alternative

Happy 20th F#$@&%* Birthday, Scarleteen!

Scarleteen turns 20 years old today. Twenty.

For two decades, we’ve delivered our unique and innovative brand of sex education, despite many financial, legal, political and practical barriers and battles. That kind of tenure for anything on the internet is unheard of, let alone for a grassroots, feminist sexual health, sex and healthy relationships initiative and alternative education project for young people, and one that was (and still is) queer, working class and woman-led.

Centering and serving young people, sexuality and relationships like we do, with inspired quality, care and vision, and doing so independently — and for free — for so long is so rare. Very few organizations and resources have consistently delivered all of what we do, as well as we do, and to as many as we have, for this long.

LadyCup Menstrual Cups

LadyCup is a menstrual collection cup similar to a Diva Cup or Keeper, made of flexible silicone in a variety of fun colors (and they come with a pretty fabric bag to store it in!) Once you've tried a cup you may never go back to tampons- they can work for up to 12 hours, don't dry out your delicate vaginal skin, and may be less likely to cause Toxic Shock Syndrome.

Party in My Pants Reusable Pads

Cheery, fun, and comfortable reusable menstrual pads and liners! It's like a party in your pants and your period's invited.

On Innovation and Inclusivity in Sex Education

In many ways, sex education often seems to get stuck in two big places. Plenty of people seem to think that if you're talking about sex to young people at all -- no matter how you're talking about it, no matter why you're talking about it -- that's progressive enough, and for some, that in and of itself is too progressive. Despite Americans having over 100 years to get used to sex education at this point, for many it still seems an innovation, and not a particularly welcome one.

Bloghopping: June/July 2008

lunapads booklet

  • The teen booklet that Madeline and Suzanne over at Lunapdas have been working on for years with my help, as well as help and contributions from Inga Muscio, Sarah Mundy, Emira Mears and Dr. Jerilynn Prior is finally done, and is a gorgeous, fantastic, radical, groovy slice of awesome. Yay!