education
Elections Results
By now we all know that Obama is the president-elect, but what about all those other issues that were up for decision? Heather put together a guide to the ballot measures particularly relevant to Scarleteen and our mission and I thought I'd post the results.
ARIZONA
Proposition 102: Approved
Arizona now defines marriage only as the union of one man and one woman.
ARKANSAS
Proposed Initiative Act 1: Approved
It is now illegal for unmarried couples, of any gender, to adopt or foster children.
CALIFORNIA
Proposition 4: Defeated
Teens retained the right to obtain an abortion without parental notification.
Proposition 8: Approved
Voters decided that marriage in California should be limited to heterosexual couples.
COLORADO
Amendment 46: Too close to call
At this time it is unclear whether the Colorado government will be continuing affirmative action or not. I will update this as the final votes are tallied.
Amendment 48: Defeated
With only 27% of the vote this measure calling for personh...
Prop what? Amendment who?
If you're a U.S. resident, at this point, you've probably given some thought to who you will be voting for for President, and may even know who you'll vote for by now. You may also know, or have some idea, of who you will be voting for when it comes to positions in your state up for the vote this year.
Nearly Half of U.S. States Now Refusing Abstinence-Only Sex Ed and Federal Funding
As reported at Time Magazine this week, most of the United States has started to wise up about the ineffectiveness and bias of abstinence-only (which differs from abstinence-plus or comprehensive sex education, both of which contain accurate and in-depth information on sex and sexual health, but which usually also make clear that forestalling sex or certain kinds of sex is often most safe) sex education pushed by the Bush administration, and which is funded by billions of taxpayer dollars to date, and $50 mil
... Read more...The ABCs of Size Bias
Can my boyfriend catch HPV from me through oral sex?
Me and my boyfriend have been together for a long time, and I just found out that I have HPV. I told my boyfriend that I had it as soon as I found out and now he is acting really weird. Now, he doesn't want to give me oral because he is afraid that he may get it. I went to the doctor and asked if he could get it, and she said that as long as we are careful he shouldn't have anything to worry about. When I told him the news he did not believe me! He still will not give me oral even though it has been a couple of months. I am really frustrated!
Marie Stopes International
Road to Change: From Coed Dorms to Coed Dorm Rooms
Colleges over the years have made many changes that to younger generations are seen as ‘keeping with the times’ while older generations looking back are finding themselves in a situation of slight culture shock. One of the newest decisions being made about the dormitories in the past few years have been that more and more colleges are allowing – believe it or not – coed dorm rooms.
... Read more...What Would Maria Do? One Sex Educator's Ever-Evolving Manifesto
One of the things that has a great influence in both how I enact sexuality education and how I conceptualized my approach from the get-go is my background with teaching in the Montessori Method.
Overall, the primary way Montessori works is this: as educators, we observe our students, and based on our observations of what their self-directed interests, skills and questions are -- basically, what they're drawn to in terms of what activities they choose for themselves and what activities and areas they express interest in -- we choose what materials to make or find and to present to them. In doing this, we're also trying to help students learn to be observers, as well as working to empower them when it comes to trusting their own interests and instincts and to be self-motivated and self-directed, rather than reliant on -- or vulnerable to -- others to give them directives. Montessori teachers see ourselves more as helpers, as guides, than as directors or founts of knowledge. We see ...
Read more...What's rape got to do with it?
Why does a sex-positive sexuality site like this one talk about rape and abuse so often?
We should all know by now that rape and sex are not the same thing, after all. And yet, over the years at Scarleteen, we've answered a lot of questions about rape and abuse, supported a lot of abuse and rape victims and survivors, and we've got content about both housed on a site which is primarily about sexuality, sexual health and relationships.
One big reason is that an awful lot of us in the world -- and at this site -- are rape and abuse survivors, or people trying to get free of abuse. While our rapes or assaults certainly are or were not sex for us, they often impact our sexuality and our sex lives a whole lot. Sexuality doesn't exist in a vacuum: it's made up of all of who we are, and greatly influenced by the whole of our life experiences. In so many ways, rape and sexual assault can really hijack our sexuality, due to body memories -- the places we were assaulted tend to trigger painful ...
Read more...Illinois Public Schools Sex Education Study
I came across an interesting study on the state of sex ed in Illinois today. Illinois, like most states, receives money from the federal government for abstinence-only sex ed. Some highlights of the study include:
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