Scarleteen is a progressive, inclusive sexuality and relationships education, information and support organization and digital clearinghouse. There hasn’t ever been and still isn’t anything else online quite like it. We’re a unicorn !
Founded in December of 1998, Scarleteen is visited by about 5 million people from all around the world each year -- thousands of whom we speak with directly -- most between the ages of 15 and 30. We were one of the first and remain one of the few websites and organizations focused on directly providing sex , relationships and bodies information and support for and to young people. We're also one of the rare and remaining independent, grassroots feminist media sources left online: we are not affiliated with any other organization, company or governmental agency. Our leadership, volunteers and contributors are mostly queer , women, trans or gender -expansive, diverse in our ethnicities, locations, embodiments and economic class, and quite a few of us live with disability and frequently are not or have not been considered generally respectable by people generally concerned with respectability.
In 2023, Scarleteen became a shared leadership model. Two co-directors lead Scarleteen with founder Heather Corinna: longtime volunteers and staff Sam Wall and Jacob Mirzaian. The team at Scarleteen also includes our volunteers, most of whom are under the age of 30, a diverse team of freelance writers, and the skills, knowledge and talents of other educators, consultants, illustrators and tech helpers.
Awards:
- 2007: The Champions of Sexual Literacy Award for Grassroots Activism from the National Sexuality Resource Center/SFSU
(to Heather Corinna) - 2009: The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, Western Region's Public Service Award
- 2009: Our Bodies, Ourselves' Women's Health Heroes Award
(to Heather Corinna) - 2011: Seattle Web Awards: Best Nonprofit Website and Best Nonprofit Twitter Feed
- 2012: The Joan Helmich Educator of the Year Award
(to Heather Corinna) - 2013: The Woodhull Foundation's Vicki Award
(to Heather Corinna) - 2015: The Steinem-Waters Award
(to Heather Corinna) - 2015: The Golden Brick Award
(to Heather Corinna) - 2023: The World Association for Sexual Health's (WAS) Award for Excellence and Innovation in Sexuality Education.
Scarleteen and its accomplishments have also been recognized by many other organizations, and our content has been used or provided in clinics, outreach programs, college and high school syllabus, and by sexuality educators, healthcare providers, teachers, counselors, therapists and other youth-serving workers and agencies.