Lena replies:

When it comes to your average American sex education class, for all the talk about possible risks associated with sex, people seem to forget to mention all the positive aspects, the crazy-sexy-cool things that can make sex fun and enjoyable!

Obviously, sex must not be all bad if the vast majority of people have sex at some point in their adult lives; in fact, it must be pretty darn good. However, even in settings that offer comprehensive sex ed, the idea that sex can be fun and pleasurable often gets downplayed.

Not unsurprisingly, a lot of people are having unfulfilling, displeasurable, guilt-ridden and downright bad sex. Fortunately, there is a lot of support out there to help people overcome all the negativity. As important as these services may be, if sex ed were more sex-positive, I would imagine we could vastly reduce the need for repairs and revisions: We would know what a positive sexual relationship looks like and not settle for any less. We'd know how to reduce the risk of pregnancy and STIs so we could focus on the pleasure and partnership. Instead of a band-aid to patch up an old wound, we could avoid many such pains in the first place.

Scarleteen aims to do just that: We seek to educate and empower young people to become familiar and comfortable with their unique sexualities so we all can make the decisions to have a healthy and happy sexual life right from the start, whether it's with a long-term partner, a one-night-stand or even just ourselves. With resources such as the Ready or Not? The Scarleteen Sex Readiness Checklist (now also available auf Deutsch thanks to volunteer Joey), we provide you with the tools for positive sex life.

So, let's get it on...

Let's get on with listing of sex-positive articles, blog entries, and message board threads here at Scarleteen for your aural and ocular pleasure!

Articles

- 10 of the Best Things You Can Do for Your Sexual Self (at Any Age)
- An Immodest Proposal
- A Calm View from the Eye of the Storm: Hysteria, Youth and Sexuality
- Reciprocity, Reloaded

- Safe, Sound & Sexy: A Safer Sex How-To
- Supermodel: Creating & Nurturing Your Own Best Relationship Models
- To Be... AWESOME or Just Be –– Tips on Making the Most of Your Life Right Now!
- Yield for Pleasure

Blog entries

- Shameless Scarleteen founder Heather Corinna packs a punch with the statement, "When I was a teenager, having sex wasn't really part of my rebellion. Having GOOD sex was." And those are just the first two lines of this powerful piece.

- From Closeted To Comfortable In her blog debut, Maryc talks about going from creeped-out to crazy about her sexuality (and how she's not afraid to be safety first and modesty second when washing vibrators!)

- "This Information Will Not Kill You" or, How Our Whole Lives Changed My Life Owls are considered to be wise animals; likewise, the United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist-developed OWL sexuality education program offers a wise and refreshing take on sex ed for teens. Find out why Annakohl gives a hoot about OWL!

- Good Sex Is Non-Zero Site volunteer and engineer-to-be Jacob does the math to show that good sex is no mystery equation.

Message Board Threads

Are you one of the over 41,500-and-counting users on the Scarleteen message boards? If not, there's no better time than now to join in on the conversation! Sure, a lot of people come to the boards for advice but there are also ample opportunities to exchange experiences and share ideas. What's your take on...

- How do you feel about sex being...fun? Read the thread that is the inspiration for this Spotlight! See what Heather, curiousitykat5869, StrangePudding, Jill2000Plus, libertinedreamer, Bragorien, Onionpie, So_Very_Nieve, Asian, nanswer4me, Anne Marie, Hohum, gluegun, meladie, and OneQuestion have said about what makes sex fun for them. What makes sex fun for you?

- What does a healthy relationship look and feel like? Scarleteen volunteer orca encourages us to think positively and wax ecstatic on how happy a healthy relationship can be and how to know what to look for.

- I Love You Those three little words that can have so much meaning. Find out what users have said about saying them and say your bit, too!

- Scarleteen Testimonials Simply share the love for this site!

--------------------------------------------------------
What is Spotlight on Scarleteen? Find out more by clicking here.