Adolescent Sexuality by Dr. Karen Rayne

I have been thinking a lot about virginity recently.
A sex ed teacher recently asked me how I would respond to a 6th grade girl who asked for the definition of “virgin.” Does “virgin” apply to those who have done a wide range of sexual activities, but have not engaged in penile-vaginal intercourse? Or [...]

Birthdays are a big deal. While they get less important as we get older, particularly the random ones between the decades, teenagers are not yet into that no-mans land of unimportant birthdays. These teen birthdays, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, all have particular nuances to them, and should be honored for that.

13 [...]

This week has not been an uplifting one for those looking for progressive and women-friendly laws about sex. And frankly, I don’t have quite the energy to rage. Instead, here are the words of others:
RH Reality Check talks about how anti-abortion groups are subtly shifting their focus from narrowly protesting abortion to widely [...]

I’m getting more interested in talking with doctors and their staff about how to talk with teenagers about sex and safe sex.
It seems that many of the stories I hear about doctors is that they just don’t talk with teenagers about sex. My brother, for example, has never had a doctor ask him [...]

Okay, so to be more specific, there are two Austin teenagers who are my personal heroes. I don’t know their names, or the names of any of their 20-odd friends who
stood around and watched while they changed my tire in a parking lot at 2am late Sunday night. But I do know that [...]

I am writing this a few minutes midnight, and my little brother is playing Rock Band with a friend (he says his name is Satan).  They are both graduating from high school on Sunday - although neither of them was sure whether or not they were going to be or not until several hours ago.  [...]

Yesterday I filmed all day long with two delightful French documentary makers. We filmed at three locations: an interview at an office at UT, a local sex store where I introduced vibrators to an older teenager, and a local Unitarian Universalist church where I led a sex class for middle school students about sexual [...]

Today I am working with a film production company from France. They will be interviewing me about the beginnings of sexuality (remember our conversations about masturbation from last week?) for an up-coming international documentary. They will also be filming a (staged) sex ed class for middle school students. Here is one of [...]

The story of how we learn about sex and our bodies varies dramatically by culture and by era. There are so many places to learn about sex and bodies: parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, friends, boyfriends and girlfriends, school teachers, churches, movies, music, advertisements, porn, and the Internet. And, of course, many more. [...]

This afternoon a mother asked me this question:
“When do I teach my 13-year-old son about birth control?”
Regrettably, the answer is much more complicated than the question. Because really, it depends. And on pressing her, it was clear that the boy knows how babies are made, and probably knows that there are ways preventing [...]