Sex Ed Rewind

In Part II of this mother-daughter sex ed series, I talk to https://houseofpuff.com/ (House of Puff )founder & CEO Kristina Lopez Adduci about growing up in Dr. Salas-Lopez's house & talking openly about sex with your mom from a doctor's perspective, the pitfalls of getting sex ed in a catholic school, the importance of being able to ask adults questions in sex ed, having all your friends come to your mom for sex ed, how learning about bodily autonomy leads to confidence, the lasting benefits we get from quality sex education, the importance of LGBTQ inclusive sex ed, how Kristina plans to raise her daughters, and more.

In Part I of this mother-daughter sex ed series, I talk to https://www.northwell.edu/about/leadership/debbie-salas-lopez (Dr. Debbie Salas-Lopez) about growing up in a religious household & the silence around sex education, becoming a mother and choosing to raise children with honesty and openness about sex, the power of creating safe spaces for kids to ask questions, how being a doctor helped prepare Deb with the resources to educate, walking the line of creating age-apprirate sex education moments at home, the long term relationship benefits of creating a foundation of trust and mutual respect between parent and child, what role grandparents can play in the sex education of their grandkids, and more.

In this episode I talk to https://www.cleostiller.net/ (Cleo Stiller) about growing up in an open household & talking to parents about sex, developing breasts early and how that adultifies young girls, why the Aziz Ansari story felt so familiar to so many people, redefining the concept of virginity, how we tell virginity stories in the media based on gender, why fantastic hook-ups are pretty rare, the importance of teaching pleasure-centered sex education, the possibilities of human redemption, and more.

In this episode I talk to http://www.sorayachemaly.com/ (Soraya Chemaly) about the hyper sexualization of women, how blanket censorship policies online suppress women's free speech, why these censorship decisions are always deeply political, why sexual violence/harassment aren't the same thing as sex, withholding healthy information as an expression of power/dominance in culture, why learning about social and emotional intelligence is sex education, the necessity of community support in rejecting social norms, and more.

In this episode I talk to https://www.talktabu.com/ (Tabú) founder & CEO Mia Davis about Gossip Girl as sex ed, bi-racial representation, learning to associate shame with pleasure, sexually empowered women, being hyper-sexualized from a young age, vaginismus & sexual pain, the importance of hiring qualified sex educators, and more.

In this episode I talk to Mariah Caudillo about how having bodily autonomy protects young people, navigating sexual trauma, creating safe spaces for learning about sex, shame & fear based sex ed, growing up in a deeply religious household, the importance of trauma informed sex ed, and more.

In this episode I talk to Mia Schachter about The O.C. & Sex and the City as sex ed, the power that small comments can have on impressionable young people, the experience of gender as a fluid identity, how a lack of sex ed can shape the rest of our lives, the process of unlearning gender stereotypes, the importance of a nuanced understanding of consent, and more.

In this episode I talk to Jesus Casado about the power of media representation for queer youth, the fear that comes with having to grow up “in the closet,” messenger chat rooms as sex ed, floppy disc porn, the catharsis of starting a new life in a new place, and more.

In this episode I talk to Gia Ciccolo about the shame around STI's, the erasure of the clitoris in sex ed, the importance of teaching communication skills, the absence of consent education, growing up in a single-parent home, the benefits of growing up in diverse communities, and more.

In this episode I talk to Francisco DeCristo about why porn isn't a substitute for sex education, the lasting impacts of gendered double standards, the importance of having role models that look like you, the pressures of masculinity, and more.

In this episode I talk with Teckla Persons about church as a safe space for sex ed, bi-visibilty and bi-erasure, feeling queer enough, the cultural focus on male pleasure, masturbation with a vulva, and more.

In this episode I talk to Gene Fukui about Japanese insect-man cartoons as porn, the impacts of gender segregated sex ed, navigating sex as a multi-cultural young person, working through feelings of embarrassment about sex, the importance of teaching about anal sex, and more.

In this episode we talk about feelings circles as sex ed, toxic masculinity, navigating chronic illness, the impacts of unrealistic beauty standards, why it can be hard to advocate for your own needs, the power of creating healthy communities for young people to grow, and more.

In this episode I talk with Kamra Sadia Hakim about rejecting other peoples sexual shame, the price of a world without consent education, the importance of language in being able to tell our stories, fighting for the type of sex we want, being the sexual partner that we want in the world, turning lack into abundance, and more.

