Are You Taboo? Listening to teen voices in teaching about sex
Rana Barar, MPH, Program Manager Alex Medina, Web Associate Answer, Rutgers University
The battle for sexuality education
It’s all about INFORMATION:
What do WE want them to know? What do teens WANT to know? Where does the Internet come in?
About Answer
Founded in 1981 Based at Rutgers Center for Applied Psychology Two Major Initiatives:
Sex, Etc. Magazine and Web site (www.sexetc.org) Sexuality Education Training Initiative
What do teens WANT to know?
Lessons from Sexetc.org and close to a decade of listening to teen voices
Why did you come to Sexetc.org the first time?
25 20 15 10 5 0
Specifc question
A friend told me
Specific problem
School research
Porn
Parents suggested
What do teens want to know?
HOW to have sex? What it FEELS like? How do you get (or get someone) pregnant? AM I NORMAL? They like teen voices, but they want adult advice/answers too
Top 5 FAQs from Sexetc.org
1.
2. 3. 4. 5.
How do I finger a girl or give a guy a hand job? Does sex feel different with a condom? What is dry sex? Can you get pregnant from precum? What is oral sex and how do you do it?
Questions from Sexetc.org
“I was wondering what aspects of an teen’s life affect their sexuality. I was also wondering if having sex at a young age makes you a bad person.” Female, 15
I am scared of going to a clinic to get the birth control because i don’t know exactly what they will do. I think I’m not that ready to get a pelvic exam, but will the doctor know what is best for me without having to do that exam? What can i expect if i decide to go? Female, 19
More questions
how does a penis enlarge? is it made out of plastic? and if it is how would a woman be able to have the baby if he has a plastic enlarged penis? Female, 16
Teens say they need more sex education in school than they currently receive
% who want more information 100 80 60 40 20 0
What to do if sexually assaulted STDs HIV/AIDS How to talk with a partner about birth control and STDs Birth control How to handle pressure to have sex
The Guttmacher Institute
Sex Ed Online
93% of teens are online (Pew) 40% of teens have used the internet to research a sexual health topic More than half have social networking profiles What teens want from their internet sites: INFORMATION (sexual health tips and FAQs)
How do we deliver information online?
Social Networking
55% of online teens have MySpace or Facebook profile Using it to stay up-to-date with people they know You have to be where they are AND, you have to talk to them in their language
Adapting Content
Teens want content in the formats they are used to
Blogs from MySpace Status updates from Facebook Pictures from Flickr Videos from YouTube
What next?
Advocacy
Almost 90% of teens surveyed by Sex, Etc. want to make a difference. Stay tuned for our new advocacy initiative
Contact Information
Rana
Barar
rbarar@rci.rutgers.edu 732.445.7929 ext. 227
Alex
Medina
alexdm@rci.rutgers.edu