When I tell people that I teach sex education, I often get a response along the lines of, “Well there isn’t really much to teach, is there?” But the thing is, this content often IS complicated. Perhaps at first glance the physical act of penile-vaginal intercourse is relatively straightforward, but many other things just aren’t. […]
Archives for STD/STIs
Preventing HIV
RH Reality Check is a great organization that serves individuals and organizations committed to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights. One way RH Reality Check does it’s great work is through a series of videos called Our Reality Video Series. For the moment, here is an interview with two women living with HIV. They […]
Guttmacher Instutite Research on Adolescent Sexuality Trends Analyzed by Me!
Yesterday’s big news was the new Guttmacher Institute study that suggests teenagers are not using oral sex as a way to stay “technically still a virgin.” Rather, it says that teenagers who are engaging in oral sex are by-and-large also engaging in vaginal intercourse. I must admit – I am rather surprised by this finding. […]
Sex as a responsibility – Part 3
Last week I wrote the first and the second parts of this series. I apologize for the longer-than-planned interlude before this, the third part! Here is my position: Having sex with another person is a privilege, and with privilege comes responsibility. Hence, having sex with another person necessitates a level of responsibility both to that […]
Sex as a responsibility – Part 2
Yesterday I wrote the introduction to this series. Today I am writing about how talking with teenagers about sex as a privilege can lead to a discussion of responsibility to the physical aspects of a sexual relationship. Once a teenager acknowledges that sexual activities are inherently different from non-sexual activities, the most obvious way to […]
What you don’t know can kill you
Many thanks to Mrs. Y for taking over while I was gone. The conference where I was presenting last week was interesting and engaging. I, of course, went to all of the presentations on sex education. More on that later. Today I want to tell you about my presentation. I gave an overview of my […]
1 in 4 US teenage girls has an STD
I hate it when things happen when I’m out of touch. On Tuesday, March 11th, the CDC came out with a press release that 26% of US teen girls has an STD. This headline (just like my blog post title) is being widely spread and highly freaked out over. But there’s more in the press […]
Your questions, my answers! (Part 2)
(Written by guest blogger JustAnotherTeen.) “You seem very open, honest, and liberal, but you depict your parents as fairly rigid and conservative. How much do you think your parents impacted who you are and how did they do that? I like the person you present yourself as and I sense that you like yourself as […]
The pill without a pelvic exam
Thanks so much to Heather Corinna from Scarleteen for this information. Planned Parenthood is now dispensing the pill without a pelvic exam. You can read more about it. This is a relatively unusual program. Planned Parenthood’s requirements are that you do not have: certain conditions that make it inadvisable to use a hormonal method [of […]
Vaginal exams and the Pill
Recently a young woman wrote me asking this question: I am 19 and just recently lost my virginity, so my mom and I talked about how I should get on the pill. I’ve never had a pelvic exam (against my mom’s wishes) because I’m really shy and nervous about it, but she said that I […]
