Sam Wall

When an email came into the Scarleteen inbox with kittens in the title, we were excited, of course (because kittens!) but unsure what to expect. What we got was this gloriously weird video for a cheerful little ditty about getting tested for STIs. The song is the brainchild of Sticky Biscuits, who…

The crappy thing about ideal body types is that they are designed to be unreachable by 99.9% of the population: they’re unrealistic. They’re about satisfying one’s conception of what is perfect; that’s the very definition of ideal. Unfortunately, some ideals are also really common, especially once…

Hi Jaden, It sounds like you care about this person, and that you’re worried about her. You’re also in a difficult position, because it sounds like both you and she are minors, and the person she’s afraid of is an adult who’s supposed to be caring for her. That may mean that if she reaches out for…

I came into work on June 12th, 2016, as if it were any other morning. One of my daily tasks is to check all of our social media channels. I opened Twitter to find people talking about Orlando. A shooter. A nightclub. No, a gay club.

You do know how to say “no” to sex. The issue is that you’re afraid to say it, and that’s a big red flag. I don’t know how your boyfriend reacted the one time you said no, but it was clearly intense enough that you’ve done the calculus and decided it’s better to have sex you don’t want than face…

You’re asking a common question Arty. I want to turn that question around a little. What difference would it make if this was baby fat? Your answer can tell you a lot about the messages about bodies, beauty, and worth you’ve internalized over the years. Everyone’s answer will be different, and I can…

This is part of our series for parents or guardians . It starts with our big five guiding principles for parents or guardians and includes resources for those supporting teens and young adults . To see all posts in the series, click the Scarleteen Confidential tag here at Scarleteen, or follow the…

The good news is that you do not have to be sexually active until you’re ready. Virginity, aside from being an idea rather than a physical thing you can lose, is not something you need to race to “get rid of.” There are no prizes for being the first person in your school to have sex, and no…

A guide to getting pleasure and fulfillment out of life from places besides sex or romance.

This is not a blog I ever wanted to write. Like many of you, I’d hoped for a different outcome from the U.S. election on Tuesday. I’d hoped we would not end up with a right-wing demagogue as our next president. Yet here we are. Many people are validly afraid of what this result means for them, for…