ROUND-UP Parents & Sex Ed in the News 23.12.19

The most interesting and relevant articles for parents on sex-education issues from 8 to 19 December 2019

Good hair day: from the book Boonoonoonous Hair by Olive Senior, which tells the story of a girl who learns to love her hair

TALKING OPENLY

• PETA TODD’S MUM SQUAD Peta Todd on why we need to be more honest with our kids about sex (The Sun, 12/12/19)

• Episode 015: Healthy Boundaries Protect Kids from Sexual Abuse with Anya Manes – 57-minute podcast (Holistic Sex Ed Radio, 5/12/19)

• Ten tips for talking to your child about relationships and sex (sex-educator Alice Hoyle blog post) 

• The Birds And The Bees – How To Talk To Children About Sex – includes 26-minute interview (NPR, 17/12/19)

• 8 Books About Sex and Puberty for Teens (Dr Megan Maas, 11/12/19)

• My 8-year-old googled “sex” on the laptop – and found it – 6-minute video (Sitting In A Car with Sarah Sproule, 16/12/19)

• Prevent sexual abuse by preparing your children well (Times of India, 18/12/19)

• Youth sports create opportunities for sexual abuse. What can parents do? (Guardian, 19/12/19)

• Virginity, the checklist & chocolate croissants: Flo Perry & Rachel Fitzsimmons in conversation – by Outspoken director Leah Jewett (23/12/19)

SEX EDUCATION

• Great Relationships and Sex Education: 200+ Activities for Educators Working With Young People – book by Alice Hoyle & Ester McGeeney (Goodreads, 1/12/19)

• Over half of young people don’t get proper sex education at home or in school (OK!, 10/12/19)

• Sex education classes in Ireland “inadequate”, pupils claim (BBC, 12/12/19)

• “I only learned what consent was after I lost my virginity” (Irish Times, 18/12/19)

• Parents share experiences of “poor and very little” sex education with primary school (Eastern Daily Press, 13/12/19)

• Sex education failed me and every girl in my class – student opinion (Impact, University of Nottingham, 13/12/19)

• Louise O’Neill: We must teach teenagers to have awareness around porn (Irish Examiner, 13/12/19)

• Parents win against Planned Parenthood sex-ed agenda after shocking reveal (World Tribune, 10/12/19)

• Facts and morals to be separated in relationships, sex, and health education (Church Times, 13/12/19)

• How a Children’s Book Became a Sex Ed Strawman for Arizona Republicans (Phoenix New Times, 17/12/19)

• “By the time it’s taken you to have a sip of tea a child will have been mutilated” (Mirror, 14/12/19)

• Defining sex, upskilling parents and working with sharks: the 2019 Sex Education Forum conference – by Outspoken director Leah Jewett (10/12/19)

LGBT IDENTITY & LGBT-INCLUSIVE SEX EDUCATION

• “It is our normal”: Mother of non-binary nine-year-old opens up (Eastern Daily Press, 9/12/19)

• One of Britain’s youngest transgender children has begun transitioning at 12 - after realising she was in “wrong body” aged just THREE (Daily Mail, 10/12/19)

• “I Knew From The Age Of 3 That I Had A Boy’s Brain But A Girl’s Body” (HuffPost, 15/12/19)

• NHS psychologists are over-diagnosing gender dysphoria in children as young as THREE “because staff are scared of being branded transphobic” (Daily Mail, 12/12/19)

• This Is Why Singular “They” Is Such a Controversial Subject (Time, 13/12/19)

• The past, present, and future of the singular “they” (Vox, 13/12/19)

• Non-Binary Person Teaches This Hateful Parent Tolerance And Their Text Exchange Goes Viral (Bored Panda, 7/12/19)

• LGBTQ+ relationships should be on sex education curriculum, review says (Belfast Telegraph, 11/12/19)

• Is LGBT sexual education covered enough and properly in schools? – student opinion (This Is Local London, 16/12/19)

• The Tory MP who single-handedly delayed LGBT-inclusive education has increased his majority (PinkNews, 13/12/19)

PORN & SEXTING

• Children and pensioners among the rising number of revenge porn victims on Tyneside (Chronicle Live, 8/12/19)

• “Sexting is a risky thing”: Warning after figures shows dozens of youngsters sending explicit messages (Eastern Daily Press, 10/12/19)

• Teenagers being punished over “sexting” images (Northern Echo, 13/12/19)

• Over 40% of kids are exposed to sexting by age 14, survey finds (New York Post, 18/12/19)

• Study: Sexting awareness should start early (Parentology, 18/12/19)

• OUTSPOKEN RECOMMENDED READ Special report: Growing up safe amidst the powerful allure of porn (Irish Examiner, 16/12/19)

