People often ask me how I got into the field – sex education is a pretty fascinating topic from many angles. I even have an e-book coming out this year that will tell many sex educators’ stories of their entrance into the field. But after a conversation with Heather Corinna yesterday, I wanted to write […]
Archives for communication
Parents: Children’s Primary Sexual (Violence) Educators
I recently wrote an article for Partners in Social Change, the publication from the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs that addresses how parents can most effectively talk with their youth about sexual violence. Here is a clip from my article: “Parents have a unique position in their teenagers’ lives. They have daily access to […]
Rising Rates of Mental Illness Worry Academic Community
Most of the issues covered on my blog are about teenage sexuality. However, this topic is related to a far wider range of material. In this post, Bree Hernandez, an education writer, discusses the spikes in college students reporting depression, anxiety, and suicidal tendencies. Bree provides information on how to get into college through her […]
Everyone has something to come out about
Happy National Coming Out Day! This day has been set aside to increase awareness of people who are open about their LGBTQ identity. This year in particular, with the election right around the corner, the Human Rights Campaign and others are encouraging people to call their elected officials and “come out” as LGBTQ or an […]
Sex with Mom and Dad (a guest post)
(The following is a guest post from a female college student who contacted me recently because she wants to work in the field of sex education. I asked if she would like to write occasionally for my blog, and she said yes.) When my parents gave me “the talk”, the first thing my mother said […]
How to do sex ed, NYC style
One of the most common questions I get from parents is how to start the conversation with their kids about sex. I was recently on a little vacation in New York City, and because I rarely take a mental vacation even if I’m taking a physical vacation, I took pictures of a few items of […]
Taking the world by the lapels
Here at Casa de Karen, I do not have a television. There are a few shows that I keep up with on my laptop, but this has its limitations and flaws. One of these limitations is that I am at least a week behind in watching Glee. So I had not seen last week’s episode […]
The time for insight
A parent of a newly minted high school student recounted a story to me today where his daughter cussed at him for the first time. It was a relatively mild cussing event, but it upset him. He pulled her aside, talked about the issues he has with cussing, and encouraged her not to do it […]
Oh, the questions they ask!
I have a Jar’o’sex. It’s actually an old applesauce jar that I’ve painted with those words. I pass the Jar around my college Human Sexuality classes, especially toward the beginning of the semester, and have students drop in anonymous questions. (I have a similar process with my younger students, but we use a different container.) […]
Those pesky personal questions
There is an article in yesterday’s NYTimes called Q. Did you ever smoke pot? A. It’s Complicated, that is far better than I feared. It’s about whether or not to tell a preteen or teenager about one’s own drug use – either as a doctor or as a parent. Many of the same issues and […]
