A new report released by the Woodhull Freedom Foundation shows that 76% of sex education professionals are concerned that the age verification laws passed by nearly half of U.S. states will restrict youth access to sex education resources. One third of those in states with these laws say they have already interfered with their work. […]
Helping Young Adults with Disabilities Navigate Romance
Hard Copy has reported on studies exploring the lack of comprehensive sex education available to disabled individuals. Those studies find that not only does that lack of education infantilize developmentally disabled individuals it but also puts them at risk. In a new study published in the journal Sexuality and Disability, researchers developed a training program […]
Sex Ed – Parents and Churches Teach What Schools Won’t
Sex education that is scientifically accurate, evidence based, and age-appropriate prepares children, adolescents, and young adults to make educated decisions about their health and their relationships. Despite the many benefits, sex ed is not standardized and lacking in evidence based information. As some states continue to scale back requirements, we have a story about how […]
Helping Boys Understand Consent
A study interviewing 35 Australian men aged 18-32 found they understood sexual consent in the abstract, “but struggled to apply it in practice.” Most of them “found verbal requests for consent awkward, unnecessary, or disruptive,” instead relying intuitively on their sense of mutuality (reciprocated, escalating cues), trust, timing, location, and verbal check-ins. They seldom considered […]
Sex Ed: What Works
The Journal of Adolescent Health has recently published a systematic review of 80 studies measuring the benefits of Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE). In addition to reducing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, other benefits include better understanding of consent, healthy relationships, puberty and adolescent sexual development, gender expression, sexual orientation, and interpersonal violence. Pedagogical, curricular, classroom, […]
Can Teachers Discuss Gender Identity with Parents?
A federal district judge in San Diego ruled in favor of two teachers who claimed that school district policy forced them to “lie” to parents about their student’s preferred gender identity and thus infringed upon their 1st amendment rights. However, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has stayed the judge’s order […]
Circumcision and FGM
At least 41 young men have died as a result of circumcision procedures performed as part of traditional initiation activities in South Africa. Traditional initiation is a rite of passage into manhood for young men. Every year some of the initiates die of complications of circumcision. This has forced the government to intervene through legislation to […]
Less Sex, More Divorce, and Other 2025 Intimacy Trends
Avi Wolfman-Arent and Cherri Gregg, hosts of Studio 2, a podcast on WHYY-FM out of Philadelphia, discuss sex and romance trends with guests: Debby, Lauren Harris, and Andrew Hatherley. In this episode they talk about the sex recession and why later-life divorce is trending upward. The sex recession is seeing less partnered sex and less […]
8-Year Old Kissing is Now “Sexual Assault”
An elite private school in the Los Angeles area has been sued by parents for failing to stop a 7-year old girl from being kissed and fondled in a bathroom by 8-year old girls who allegedly pressured her into joining a “Kissing Club.” While we do not condone bullying or anyone being forced into physical […]
New Study of Nonbinary
A growing number of young people today identify as “nonbinary,” but that identity has been little examined by researchers. Popular opinion tends to see “nonbinary” merely as a more tentative version of “trans.” However, it is quite distinct. A team of researchers from Bristol, UK, has undertaken qualitative interviews with 105 self-identified nonbinary persons recruited […]