Talking About Sex and Consent Doesn’t Have to Be Scary (Plus it’s Real Important) Consent: it’s not just about sex.
I mean sure, sex definitely involves consent — “yes” means “yes” and “no” means “no” — but not all consent involves sex. It’s sort of like that whole “not all squares are rectangles but all rectangles are square” rule. “Ahh! These College Students Are Dishing Out the Sex Talk Nobody Else Will. Wouldn't it be nice to go back and warn your younger self about the things you wish you knew about sex?
This sort of time travel could be really helpful, since many young Americans don't learn the good things and not-so-good things about of sex until it's too late. In fact 74% of us have sex by age 20, according to a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Yet only 22 states and the District of Columbia require comprehensive sex education — programs that still often don't include sex-related concepts extending beyond the act itself.
It's a problem that New York University student Josy Jablons is tackling in a photo campaign featuring college students sharing honest advice about sex they wish they'd known in high school, called #BetterSexTalk. "I entered college with no understanding of sexual coercion, with no ability to recognize an unsafe relationship," Jablons of Students for Sexual Respect at NYU told the Huffington Post on Tuesday. Why American teenagers are having much less sex. Teens appear to be waiting longer.
(Photo by Flickr user Leo Hidalgo) The sex life of the American teenager is apparently far less busy than it was in generations past. Less than half of teens older than 14 said they’ve had intercourse, a sharp drop from rates in the '80s, a new CDC study found. The majority of those who do choose to become sexually active are using some form of protection. And, in the last decade, the popularity of the so-called "morning-after pill" among girls has more than doubled. Sex Ed Vs. Abstinence-Only Education.
Here Are the Worst Myths About STIs According to the Women Who Have Them. When Jenelle Marie Davis, founder of the STD Project, learned she had herpes at 16 years old, she faced a "massive amount of peer-related shame and slut-shaming," she told Mic.
Women with sexually transmitted diseases are frequently made to believe they're "'a slut, a whore, dirty' and that's really it," Davis said. "I can't even sugarcoat that or put it any lighter, because it's really that direct and it's that overt. " Writer Ella Dawson similarly felt "flabbergasted, hurt and confused," after her herpes diagnosis, especially because she always practiced safe sex and considered herself "a sexual advocate" in her community, she told Mic. A Girl Gets Her Period And Is Banished To The Shed: #15Girls : Goats and Soda. Kamala in front of her menstruation shed.
Jane Greenhalgh/NPR hide caption itoggle caption Jane Greenhalgh/NPR Kamala in front of her menstruation shed. Jane Greenhalgh/NPR.