Better than Hearts and Flowers
misia has asked some questions about people's sex ed, and for a Valentine's Day gift: she'd like people to donate to Scarleteen, a not-for-profit, independent sexuality and sexual health resource for teens (or, as Bitch PhD points out, for anyone-they don't discriminate).
As a result of my high-school teachers' doggedness and good sense, by the time I started being sexually active, I knew how to avoid pregnancy and disease, and I'd developed a fair bit of sexual common sense. Safer sex was non-negotiable, I wasn't afraid to ask my doctor about birth control, I'd also learned that it's possible to talk about sex and sexual health, and, to a lesser degree sexuality, in an open, respectful way, and to consider sexual health questions as health questions. I hated sex-ed when I was undergoing it, but, as people told me I would be about math and numerous other topics in which I disliked being instructed when I had no choice, I'm grateful now, not so much for the information, much of which is out of date, but for the approach. My mom sure wasn't going to discuss condoms with me (I doubt she's ever used one!), and her approach to me and sex was to put her hands over her ears and say "la la la nothing's happening and if I think it is I'll have some stern words and reproachful looks for you, young lady!"
Given the resistance to reality-based sex-ed in classrooms in the U.S. (and to a lesser extent in Canada), and the reluctance or inability of many parents to discuss sexual health and sexual decision making in an open, frank, and well informed way with their kids before the kids go asking questions of less-than-reliable sources (or worse, just experimenting), places like sexualityandu, spiderbydes, and Scarleteen become more important than they might have been to someone like me, blessed with stubborn health teachers in high school, mandatory phys-ed, and sensible sexuality education.
So if you have a few dollars, toss some towards the Scarleteen crew, who do one of the best, most comprehensive guides I've seen on the Interwebs (and I've looked at a few).
As a result of my high-school teachers' doggedness and good sense, by the time I started being sexually active, I knew how to avoid pregnancy and disease, and I'd developed a fair bit of sexual common sense. Safer sex was non-negotiable, I wasn't afraid to ask my doctor about birth control, I'd also learned that it's possible to talk about sex and sexual health, and, to a lesser degree sexuality, in an open, respectful way, and to consider sexual health questions as health questions. I hated sex-ed when I was undergoing it, but, as people told me I would be about math and numerous other topics in which I disliked being instructed when I had no choice, I'm grateful now, not so much for the information, much of which is out of date, but for the approach. My mom sure wasn't going to discuss condoms with me (I doubt she's ever used one!), and her approach to me and sex was to put her hands over her ears and say "la la la nothing's happening and if I think it is I'll have some stern words and reproachful looks for you, young lady!"
Given the resistance to reality-based sex-ed in classrooms in the U.S. (and to a lesser extent in Canada), and the reluctance or inability of many parents to discuss sexual health and sexual decision making in an open, frank, and well informed way with their kids before the kids go asking questions of less-than-reliable sources (or worse, just experimenting), places like sexualityandu, spiderbydes, and Scarleteen become more important than they might have been to someone like me, blessed with stubborn health teachers in high school, mandatory phys-ed, and sensible sexuality education.
So if you have a few dollars, toss some towards the Scarleteen crew, who do one of the best, most comprehensive guides I've seen on the Interwebs (and I've looked at a few).