NEWS YOU CAN USE
There’s nothing like a bit of controversy and current events to kickstart constructive conversation. Seize the day and get talking with your kids about these recent news stories…
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Ansel Elgort Wore Glittery Eye Makeup and White Nail Polish to the 2020 Golden Globes | Allure (6/1/20)
“As a wise man by the name of Quil Lemons once told me, ‘Makeup doesn't necessarily have any energy. It’s just products, and society gives it that gendering. It’s weird. Nothing says it’s for boys or for girls. We just put those labels on it’”
TALKING POINT Is male make-up really a thing? Read the article >
Sex Education’s Asa Butterfield’s nan has watched his NSFW scenes but he finds them “liberating” | Metro (8/1/20)
“My family loved it. I’m pretty sure all of them watched it – even my grandparents! Everyone’s kind of hung up on that stuff so it’s quite nice that we’ve got an excuse to be quite open about it, and I think if we all were then it would probably be easier”
TALKING POINT Can a family watch Sex Education together? Read the article >
“Boys & Sex” Reveals That Young Men Feel “Cut Off From Their Hearts” | includes 35-minute interview – NPR (7/1/20)
“What [boys are] getting in porn is a really distorted vision of what human sexuality is. They see image after image of sex as something men do to women, of female pleasure as a performance for male satisfaction, of distorted bodies – of a whole lot of things that frankly wouldn’t feel very good to most people”
TALKING POINT Porn affects both young women & young men Read the article >
“I was angry I couldn’t even say the word”: UK teens refuse to be silent about periods | Guardian (7/1/20)
“[Stirling high school] has set up a club of students, the ‘panda posse’, to remove period stigma. One student – typically a boy – puts on a panda head, while girls accompany him round the school giving out free sanitary products. ‘Using a panda puts a non-threatening face on it. We didn’t want our mascot to be a six-foot tampon,’ says a teacher. Now 84% of girls report feeling more comfortable talking about periods”
TALKING POINT Could you start a Panda Posse at your school? Read the article >
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Call for naked art classes to benefit children in UK schools | Telegraph (7/1/20)
“It really gets rid of any prejudices as to what a body should look like. It's great for body positivity. Primary school children are a great audience for this kind of thing. The main barriers for all these things are parents and adults. Children are much more open. From a very young age they are seeing all kinds of stuff. You can’t really start too young”
TALKING POINT Would kids laugh too much – or could it work? Read the article >
IN OTHER NEWS…
Our round-up of sex-ed related articles of interest to parents from 6 to 16 January 2020
TALKING OPENLY
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How To Talk To Children About Sex – includes 7-minute podcast (NPR, 9/1/20)
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OUTSPOKEN RECOMMENDED READ Clitoris, Clitoris, Clitoris: It’s Not A Dirty Word And I Think Kids Should Know What It Is (CBC, 7/1/20)
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OUTSPOKEN RECOMMENDED READ “Boys & Sex” Reveals That Young Men Feel “Cut Off From Their Hearts” – includes 35-minute interview (NPR, 7/1/20)
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OUTSPOKEN RECOMMENDED READ Will we ever figure out how to talk to boys about sex? (New York Times, 10/1/20)
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Peggy Orenstein on her new book, Boys & Sex (Washington Post, 9/1/20)
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How To Talk To Your Kids About Sex – Without Shame, Guilt, Or Common Heteronormative Myths – includes a 4.5-minute video of parents talking openly to kids (Your Tango, 10/1/20)
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What It’s Really Like When Your Mum Is A Sex Therapist (HuffPost, 16/1/20)
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How to Talk to Boys About Porn, Consent and Sex, According to Boys & Sex Author – by a father (Pulse, 9/1/20)
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How to talk about not being able to talk – 3-minute video (Sitting In A Car series, 14/1/20)
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OUTSPOKEN RECOMMENDED READ My sex education: Having “the chat” is way more cringey as a parent: life lessons from my 40s (Guardian, 10/1/20)
SEX EDUCATION
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Most teachers feel unprepared to give sex education, poll finds (Morning Star, 13/1/20)
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Cancelled lessons at Co Down primary school “nothing to do with sex” (News Letter, 15/1/20)
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Compulsory relationships and sex education: FAQs answered (Education Executive, 16/2/20)
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Parents want to be more involved in school children’s sex education (Stuff, 15/1/20)
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The Questions Sex-Ed Students Always Ask (Atlantic, 13/1/20)
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You shouldn’t be having sex if you can’t ace this secondary school sex ed quiz – publication by and for young people (The Tab, 15/1/20)
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“We should have sex therapists at school”: how season two of Netflix’s Sex Education puts female desire first (Telegraph, 7/1/20)
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Sex Education’s Asa Butterfield’s nan has watched his NSFW scenes but he finds them “liberating” (Metro, 8/1/20)
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Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood: “If you can take ownership of your sexuality, you can take ownership of other parts of your life” (iNews, 15/1/20)
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Emma Mackey interview on Sex Education season 2, female sexuality, Gillian Anderson – 3-minute interview on how Sex Education is starting debate and helping parents talk to their kids about sex and how it should be shown in sex-ed classes (Yahoo, 8/1/20)
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Sex Education cast reveal what they would ask in sex education class – 5-minute video (YouTube, 11/1/20)
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SECOND COMING With 15 X-rated scenes in first three mins, Sex Education’s second series is far too rude, says Gillian Anderson (The Sun, 9/1/20)
LGBT ISSUES & IDENTITY
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Nurse accuses NHS trust of prescribing “experimental” puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to kids (Sky News, 8/1/20)
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Marvel to get first transgender superhero (BBC, 2/1/20)
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Marvel Studios won’t be debuting a trans character “very soon” despite recent claims by studio president Kevin Feige (Daily Mail, 3/1/20)