• NJ cops teach middle school kids dangers of chatting, sexting (New Jersey 101.5, 10/12/19)

• How To Make Sure Sexting Doesn’t Turn Into Image-Based Sexual Abuse | #DigitalHifazat (Feminism In India, 10/12/19)

• Adolescence in the Age of Internet Porn (Psychology Today, 16/12/19)

• Porn is evil. Don’t ban it (The Week, 18/12/19)

• I’ve found out my 12-year-old has seen porn. What do I do? (Stuff, 15/12/19)

• Let’s not get too prudish about pornography (The Spinoff, 16/12/19)

• In the Wild West of young people’s digital lives: the 2019 Sexplain conference – by Outspoken director Leah Jewett (10/12/19)
  

BODIES & BODY IMAGE

• Billie Eilish says her “toxic” relationship with her body is why she wears baggy clothes (Pop Buzz, 12/12/19)

• This Book Teaches Kids The Concept Of “Boonoonoonous” (It’s A Good Thing) (NPR, 15/12/19)

• What can we learn from a vagina museum? (Guardian, 12/12/19)

• “As a young woman everything is forced to be so sexual, so quickly”: Little Women star Florence Pugh opens up about coming of age (Glamour, 12/12/19)

• Social media use linked to teen disordered eating behaviors (Reuters, 13/12/19)

• Review: The Diary of My Broken Vagina – by Outspoken director Sophie Manning (16/12/19)

• Full disclosure: photographer Laura Dodsworth on what she learned from documenting naked people – by Outspoken director Leah Jewett (10/12/19)

GENDER STEREOTYPING & MASCULINITY

• Lack of respect for police, grooming and “toxic masculinity’...why Manchester kids are using knives more than ever (Manchester Evening News, 9/12/19)

• Is “toxic masculinity” responsible for rising youth violence? (Bolton News, 19/12/19)

• Listen to the community to tackle violent crime (Innovation Unit, 9/12/19)

• Fitter review – a love letter to masculinity (Guardian, 13/12/19)

• Ever wonder what it would look like if Batman and Catwoman swapped (gender) roles? Look no further – 1 minute video (The Representation Project, 9/12/19)

• Wondering How to Be a Man? 10 Young People Shared What Manhood Means to Them (Teen Vogue, 18/12/19)

• Disney classics like “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin” are filled with sexist themes. Here’s how to discuss them with kids (Business Insider Singapore, 10/12/19)

• How Frozen 2 Resonates with Audiences by Melting Gender Stereotypes: Up-Close with Geena Davis and Disney Animation’s Jennifer Lee (See Jane, 18/12/19)

• 4 Surprisingly Poignant Lessons Adults Can Take Away From Frozen 2 (PopSugar, 16/12/19)

• Girls’ Confidence Plummets Starting at Age 8: Here’s How to Keep Her Confidence Strong (A Mighty Girl, 15/12/19)

• An author took a road trip with his son to his hometown rodeo to discover what it means to become a man today. He doesn’t have the answer, but he did learn a few things about fatherhood (Business Insider, 16/12/19)

• Angela Bassett on how she’s teaching her 13-year-old son consent (ABC News, 17/12/19)

• OUTSPOKEN RECOMMENDED READ Is there a better way to raise boys to avoid toxic masculinity? – includes 3 videos & a 23-minute film (CBS News, 5/12/19)

• Family, not climate, top of mind for tweens (Weekend Australian, 17/12/19)

TECH & MENTAL HEALTH

• Six in 10 teenage girls say they are “completely unhappy” with poor self-image fuelling despair (Telegraph, 19/12/19) 

• Instagram demands date of birth from new members (BBC, 4/12/19)

• How Instagram is causing eating disorders among girls in their early teens (Daily Mail, 10/12/19)

• Teenage drink and drugs crisis: Here’s a radical plan for Ireland that can work (Irish Times, 10/12/19)

• Poverty and social media drive mental health problems that make ”teenage girls significantly more likely to self-harm than boys“ (Independent, 19/12/19)

• High levels of bullying and self-harm amongst young people on Isle of Wight (ITV, 18/12/19)

• How Parents Can Address the Spike in Tween Depression (US News, 17/12/19)

• Growth mindset: lessons from How to Grow a Grown Up – by Outspoken director Sophie Manning (15/12/19)

• Do most parents really know how to prevent dangers their child could face online – student opinion (Surrey Comet, 17/12/19)

• Teens must “get smart” about social media (EurekAlert, 4/12/19)

• The parent protection factor: how talking openly can help with negative online experiences – by Outspoken director Leah Jewett (10/12/19)