In this episode I talk with Spencer Harvey about representation of LGBTQ stories in media, how to relate to a young & closeted you, the privilege of being white and gay, the lack of HIV education in schools, normalizing conversations about all types of sex, and more.

This week we are joined by Stefani McCoy. Stefani has a masters degree from NYU in Global Affairs with a specialization in international development and humanitarian assistance. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Namibia working at the grass roots level to help increase business and economic opportunities, strengthen infrastructure, and improve financial security for Namibians. In her home state of California she worked on a state-wide ballot measure, proposition 15, looking to increase funding for public schools, community colleges, and local government services. Currently she serves as the Executive Director for the Peace Project Inc. an organization that seeks to empower youth through peace and education. In this episode we talk about fear based abstinence only sex education, Planned Parenthood as a safe haven, the emotional toll erasure of identity can have on young people, coming into queerness after high school, finding community in queer black and brown spaces, and more! You can follow Stef and her work on instagram @IamQueenStef, on twitter @StefaniDMcCoy, and online at https://www.peaceprojectinc.org/ (www.peaceprojectinc.org)

In this episode, I share some important contextual information about Sex Ed Rewind. I'll walk you through what the show is and how its structured, discuss what exactly comprehensive sex education is, look at some laws in place that are currently legislating sex education in the States, and discuss the bleak consequences that these laws are having on all of us. This information is helpful to understand when listening to the show moving forward so we can all contextualize why exactly some of these sex education experiences are problematic, why they happened at all, and most importantly how to make sex education better for everyone. I share tons of facts in this episode, and the citations are listed below. Shameless plug here, I published a piece back in 2019 all about sex education in the United States and it goes into much greater detail then I do in this episode. If you are interested in learning more, give it a read (it is the first citation below)! Confort, Caro. “Sex Education as a Human Right and How United States Law Is Denying Its Citizens.” Global Affairs Review, 15 Apr. 2019. https://gareviewnyu.com/2019/04/15/sex-education-as-a-human-right-and-how-united-states-law-is-denying-its-citizens/ (https://gareviewnyu.com/2019/04/15/sex-education-as-a-human-right-and-how-united-states-law-is-denying-its-citizens/) Galvan, Astrid. “Study Finds LGBTQ People Much Likelier to Be Crime Victims.” PBS, 2 Oct. 2020, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/study-finds-lgbtq-people-much-likelier-to-be-crime-victims (www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/study-finds-lgbtq-people-much-likelier-to-be-crime-victims). Hall, Kelli Stidham, et al. “The State of Sex Education in the United States.” Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 58, no. 6, June 2016, pp. 595–597., doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth. 2016.03.032. “Incidence, Prevalence, and Cost of Sexually Transmitted Infections in the United States.” Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/docs/factsheets/2018-STI-incidence-prevalence-factsheet.pdf (https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/docs/factsheets/2018-STI-incidence-prevalence-factsheet.pdf) Kumar, Vipan B, and Pratibha Kumar. “Right to Sexuality Education as a Human Right.” The Journal of Family Welfare, vol. 57, no. 2, Dec. 2011, pp. 23–29. National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (2020). Domestic Violence. https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2497/domestic_violence-2020080709350855.pdf?1596811079991 (https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2497/domestic_violence-2020080709350855.pdf?1596811079991). Pimentel, Caetano. “The Human Right to Education: Freedom and Empowerment.” Multicultural Education, vol. 13, no. 4, 2006, pp. 2–10. Ronan, Wyatt. “New FBI Hate Crimes Report Shows Increases in Anti-LGBTQ Attacks.” Human Rights Campaign, 17 Nov. 2020, http://www.hrc.org/press-releases/new-fbi-hate-crimes-report-shows-increases-in-anti-lgbtq-attacks (www.hrc.org/press-releases/new-fbi-hate-crimes-report-shows-increases-in-anti-lgbtq-attacks).  “Sex Education Laws and State Attacks.” Planned Parenthood Action Fund, 2018, https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/sex-education/sex-education-laws-and-state-attacks (www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/sex-education/sex-education-laws-and-state-attacks). “Sex and HIV Education.” Guttmacher Institute, 3 Oct. 2018,  http://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/sex-and-hiv-education (www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/sex-and-hiv-education)? “Teen Pregnancy.” Guttmacher Institute, 1 Dec. 2018, http://www.guttmacher.org/united-states/teens/teen-pregnancy? (www.guttmacher.org/united-states/teens/teen-pregnancy?)