle
• A post about how a body senses it is pregnant and maintains that pregnancy
• A post about thins that happen to the body during a pregnancy and the common complications or symptoms people have throughout a pregnancy
• A post about common reasons why a spontaneous abortion would occur
• How our bodies make sperm and eggs

Are there any other posts ya’ll would like me to write up about the body (it doesn’t just have to be about pregnancy)?

Love,

Rabble

Are you going to go into detail on the process of fertilization? I’ve wanted to know more about that for a while.

Related to menstruation and how we produce eggs - do you know details about how hormonal birth control works beyond what Planned Parenthood and the like have on it? Like, what exactly do progesterone and estrogen do to regulate ovulation? It’s been a while since my one semester of biology…

Thanks, Rabble! It’s awesome having someone around who studies medicine.

"

“It’s important to clarify that sex education that teaches about pleasure doesn’t have to teach about technique (though elective college-level sex education that does this is great). Letting teens know that women usually achieve orgasm through the rubbing of the clitoris, whether fingers, mouth, object, or penis, isn’t the same as screening an instructional video on giving good cunnilingus. It’s not the same as writing down the names of sex-toy shops on the blackboard, or handing out diagrams of cool and exciting coital positions. And teaching that lubricants reduce pain and increase safety and pleasure during many kinds of sex should be thought of not as performance advice, but on par with vital lessons about condom use.

Real sex education is not the same as porn education. Instead, it’s about teaching that pleasure is an important part of any sexual relationship. It’s about teaching that there is nothing wrong with wanting to feel sexual pleasure and seeking it out, so long as it is done safely and responsibly. It’s about teaching comfort with one’s body and a lack of shame over desires, and there is more to sex for all people than sticking penises into vaginas. Real sex education teaches how to go about making intelligent , safe choices, rather than just stating the choices available. I believe there is a big difference. And I believe that teaching teens to make smart choices about sex must involve teaching them that having sex, partnered or alone, can be a smart choice”.

"

Real Sex Education by Cara Kulwicki in Yes Means Yes

(via fem-blog)

(via razingcomplacency)

thisthat-and-liberalstuff:

Things that will help lower abortion rates: 

• Comprehensive sex education in schools. 
• Cheaper/easier access to birth control, condoms, and other preventative methods. 
• Openness and communication between parents and sexually active children.
• Openness within the community regarding Planned Parenthood centers and health departments that provide cheap/free sexual health services. 
• Implementation of sexual and reproductive health services geared toward trans* individuals and their sexual/reproductive health. 
• Networks of support implemented to counsel and assist pregnant persons who will have a hard time paying for prenatal care, hospital delivery bills, and after birth care. 
• Systems set up within schools that help pregnant teens stay in school while also being able to take care of and raise their child(ren.)

Things that will not lower abortion rates: 

• Banning abortion and implementing laws that make it harder to get abortions. 
• Limiting birth control access, making birth control harder for teens to get, making birth control more expensive, ect. 
• Promoting abstinence only sex education. 
• No communication between parents and sexually active teens. 
• Schools that expel pregnant students. 
• Incomplete/inaccurate sexual and reproductive health services for trans* individuals. 

I know what the OP meant, and that framing the goal as “reducing abortions” is an appeal to anti-choicers. It all depends on how you define goals and objectives in sexual activity. Lowering the abortion rate could be one goal, but you would first have to want to reduce the rate of unintended/unwanted pregnancies. Now, the objectives listed above would achieve that, but even then, they would fall under the larger umbrella of promoting healthy, individual sexuality through education, communication, and increased access to health care, contraception, and safe spaces. Implementing the changes listed above in the education, health care, and political systems would reduce unsafe sex, which would reduce unintended pregnancies and STIs, which would then reduce abortions.

(Source: masenko-your-face, via fuckyeahsexeducation)