Anybody who has ever tried to teach how to put a condom on has had to struggle with 'how explicit' should they be.
This is particularly true if working with people that have an intellectual disability or cognitive impairment that may make the leap from using a 'bananna penis' to the real thing a bit difficult.
If you are working with people who need VERY EXPLICIT visuals this site may help.
If you click here you will go to a brilliant site that has a film clip with instructions of a man putting a condom on himself. WARNING: This is a real film and is very explicit.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Great short film on Chlamydia testing
Thanks to ShineSA and the Northern Sound System for helping these cool young fellas make this short film.
Responding to difficult questions
Have a listen to this podcast from the Kinsey confidential podcast. Shows a great response to a pretty typical question. " My girlfriend doesn't like to go down on me"
Sex and the Law - Know what you tell people
I have recently been having an email conversation with a colleague. The conversations has been around what and how we teach people about the age of consent and the penalties for breaching the law.
I just want to remind people that even though we might say " It's no big deal if an 18 year old and a 16 year old are having consensual intercourse - heaps of young people are. ( In fact statistics tell us that approximately 50% of year 12s are having intercourse). IT CAN BE A BIG DEAL. Even though as an individual we might believe that consensual intercourse is okay between people under the legal age of consent (17 in South Australia). The ramifications can be huge.
Here is what part of the law says:
section 49 of the Crime Consolidation Act states
49—Unlawful sexual intercourse
(1) A person who has sexual intercourse with any person under the age of 14 years shall be guilty of an offence and liable to be imprisoned forlife.
(3) A person who has sexual intercourse with a person under the age of seventeen years is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 10 years.
So... I know there is much more to the law and convictions than what I have put before you but to as responsible educators we should not dilute the very real (but rare) possibility that the young people we support may be putting their future at great risk.
Sure ....be sex positve but remember just like we should be teaching young people about the possible joys and pleasures of sexual relationships, we should also be teaching young people about the legal risks that they may be facing.
In terms of the role or those trying to empower youth to make the right choices (they also happen to be mandatory reporters in a good number of cases) discussion about the law and sex has to take a constructive form...This discussion should simply not be approached from a legal perspective...there is too many issues that need to be spelled out and clarified. What young people need to know is that the law punishes violent, arbitrary, cohesive, repressive sex abusive sexual activity; that the law will punish those who take sexual advantage of others because of their immaturity or age (e.g. a 15 year old wants to have sex with a 10 year old); that sex is a natural part of human development that needs to be experienced with the outmost respect for the other. They should also know that there is an age of consent and that the law deems certain behaviour as evidence a person is not consenting. If the question of the legality/illegality of sex is framed in this way, I think it may have a much better effect on young people. Surely, service providers need to know the law in more depth, but legal explanations are best to those working in the area.
I just want to remind people that even though we might say " It's no big deal if an 18 year old and a 16 year old are having consensual intercourse - heaps of young people are. ( In fact statistics tell us that approximately 50% of year 12s are having intercourse). IT CAN BE A BIG DEAL. Even though as an individual we might believe that consensual intercourse is okay between people under the legal age of consent (17 in South Australia). The ramifications can be huge.
Here is what part of the law says:
49—Unlawful sexual intercourse
(1) A person who has sexual intercourse with any person under the age of 14 years shall be guilty of an offence and liable to be imprisoned forlife.
(3) A person who has sexual intercourse with a person under the age of seventeen years is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 10 years.
So... I know there is much more to the law and convictions than what I have put before you but to as responsible educators we should not dilute the very real (but rare) possibility that the young people we support may be putting their future at great risk.
Sure ....be sex positve but remember just like we should be teaching young people about the possible joys and pleasures of sexual relationships, we should also be teaching young people about the legal risks that they may be facing.
ONE FINAL THING:::
In terms of the role or those trying to empower youth to make the right choices (they also happen to be mandatory reporters in a good number of cases) discussion about the law and sex has to take a constructive form...This discussion should simply not be approached from a legal perspective...there is too many issues that need to be spelled out and clarified. What young people need to know is that the law punishes violent, arbitrary, cohesive, repressive sex abusive sexual activity; that the law will punish those who take sexual advantage of others because of their immaturity or age (e.g. a 15 year old wants to have sex with a 10 year old); that sex is a natural part of human development that needs to be experienced with the outmost respect for the other. They should also know that there is an age of consent and that the law deems certain behaviour as evidence a person is not consenting. If the question of the legality/illegality of sex is framed in this way, I think it may have a much better effect on young people. Surely, service providers need to know the law in more depth, but legal explanations are best to those working in the area.
Monday, June 18, 2012
New clinic for young women with period pain
If you are in South Australia keep this information handy.: Teenage Dysmenorrhoea Clinic
Dr Clare Fairweather, is providing a GP run teenage dysmenorrhoea and pelvic pain clinic at the rooms of Dr Susan Evans, as part of the clinic's multidisciplinary approach to pelvic pain. She hopes to address the major community health issue of young women's dysmenorrhoea that has such devastating effects on their wellbeing, education and opportunities. The young women's clinic offers long appointments, substantial resources, short waiting times and an holistic approach to young women's wellbeing. No referral is required and gap payments are $75 for a first visit and $50 for reviews.