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Sex Education’s Eric became the therapy for gay men and women in danger: Netflix’s LGBTQ icon is saving lives (Metro, 7/1/20)
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NYT Op-Ed Notes THIS Crucial Difference Between Gay & Straight Youths’ Approach to Sex (Edge Media Network, 13/1/20)
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“Boys can be princesses too”: Photographer's album promoting gender neutrality goes viral (Times of India, 16/1/20)
PORN & SEXTING
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OUTSPOKEN RECOMMENDED READ School kids are badly affected by how readily available porn is, argues teacher – includes 7-minute interview (LBC, 7/1/20)
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Charity warns “we have to get a grip” on internet child porn “epidemic” (LBC, 7/1/20)
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OUTSPOKEN RECOMMENDED READ “So, I found some things on your phone.” Last night, I discovered my tween was Googling porn (MamaMia, 10/1/20)
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It’s 2020: Time to teach teens “safe” sexting (EurekAlert, 15/1/20)
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Teen Sexting: Guidelines for Parents (Psychology Today, 11/1/20)
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OUTSPOKEN RECOMMENDED READ Scientists give 10 tips – including sending pictures that are “suggestive” and “flirty” but not fully nude (Daily Mail, 15/1/20)
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Child sex abuse: Record number of images dealt with, charity says (BBC, 7/1/20)
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This Girl Can Launches A New Taboo-Busting Campaign For Women In Sport, And We’re Feeling Inspired – includes 1-minute video (Elle, 14/1/20)
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Call for naked art classes to benefit children in UK schools (Telegraph, 7/1/20)
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Feminist author claims nude art classes from a young age can make people more ”relaxed”about the human form – but GMB viewers brand the idea “ridiculous” (Daily Mail, 10/1/20)
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”I was angry I couldn’t even say the word”: UK teens refuse to be silent about periods (Guardian, 7/1/20)
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Suicide risk 30 times higher in young people who self-harm, study finds (Nursing Times, 9/1/20)
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Schools teaching 13-year-old students consent in bid to tackle sexual assault (Independent, 15/1/20)
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OUTSPOKEN RECOMMENDED READ “Snapchat dysmorphia” is leading teens to get plastic surgery based on unrealistic filters. Here’s how parents can help (Insider, 9/1/20)
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Finnish Youth Magazine Ads Dramatize Social Media’s Influence On Children’s Self-Image (B&T, 13/1/20)
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When Should Girls Start Shaving Their Legs? (Parents, 13/1/20)
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I want my daughters to know what I didn’t: your weight is not your worth (Brisbane Times, 16/1/20)
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You, Me, Us: Outstanding Books For and About Young People with Disabilities | Exhibit Digest (Toronto Public Library, 8/1/20)
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American Girl’s 2020 “Girl of the Year” is Joss! She’s a surfer and rocks a hearing aid (USA Today, 31/12/19)
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Mother urges schools to stop forcing boys to cut long hair as it is “discriminatory” (Independent, 15/1/20)
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Ansel Elgort Wore Glittery Eye Makeup and White Nail Polish to the 2020 Golden Globes (Allure, 6/1/20)
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Redefining make-up and masculinity: Eyeshadow, face paint, and lipstick on men (Hindustan Times, 10/1/20)
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“Girl boss” advert banned for gender stereotyping (BBC, 8/1/20)
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BT Young Scientists: Research on gender bias in children wins 2020 prize (Irish Times, 10/1/20)
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From as young as 4, children see males as more powerful than females (Phys Org, 10/1/20)
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Study reveals kids connect power with masculinity (Big News Network, 13/1/20)
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Mom Minute Tip: Isn’t She More Than Beautiful? (Girlology blog post, 10/1/20)
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How Nancy Drew helped me to reject toxic masculinity and gender roles (Book Riot, 9/1/20)
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Rosa Fisher’s animated documentary tells of her father’s experience at boarding school – includes 5-minute award-winning animation (It’s Nice That, 10/1/20)
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OUTSPOKEN RECOMMENDED READ Moms Show Gender Bias Against Emotional Expression in Boys. But Why? (Fatherly, 10/1/20)
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18+ new rules for boys’ sexual health (Birds & Bees & Kids blog post, 13/1/20)
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She Spent 2 Years Interviewing Young Men About Sex, Consent and Abuse. Here’s Why She’s Optimistic After #MeToo (Time, 6/1/20)
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New book “Boys & Sex” navigates sexuality and masculinity in today’s world – includes 3-minute video plus 2-minute video on gender-stereotype ad bans (GMA, 8/1/20)
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“Boys & Sex” author: If you can’t say no, I don’t know if you can hear it (Salon, 14/1/20)
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Why today’s young men are terrified of sex (New York Post, 11/1/20)
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What Today’s Teen Boys Really Think About Sex, Toxic Masculinity, and #MeToo (Fatherly, 10/1/20)
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Young People’s Mental Health Is in Crisis, and It’s Getting Worse (Men’s Health, 6/1/20)
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Problematic social media use among young people predicts increase in ADHD symptoms (Utrecht University, 8/1/20)
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How to stop comparing yourself to the celebrities you see on social media – by Laura, age 20 (YoungMinds, 6/1/20)
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Putting controls on your kids’ gaming is a key part of being a parent (Guardian, 10/1/20)
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OUTSPOKEN RECOMMENDED READ We asked teenagers what adults are missing about technology. This was the best response – student opinion (MIT Technology Review, 21/12/19)