Research is showing that 43% of sexually active teens in the U.K. have been strangles during sex. Researchers have found the practice of “non-fatal strangulation” (NFS) has been increasingly normalized among young people by “media, pornography, and peer norms”. NFS is never a safe practice, despite a widespread belief it can be performed safely. In […]
University Rejects Textbook in Human Sexuality Course for Images of Sex
The University of Nebraska at Kearney (a branch campus in a very conservative part of the state) has pulled a textbook from its Human Sexuality course after a student complained that the book exposed her to “pornography.” Discovering Human Sexuality, published by Oxford University Press and lead-authored by noted neuroscientist Simon LeVay, is in its […]
Adolescent Experiences Create the Libido Gap in Adults
It has long been recognized that men have stronger sexual desire than women, and this discrepancy is often attributed to innate biological and evolutionary causes. However, an article recently published in the Personality and Social Psychology Review argues that the difference in sexual desire is a learned behavior with its origin in adolescent sexual experiences: […]
Sex Please, We’re British
Labour MP Sarah Niblett has won parliamentary debate time next Fall for her proposal to fund lifelong adult sex education, with the goal of fostering better understanding of consent, abuse, toxic masculinity, and how childbirth, menopause, and medical conditions can affect sexual pleasure. In anticipation of that debate, she has announced a campaign for a […]
Age Verification Laws Limit Sex Education
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 […]