Good book
I have been reading a book called ' Young People and Sexuality Education - Rethinking Key Debates' by Louisa Allen who is the Associate Professor of The University of Auckland and the University of Cambridge. She has taught at both of these universities in the area of educational sociology, the sociology of youth, research methodologies, feminist post-structural theories and theories of gender. Her research interests lie in the area of sexualities, sexuality education, youth, gender and schooling.
Louisa has been guiding me for many years in my quest to better prepare myself for sexual health and relationships education. She is very good at getting people to think about 'why' they are using the terms, the structure and the reasons for their pedagogy.
I urge anyone who is interested in sexuality education for young people to at least have a flick through this book( which is available through the SHineSA library).
These are the 3 chapters I particularly enjoyed:
Louisa has been guiding me for many years in my quest to better prepare myself for sexual health and relationships education. She is very good at getting people to think about 'why' they are using the terms, the structure and the reasons for their pedagogy.
I urge anyone who is interested in sexuality education for young people to at least have a flick through this book( which is available through the SHineSA library).
These are the 3 chapters I particularly enjoyed:
- Pleasurable Pedogogy: Young peoples thoughts about including 'pleasure' in sexuality education:
- It's not who they are: It's what their like - Re-conceptualising the best educator debate
- Sexuality Education Re - Imagined ; Relinquishing the disease and pregnancy prevention focus.
don't say the V word.
We all know that politics and sexuality is a potent mix. In the USA recently a state representative was banned from making further speeches on the floor (speakers box) when she said the word vagina.
While we might laugh at this and think "how petty" or "Only in America" I urge you to reconsider.
Cast your mind back several years when Kirstie Marshall was ejected from Victorian parliment for breastfeeding. For some reason, sex, sexuality, sexual health is considered bad form to mention in the politcal decision making centres of our worlds.
I reckon its time for this to change. Sometimes it's as if the vagina monologues never happened.
While we might laugh at this and think "how petty" or "Only in America" I urge you to reconsider.
Cast your mind back several years when Kirstie Marshall was ejected from Victorian parliment for breastfeeding. For some reason, sex, sexuality, sexual health is considered bad form to mention in the politcal decision making centres of our worlds.
I reckon its time for this to change. Sometimes it's as if the vagina monologues never happened.
Exploring Gender Resource
I found this video from one of the linkedin groups that I am a member of.
I have since used this as a way to explore gender with young people. We play the clip and then ask the group to come up with a dialogue to go with it.
Great fun.
I have since used this as a way to explore gender with young people. We play the clip and then ask the group to come up with a dialogue to go with it.
Great fun.
ACSA survey
Using condoms: still feels good
I was reading a link in an article from the Centre For Sexual Pleasure and Health that struck a chord with me.
Many times in my work with young people (particularly young men) I hear that "using a condom takes away from my pleasure." Well there actually isn't much research around about this aspect of pleasure at all. So this latest article from the Journal of Sexual Medicine, which looked at how heterosexual-identified men experienced sexual pleasure during condom-protected vaginal sex.
Researchers from the Section of Adolescent Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University noticed that there was a void in the current sexual health literature on condom usage with regards to sexual pleasure. In general, studies tend to just compare the pleasure reported by men who either do or do not use condoms, and often wind up with results claiming that condom usage is not compatible with male sexual enjoyment. However, these studies ignore the other components of sexual pleasure or the various other characteristics and behaviors of men who use condoms, such as what sex acts they engage in, how they feel about the sex that they have, or their demographic characteristics. To combat this deficiency in data, the investigators of this study proposed this research to examine the association between condom use and sexual pleasure when all participants use condoms consistently, correctly, and completely, allowing for an understanding of the range of factors that affect sexual pleasure and enjoyment.
Go HERE to read more
Many times in my work with young people (particularly young men) I hear that "using a condom takes away from my pleasure." Well there actually isn't much research around about this aspect of pleasure at all. So this latest article from the Journal of Sexual Medicine, which looked at how heterosexual-identified men experienced sexual pleasure during condom-protected vaginal sex.
Researchers from the Section of Adolescent Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University noticed that there was a void in the current sexual health literature on condom usage with regards to sexual pleasure. In general, studies tend to just compare the pleasure reported by men who either do or do not use condoms, and often wind up with results claiming that condom usage is not compatible with male sexual enjoyment. However, these studies ignore the other components of sexual pleasure or the various other characteristics and behaviors of men who use condoms, such as what sex acts they engage in, how they feel about the sex that they have, or their demographic characteristics. To combat this deficiency in data, the investigators of this study proposed this research to examine the association between condom use and sexual pleasure when all participants use condoms consistently, correctly, and completely, allowing for an understanding of the range of factors that affect sexual pleasure and enjoyment.
Go HERE to read more
SHineSA Y@ win award
Congratulations to our SHine SA Youth Action Team (Y@) who have just won the Group Award in the City of Charles Sturt Youth & Schools Achievement Awards!Youth Action Teams are essential for ShineSA work. These people give a face to one of ShineSAs communities of interest. Not only that but they act as sources of knowledge, sources of ideas, sources of points of cross over between so many sexual health issues.Well done to the ShineSA Y@s!!Thanks to the SHineSA FB team for posting this.
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