For so long, I've been firmly in The Publishing World but, this year, I became more intentional about expanding my network in the world of sex ed. To that end, I joined the Sex Education Alliance (SEA) and also began attending online networking events and webinars offered by the Sex Ed Lecture Series, SIECUS, Everyone Deserves Sex Ed (EDSE), and other groups. I met Kara Haug, … [Read more...] about Sex Educator Spotlight: Kara Haug
Full Disclosure: Sex Ed in the News | March 2021
I don't know what to write in this space right now. On March 3, Sarah Everard was kidnapped and murdered in South London, an act that was eventually attributed to a police officer. On March 16, eight people were killed in Atlanta, Georgia, in what was a clearly a racially- and sexually-motivated mass shooting. I could expand on the stories here, but you already know them. … [Read more...] about Full Disclosure: Sex Ed in the News | March 2021
Sex Educator Spotlight: Al Vernacchio
I mentioned in last month's spotlight that, several years ago, I volunteered for the Center for Sex Education and got myself a free pass to the National Sex Ed Conference, which was amazing. Well, in addition to crossing paths with Tanya M. Bass, I also attended a session with sexuality educator Al Vernacchio. Vernacchio was speaking about a framework he uses in which he … [Read more...] about Sex Educator Spotlight: Al Vernacchio
Full Disclosure: Sex Ed in the News | Feb. 2021
It's been such a weird (infuriating?) month for sex-related news. Gwyneth Paltrow deciding to sell vibrators, claiming that hers is one you won't have to be ashamed of (because apparently sex toys are embarrassing?). Georgia considering a bill that would mandate that doctors examine students' "reproductive organs" in an effort to exclude trans girls from participating in school … [Read more...] about Full Disclosure: Sex Ed in the News | Feb. 2021
Sex Educator Spotlight: Tanya M. Bass
It feels like forever ago (though it can't have been that long) but, once upon a time, I volunteer blogged for the Center for Sex Education and, as thanks, they allowed me to come to the National Sex Ed Conference in Atlantic City. This conference was a revelation for me. While there, I crossed paths with Tanya M. Bass, but I was so new to that space that I think I spent … [Read more...] about Sex Educator Spotlight: Tanya M. Bass
Full Disclosure: Sex Ed in the News | Jan. 2021
Welp. We survived the first month of 2021. Hooray? Unfortunately, it didn't go as smoothly as many of us had hoped, as our outgoing president encouraged white supremacists to attempt an overthrow of the government. To be quite honest, I was nervous as hell on Inauguration Day, holding my breath in the expectation of further outbreaks of violence and hate. Still, some things … [Read more...] about Full Disclosure: Sex Ed in the News | Jan. 2021
How to Normalize Talking to Your Kids About Periods
I don’t remember much about my first menstruation, beyond the fact that I wasn’t sure if I was menstruating or dying. I was 13 by that point, so I already knew that periods were a thing. School had prepared us for that much, at least. But I suspected that vaginas could bleed for other reasons, too. Terrifying reasons. How was I to know whether the blood staining my … [Read more...] about How to Normalize Talking to Your Kids About Periods
Sex Educator Spotlight: Anne Hodder-Shipp
In the year of our overlords, 2020, I started spending more time on Instagram. And because I was actively working toward the launch of Guerrilla Sex Ed, I became more intentional about following more sexuality educators. Which is where I came across Anne Hodder-Shipp and her business baby, Everyone Deserves Sex Ed (EDSE), an organization providing sex educator certification, … [Read more...] about Sex Educator Spotlight: Anne Hodder-Shipp
Full Disclosure: Sex Ed in the News | Dec. 2020
As I write this, people across the world are preparing to say sayonara to 2020, many of them deliriously excited and relieved, thinking of the past year as a literal dumpster fire they can watch burn down to so much ash and blow away on the cold winter breeze. Reset: 2021. Am I right? But many others of us know — or are just beginning to comprehend — that the events of 2020 … [Read more...] about Full Disclosure: Sex Ed in the News | Dec. 2020
Kick-Ass Sex Educators Who Are Way More Than Just Their Instagram Feeds
In 2019, a pair of laws were passed: the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA). They were passed with the intention of making it easier to fight sex trafficking online. Under these laws, websites are responsible if third-party accounts post ads for prostitution on their platforms. Sites have responded to this new … [Read more...] about Kick-Ass Sex Educators Who Are Way More Than Just Their Instagram Feeds