Weekend Reads: Elections and Bullying, Celebrating Muslim Diversity and Ready Jet Go!
Your weekly delivery of link goodness… CLICK ON THEM!!!! Teachers are beginning to worry that the nasty rhetoric used in the GOP campaign may be undermining their anti-bullying efforts. The Children’s Museum of Manhattan‘s Muslim Cultures exhibit let’s kids explore the A-Z of Muslim cultures around the world as well as …
We Must Protect the Children!!!
Several months ago, our school district began the long process to review, update and revise its human growth and development curriculum – which hadn’t been done since the 1980s. Not that anything has changed since then *sarcasm.* Actually, quite a bit has changed, namely, we know a lot about what works (comprehensive sexuality …
How Planned Parenthood Saved My Life
I have been having sex (both consensual and non-consensual, and with some significant hiatuses) since I was 12 years old. I am now 45. In all that time, I have never had an unplanned pregnancy. I have never had an abortion. What I did have (and might still have) was …
Trigger Warnings Will Destroy Us ALL! (or not)
Trigger Warning: infant death, graphic description of fetal tissue There is this man who stands a block from the entrance to my workplace. He props up two four-foot signs emblazoned with photographs of bloody, dead, micro-preemie babies, and another with the words “Stop Abortion Now!” I say “babies” despite knowing that these are fetuses, despite knowing …
Why your teen shouldn’t be afraid of STIs
Scare tactics are one of the staples of teen health and safety education initiatives. Driver’s ed classes with photos of gruesome car wrecks; drug and alcohol abuse programs filled with grim stories about arrests and deaths; and my personal favorite, sex ed programs with slide after slide of genitals covered …
Sex Ed, Sexual Preference & Sincerity
The Guttmacher Institute recently released a brief summarizing sex education state laws. The whole thing is worth a look-through, but I’d like to draw attention to the column on “Sexual Orientation” under “Content Requirements for Sex and HIV Education”. There are three states on the list that require teachers to …
No such thing as safe sex?
One of the joys of being part of a blogging network is that you get exposed to articles and such that you’d never have come across in your own sphere. Sometimes they’re enlightening, worldview-expanding, and perspective-altering. Sometimes they’re just tripe. This article by Matt Walsh, on why he’s not going …
The Dating Game: Another look at all of these rules.
Lou has been doing such an awesome job taking down those silly “rules for dating my [insert gendered child-type here]” in the Internet Meme Demolition Derby- go read them if you haven’t yet, because you may want context. And one of the things that’s come up in comments is well …
Ask a Sex Educator: What to do about young children’s self-touching?
Welcome to our new feature, Ask a Sex Educator! While I will continue to write standalone articles from time to time, I wanted to create a forum where people could ask parenting and sexuality-related questions, and I’ll answer as many of them as I’m able. Besides my own training and …
Revealing the Big Secret
The boys hadn’t really been asking about sex, but sometimes it would come up indirectly. For example, “sexy” is a banned word at D’s school, and during his kindergarten year, he asked me what it meant. “Ummm… It means you’re so good looking that someone wants to kiss you.” My …