Lovely Non Coming out story

I don’t have a coming out story. I’ve always felt a bit deprived because of that, which is of course wrong because the reason I don’t have a coming out story is that everyone in my life that should know about my sexuality is wonderfully open minded. That being said, my grandma doesn’t know and probably never will. But she doesn’t really need to know granddaughter’s sex life. I suppose the other reason I don’t have a coming out story is because I’m not entirely gay. Coming out as pansexual (or bisexual) is always thought of as a half-arsed sort of revelation compared to absolute homosexuality, which is the epitome of sexuality disclosures. Pansexuality, however, almost always needs to be explained or is followed by a knowing nod then an immediate wikipedia search of the unknown term. It is defined as the attraction to people completely regardless of gender. Unlike bisexual, it does not identify two binary genders, but instead includes transgender, gender neutral etc into it’s attraction. I was unaware of the actual term myself until probably about a year ago. I was, and probably always have been pansexual but I didn’t know the name for it.

Lovely story and well described: To read more go this new website called bite back

Youth Infonet Resources

Youth InfoNet is a one-stop electronic source for new publications and information on youth reproductive health and HIV prevention, presented in two parts:
Part I. Program Resources. Summaries of tools, curricula, program reports, unpublished research findings, and other items that may be useful for youth programming. Most items are available online and links to those are included with the summaries.
Part II: Research Articles. Summaries of peer-reviewed research papers published in the last month on developing country research.
Beginning with No. 28, Youth InfoNet has been published on behalf of the Interagency Youth Working Group (IYWG), formed in 2006 as part of the USAID Global Leadership Priority on Youth. FHI continues to produce this publication series.

If you want access to lots of information on youth sexual health issues from around the world this is a great website to visit. Click here to have a look around.

Hetero lack of condom use and anal sex

In sexual health and education programs lots of information is passes on that encourages young people to use condoms for ALL unsafe practices. Unfortunately research is indicating that only 25% of women who engage in anal sex use condoms for this, while over 60% of men that have sex with men and engage in anal sex use condoms. ( I dont have statistics for women that have sex with women).
Is this because we as educators dont spend enough time talking about anal sex? Is it because young people dont see anal sex as 'sex'? Could it be that people are being coerced into unprotected anal sex?? Could it be that the workers who should be giving the safer sex message are to afraid to mention anal sex. Whatever the reason we need to ensure that the safer sex message is getting out there for ALL forms of unsafe practices.
Go here to read the article where these statistics came from.

SEPT 4 is world sexual health day

The World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) is pleased to announce the inauguration of what will become an annual event. The purpose of World Sexual Health Day is to encourage open and respectful discussion on sexual matters. Factual information leads to healthy sexuality and encourages positive relationships. WAS promotes sexual health and sexual rights and encourages the participation of all people, without discrimination or prejudice. The theme for this year is Let’s talk about it.... an intergenerational discussion WAS is organising activities in 27 countries representing 5 continents, celebrating happy, healthy sexuality and presenting positive messages. Community involvement is encouraged. Find out what is hapening in your area looking at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/World-Association-for-Sexual-Health/141089732594768 and http://www.diamundialsaludsexual.org/ .

On the WAS page is a cool map that you can click on to find out what people are doing. NEXT YEAR LETS MAKE THIS A BIG BIG EVENT

Can women really ever say Yes.

A posting from the Kinsey confidential blog might be interesting. It is a discussion regarding the age old " women are taught to say no because that is virtuous -and if a woman says yes she is called a slut".

Go here to read more or join in the conversation.

PAP smear: Not enough young women have them

New research suggests embarrassment is stopping many younger women from taking the screening tests for cervical cancer that could save their lives.

Only 50 per cent of Australian women aged in their 20s are having pap tests regularly

Go here to see the full picture AND lets keep educating our young women

World Youth Conference

http://www.youth2010.org/

Have you had a look at the world youth conference: Here is a look at one of thier facebook posts:

Tuesday 24. Margarita Zavala, director of DIF, participated in the conference addressing gender and human rights for young people. She stated that women have more scope to advance further than their mothers and grandmothers ever dreamed; however, there discrimination is still an obstacle.

She considers migration to be an element that develops towns, but when it is seen as a threat it closes opportunities for the young.

Faiza Benhadid, coordinator of the Center for Arab Women Training and Research(CAWTAR), expressed that the subject of gender should matter to young people who live at the mercy of a global society. It would seem that conforming to norms is the only way to achieve autonomy. Adolescence is a time during which autonomy is acquired, but sometimes it arrived belatedly because of the manner in which values were instilled. Maturity varies depending on the culture and on the social norms known in adulthood.

She added that from a human right´s perspective a breach has formed between gender and culture. In this session moderated by Inés Alberdi, executive director of UNIFEM, it was agreed that the subject of gender of of global importance and that discrimination is one of the biggest dilemmas facing young people, as well as the absence of programs which provide skills needed to face today´s problems. The eradication of child labor is necessary because it lends itself to exploitation.

Go have a look: Hurrah for the worlds young people..

Gendered Violence

A quote that I like from Donna Macnamara (1986)

"Sexual violence is not an isolated event that happens to a few random individuals in a random unpredictable way. It is a logical extension of a firmly entrenched misogynist world view, either willingly adopted or imposed upon millions of people over thousands of years."

Did you know that:

• Rape is now considered a weapon of war.
• Rome was founded on the rape of Sabine women
• During the sack of Troy, women were raped by the victors
• In 1453, when Constantinople fell the women were raped by the Ottoman troops
• In 1864 at the Sand Creek massacre in the USA the women were raped and sexually mutilated by the white troops
• In 1937 when Nanking fell to Japanese troops the women of the city were raped
• In the Vietnam war ( Vietnamese call this the American war) there are many documented cases of Vietnamese women being raped by the western troops
• From conflicts in Bosnia to Peru to Rwanda girls and women have been singled out for rape
• Rape has been documented in all rescent armed conflicts including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cyprus, Haiti, Liberia, SOmalia, Uganda, Iraq and Afganistan

The rape of women is so prevelent in conflict areas that the UN security council created the senior post on 'Women in armed conflict' in 2009 with specific mandate to address sexual violence.

COME ON MEN: STAND UP: SAY NO TO VIOLENCE

SHineSA is on Facebook

Have you visited SHineSA's FB site yet. If not here it is.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Sexual-Health-Information-Networking-and-Education-Inc-SHine-SA/110530312326043

or Here

Are you working around relationship violence

Here is a good youtube clip if ytou are working with young people around relationship violence issues.