IT’S ALL
CHANGING
SO FAST
Your child, your connection to them, the sex ed landscape
It’s all changing fast, but Outspoken is keeping track. Sign up to our fortnightly fix of the latest news stories and advice to start the sex ed conversation and keep it going…
“When parts of our bodies go undescribed, we often feel they are wrong or forbidden. Outspoken Sex Ed is a step toward universality and acceptance – for ourselves and for each other”
– feminist icon Gloria Steinem
NEWS YOU CAN USE
Singer Billie Eilish, age 20, on body image
“I kind of think of my body as my ugly friend. [My relationship with it] has been a truly horrible, terrible thing since I was 11. I remember taking a pill that told me that it would make me lose weight and it only made me pee the bed – when I was 12.
Wearing baggy clothes, nobody is attracted to me, I feel incredibly unloveable and unsexy and not beautiful, and people shame you for not being feminine enough. Then you wear something more revealing… and I’m a sl-t and I’m a sell-out and I’m just like every other celebrity selling their bodies.
I worry that I felt so undesirable that I may have tried too hard to be desirable. I feel far more solid in who I am now… like I’m desirable. I feel like I’m capable of being as feminine and as masculine as I want to be”
Billie Eilish Gets Candid About Her Relationship With Her Body AKA Her “Ugly Friend” (Elle, 22/6/22)
MAYDAY MOMENTS
“Girls can’t play”
You want to challenge your 7-year-old’s ideas on gender
What do you do?
“Does sex hurt?”
Your 11-year-old comes home from their first sex ed lesson at school
What do you say?
TIPS BY TOPIC
Browse information, advice and resources on every topic under the sex & relationships sun
Making babies, puberty before it hits and
teenage development
Seeking out healthy, respectful relationships from childhood on
Knowing what you like
and being able to tell others what you want
The impact of porn on kids’ attitudes & behaviour and navigating sexting
Becoming who you are
and accepting others’ sexual identities
Critical thinking and resilience in the face of limiting stereotypes
TIPS BY AGE
Whether your child is into Transformers or texting, age-specific help is at hand
Introducing
Learning
Preparing
What is age appropriate? Click here to read about the “life course approach”
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING…
“When parts of our bodies go undescribed, we often feel they are wrong or forbidden. Outspoken Sex Ed is a step toward universality and acceptance – for ourselves and for each other”
Gloria Steinem – feminist icon, leading social political activist, speaker and author of My Life On The Road
“We’re all trying to figure out how to talk to our children about this tricky stuff, and I’m turning to Outspoken Sex Ed for a few tips”
Anna Whitehouse – author, columnist and founder of Mother Pukka
“The best support and protection parents can offer young people is ensuring they have all the information they need to make decisions about their health, body, sexual exploration and emotions – which is what Outspoken is all about”
Sara Pascoe – comedian, author and member of Outspoken Advisory Board
”As a parent I felt enabled and empowered to have age-and-stage appropriate conversations with my children after the Outspoken Sex Ed workshop. This suddenly felt like a challenge I could take on with gusto rather than shying away from”
Dr Pooky Knightsmith – child and adolescent mental-health expert and author
“I totally love Outspoken Sex Ed and everything it stands for! This is wonderful work and very much needed”
Dr Naomi Sutton – NHS sexual-health consultant on E4’s The Sex Clinic and member of Outspoken Advisory Board
“Misinformation about sex has always been part of teenage life. But today, with pornography and social media, young people are exposed to a tsunami of false and damaging ideas and information. It’s therefore our duty to provide young people with a healthy counter-narrative. The work of Outspoken – which provides resources for parents and teachers to have open, honest conversations about sex and relationships – is therefore more crucial than ever”
Natasha Devon MBE – mental-health and body-image campaigner
Incredibly helpful. I feel much better equipped to deal with what I thought would be awkward conversations – actually I don’t think they are at all!
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Cards on the table: the aim of our fun, factual, LGBT+ inclusive game is for kids aged 14+ to play it in relationships & sex education (RSE) lessons, yes… but with 4 players minimum, you can try your hand at it with family or friends!
