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Margaret Brooks, the noted anti-sex work activist who thinks that arresting sex workers somehow protects them (because hundreds of years of evidence isn’t enough to show that it always makes things much worse for them), is at it again.
Citizens Against Trafficking just released a statement from her that’s full of scare quotes, misinformation, and misdirection to try to convince readers that sex education is the source of all evil. Let’s take a look:
She starts off with a statement about how “At least four students attending universities in Rhode Island have contracted acute HIV infections within recent months,” which she describes as a sudden increase and a recent outbreak. According to wikipedia, there are 12 colleges and universities in the state, with a …
Continue reading Margaret Brooks Attacks Sex Ed Again
I love teaching people about new ways to enjoy sex and pleasure, especially when it’s on a topic that most people are unfamiliar with. I’ve heard from a lot of men and their partners that they’ve heard about how much fun prostate play can be, but they’re not sure how to make it work. Or maybe they’ve tried it and it wasn’t what they were expecting. It takes a little know-how to have it all come together.
I’m co-teaching a workshop in a couple of weeks at Good Vibrations about prostate play. We’ll cover everything you need to know about it, so you can go right home and try it out! Here’s the info- feel free to pass it on.
Prostate Play
Tuesday, February 1st, …
Continue reading Upcoming Workshop: Prostate Play 2/1/11
If you’re a regular reader here, you’ve probably seen some posts about Scarleteen.com. That’s because it’s an amazing organization and it’s one of a very few sexuality resources for young people that offers accurate and direct information without judging or shaming them.
They’ve just launched a new database project and it’s going to be amazing. Here it is, in their own words:
One of the best ways to find quality sexual healthcare and other in-person help services is by asking people we know and trust for a recommendation. But that can be difficult, especially for young people: so many are either ashamed about sexual healthcare and other related services, or are afraid that disclosing they’ve gotten care will result in a breach of their
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Continue reading Announcing Scarleteen’s New Provider Database- Add Your Organization Now!
There are a lot of reasons that sexual health messages and services tend to focus on women. Since many of the people who develop sexuality education and health services are women, they often focus on issues and topics that are specific to girls and women. Health care traditionally ignored women’s needs and concerns, so organizations sprang up to address that. Sexism and male privilege have often resulted in resistance and anger towards boys and men, making providers less willing to offer them help. And many boys and men have internalized the idea that asking for help, dealing with health issues (rather than “toughing it out”), and not knowing everything about sex isn’t masculine, so they may avoid …
Continue reading Great Info for Sexual Health Clinics and Educators Who Work With Young Men
Imagine, for a moment, what the world would be like if we took the same approach to money as we do to sex. Imagine trying to hide all evidence of money from children, telling them that it’s not something they should know about. Imagine shaming them for asking questions about it, for expressing an interest in it, and for wanting to experiment with it. Imagine that you never explained how budgets work, or how to balance a checkbook, or how to pay for anything. Then, imagine that when they turn 18, handing them a credit card and saying “good luck with that.”
In essence, that’s what we do with sex.
Would you be surprised if those young adults didn’t know how to responsibly handle money? …
Continue reading Why We Need Scarleteen
There are a few seats left in my workshop tonight. If you teach workshops or seminars on sexuality or relationships, come get the key tools you need to create motivation, design effective lesson plans, and make sure your presentations hit the target!
How to Be a Top Presenter
Tuesday, October 19, 6-8 pm
$20 in advance, $25 at the door
Good Vibrations, 1620 Polk St., San Francisco
Being a great sex educator doesn’t happen by accident, so where do you go to learn the information and skills you need to be the best teacher you can be? In this interactive and engaging workshop, you’ll learn how to improve your teaching, enhance learning, and create dynamic exercises. Using a simple and flexible model of adult learning, …
Continue reading Just a Few Seats Left! How to Be a Top Presenter: A Workshop for Sex Educators
The fabulous Clarisse Thorn wrote a great article in which she asks why men who are honest about their sexual desires get written off as creepy (among other things). It was originally posted on Alternet and it’s interesting to read through the comments and compare them to the comments on the Jezebel repost.
This is really good timing for me, since I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately (see my posts here and here). In my experience, most of the people who talk and write about male sexual energy and how men act upon it are women. While I owe a huge debt to the many women who helped me shape my understanding and …
Continue reading Sex Tips For Men: How to Ask For Sex
This post also appeared on the Good Vibrations Magazine.
An article on the Stranger.com asks the question “why are so many gay kids killing themselves?” And the answer is that queer kids have always been at higher risk for suicide, drug abuse, depression, and sexual assault. For example, queer kids comprise up to 30% of teen suicides. And although we don’t know how many people are queer, it’s safe to say that it’s less than 30%, so there’s clearly a disproportionate impact.
Queer youth are also more likely to be homeless, mostly because their parents kick them out of the house when they come out (the awful term for it is “throwaway kids”). Imagine having to choose between being true to yourself or …
Continue reading Homophobia, Bullying, and Queer Youth Suicides
I got this info in my inbox today and thought I’d pass it along. See below for details and feel free to pass it along to anyone who might be interested.
They also have openings for medical assistants, clinicians, and nurses.
How would you like to make a living being a San Francisco Sex Educator!
Golden Gate Community Health is hiring and we are looking for a highly qualified sex education professional. The ideal candidate would be familiar with SF schools, has experience teaching and ideally experience teaching sex ed. The must have their own transportation and be a able to work on their own as well as with a team.
For more information about the position check out the job description for Community Educator…
Continue reading Golden Gate Community Health is Looking for Sex Educators
This piece also appeared on the Good Vibrations Magazine.
At the beginning of September, I wrote about an opinion piece published on the Chronicle of Higher Education website. The original piece, by Margaret Brooks, is a pretty standard example of how people attack sex education through fear, shame, innuendo and misrepresentation of the facts. And several of my colleagues and I responded to it. We also collaborated to write a letter to the editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education, which we sent them on Sept 16:
Dear Chronicle Editors,
We were deeply disappointed by your recent publication of economics Professor Margaret Brooks’ op-ed, “‘Sex Week’ Should Arouse Caution Most of All.” It is clear
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Continue reading Sex Educators Call Out the Chronicle of Higher Education
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