“Sound knowledge and understanding of sexuality not only equips a teen with what is needed to make informed choices, but an understanding of sexual anatomy, boundaries, and what they may and may not want to participate in benefits them whether they choose to be sexually active or not.”
So says one of the writers for Scarleteen.com, a sex-ed website aimed at a teenage audience. Scarleteen was founded in 1998, when there was a dearth of resources that provided progressive information about sex on the Web. Created in direct opposition to the sort of abstinence-only education that is still prevalent in the United States, Scarleteen.com seeks to provide honest, sex-positive education to young people. There are articles not only dealing with the basics of anatomy and sexual safety, but also sexual pleasure, sexual and gender identity, consent, and body image. Here’s a few titles that caught my eye:
- “Not Everything You Wanted to Know About Puberty (But Pretty Darn Close)”
- “Abreast: The Basics of Boobies”
- “No Big Deal: Sex and Disability”
- “Genderpalooza! A Sex and Gender Primer”
- “Be a Blabbermouth! The Whys, Whats, and Hows of Talking About Sex with a Partner”
- “Shown Actual Size: A Penis Shape and Size Lowdown”
- “How You Guys — that’s right you GUYS — Can Prevent Rape”
- “Working the Kinks Out”
- “Advice from an Abuse Survivor”
- “10 of the Best Things You Can Do For Your Sexual Self (At Any Age)”
In addition to the articles, Scarleteen offers message boards, a blog, a write-in advice column, and, starting in August, a database of clinics and healthcare providers. Scarleteen was founded by Heather Corinna, and is currently run by her and a team of international volunteers. It is privately funded by donations, and what ads there are small, topical, and inoffensive. Moreover, this is a sex-positive site that specifically caters to teens; it is accessible, inclusive, and has a laudable policy for maintaining user privacy. My little sex-positive heart is simply A-SWOONING with joy. I wish I could have known about this site 11 years ago, when I first became sexually active. Growing up, I received very little in the way of sexual education. In middle-school, we had one afternoon during gym that covered the basics of puberty; hair, body odor, boobs, menstruation. Sex was not mentioned; masturbation wasn’t mentioned. It was more scarring than informative. Yes, scarring. I have a vivid memory of Mrs. McGowan trying to demonstrate how to put a tampon in; it got stuck protruding out of the model’s vagina, and she had to use the heel of her hand to forcefully shove it in. It was years before I could look at a tampon and not clench defensively. The alternative high school I later attended had absolutely no sex-ed at all. Maybe they thought that a bunch of public-school rejects, fabulous freaks, and socially-awkward geniuses wouldn’t be interested in sex. (No comment on which category I belonged to.) Considering that the school mission was to make us “insightful world citizens,” I’d say they left out a rather important collection of insights, hmm? My self-education took the form of Planned Parenthood pamphlets (which focused more on STIs than orgasms), literary sex scenes, and experimentation; basically, I just muddled along as best I could, and dealt with the fallout when it happened. (That’s a blog for another day.) 
“Sexuality information and education are as important to personal safety as learning how to look both ways when crossing the street. Sexuality is a facet of human life no matter how we do or do not use it, and is as much a facet as eating, breathing, speaking and thinking. To eschew its existence is to deprive those who need the information of a large aspect of self.”
Too dang right. I’m tired of teens being “protected” from information that can only do them a world of good. To refuse someone information and education denies them the right to make informed decisions. When this directly affects someone’s health and well-being, it’s a matter of ethics. I believe it is unethical not to provide young people — and older people, and married couples, and EVERYONE — with the means to assert their sexual autonomy, to be healthy, and make informed decisions. Whew. I’ll step down off my soapbox now. Anyone else have some funny sexual mis-education stories or fabulous sex-positive links that they’d like to share with the class? Disclaimer: I, Nino, am in no way affiliated with Scarleteen.com, and neither is Bombshells and Rockstars. I just wanted to share the love!
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