TALKING POINTS
There’s nothing like controversy and current events to kickstart conversation. Seize the day and get talking with your kids about these recent news stories…
1
What women call their genitals is linked to how they experience sex, new study shows (News.ComAu, 30/12/25)
“A study of women of various ages published in the journal Sex Roles found that the terms they use to describe their genitals – cute or crude – have a ‘profound effect’ on their self-image, and their experiences of sex. The study used these categories: anatomical; vulgar; playful or childish; euphemisms; relating to gender identity; the clitoris; edible things; nature, and receptacle. Some women used vague terms for their genitals (eg down there or private area). Women who used infantile names (eg lady parts, vajayjay, hoo-ha or cookie) had a more negative self-image of their genitals and felt less comfortable with their body, while those who used playful, ‘embodied’ or old-fashioned crude terms felt more empowered. Education, discussion and exploration of your body affect how confident and comfortable you feel”
TALKING POINT What words do you know and/or use for female genitals? Read the article >
2
Six years after Jeffrey Epstein's death, hundreds of women push for justice (USA Today, 2/11/25)
“It took them years to find their voice, but this was the first time so many women groomed
as teenagers and young women under the guise that they would just be providing massages
to an older man had come together to talk about having been sexually abused by convicted
sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Now, outside the US Capitol in Washington DC, these Survivor Sistrers said that for years they had been scared of saying anything. Lisa Phillips declared:
‘I stand here today for every woman who has been silenced, exploited and dismissed. We are here demanding accountability, and I’m demanding justice. I’m taking my power back’”
TALKING POINT How do you feel hearing about these women and this story? Read the article >
3
Boys to be sent on courses to tackle misogyny in schools (BBC, 17/12/25)
“Teachers in England will be taught how to spot and tackle misogyny – hatred of women or girls – as part of a long-awaited government strategy to reduce violence against women and girls (VAWG) by 50% over 10 years. Teachers will be trained around issues like consent, the dangers of sharing intimate images, how to identify positive role models, and how to challenge unhealthy myths about women and relationships. There will be a helpline for teens who have concerns about abuse in their relationship (nearly 40% of teens in relationships are victims of abuse, the charity Reducing The Risk says). Studies show that 1 in 5 boys aged 13-15 have a positive view of self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate.The goal is to change UK culture and tackle the early roots of misogyny to prevent young men from becoming violent”
TALKING POINTS Will this strategy help or work? Do you have other ideas? Read the piece >
4
Grok’s AI Sexual Abuse Isn’t a “Trend”, It’s a Threat to Women (Marie Claire, 9/1/26)
“Half a million UK teens have encountered AI-generated nude deepfakes and about 50% of kids aged 8-15 have seen deepfake content online. In August the AI tool Grok was found producing sexually explicit content involving stars like Taylor Swift, whose likeness Grok – or rather human users using Grok – manipulated. North West (the daughter, age 12, of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West) was also targeted. Digitally undressing women and generating images that sexualise children is image-based sexual abuse that is allowed to go on because of an unwillingness to treat harm to women and girls as urgent or enforceable. Legal expert Professor Clare McGlynn says: ‘These images are shared to humiliate, silence and push women off public platforms. We all suffer from this mass sexual harassment of women’”
TALKING POINT Have you seen deepfake images or heard of Grok? Read the article >
5
Mattel adds an autistic Barbie to doll line devoted to diversity and inclusion (ABC News, 12/1/26)
“Joining a line-up of Fashionastas dolls celebrating diversity – including being blind, petite or curvy, or having Down syndrome, Type 1 diabetes, the skin condition vitiligo or a prosthetic leg – is an autistic Barbie with facial features inspired by the company Mattel’s employees in India. Autistic Barbie has eyes that shift slightly to the side to represent how some people with autism can avoid direct eye contact, and articulated elbows and wrists for the act of stimming (making gestures like hand flapping, which can express excitement or help someone process sensory information). The dolls come with a fidget spinner, noise-cancelling headphones and a pink tablet like the devices some autistic people who struggle to speak use to communicate”
TALKING POINT Can these Barbies help kids who don’t have disabilities? Read the article >
And finally: to discuss…
Queen Camilla speaks for the first time about being assaulted on a train (The Independent, 31/12/25)
“QUEEN CAMILLA, age 78, spoke publicly about her experience of indecent assault, saying it left her ‘furious’ and ‘angry’.
The attack happened on a train when Camilla was 16 or 17. She hit the man with the heel of her shoe after he touched her before reporting the attacker and seeing him arrested when the train arrived.
She said she’d ‘sort of forgotten’ what happened, explaining: ‘Something had been lurking in the back of my brain for a very long time. That when I was a teenager I was attacked on a train. I was reading my book and this boy – man – attacked me. I did fight back.’
She recalls ‘my mother looking at me and saying: “Why is your hair standing on end and why is the button missing from your coat?”
I had been attacked. I was physically attacked, but I remember anger. I was so furious about it.’
On the Today radio show, another guest said to the queen: ‘It takes a lot to share these things, because every woman has a story.’
Camilla advocates for education and a focus on young men to ensure they don’t become perpetrators of abuse.
She says: ‘They may have had parents or relatives who’ve been abusive or done terrible things to them. So they’re almost brought up to believe it’s a natural thing to do.
But if you can get them early enough and teach them respect for women, I think that’s so important to get into schools. The more I look at it, it is the most important thing we can do now’”
TALKING POINTS What do you think of Camilla reacting in anger and indignation to the attack? Why do you think she had “sort of forgotten” about this incident? Do we often hear people in the royal family, or in the public eye, talk openly about such personal things? One source “close to the queen” said that talking about this attack – and sexual assault – “destigmatises the whole topic and empowers girls today to take action and seek help, and to talk about it”. Do you agree? What would you advise a young person who finds themselves in a similar situation to do?