Because I am a Woman
This blog is about sex-positivity, sex-ed, feminism, reproductive justice, birth justice, intersectionality, and activism.
Feel free to send me a message with your questions about sexual health, feminism, or anything else!
For more information about any of these things please check out the resources tab or leave me a question in my ask box! I would love to talk to you!
If you have anything you would like to bring to my attention or ask that you do not feel comfortable submitting to this page send me an email at: becauseiamawoman.tumblr@gmail.com
Many thanks to Susan of susanharkins.com for designing my logo!
Democratic legislators last week introduced a bill that would give grants to sex ed programs that are inclusive of LGBT students, cover a variety of birth control methods, and work to collect data about students’ sexual health.
The Real Education for Healthy Youth Act would provide five-year grants to agencies, nonprofits and universities that offer comprehensive, inclusive sex ed programs. Students would be encouraged to learn about reproductive health from every angle; for example, curricula would refer students to local clinics, including Planned Parenthood, to learn more information.
The bill requires programs to emphasize emotional skills and the development of “healthy attitudes and values” about issues like body image, gender identity and sexual orientation. All teaching would be “age and developmentally appropriate.”
Strict standards would apply to funded programs. None could “promote gender stereotypes,” be “insensitive and unresponsive” to LGBT students, or “deliberately withhold” information about HIV.
How incredible would this be?
This is will not pass any time soon, but it’s a wonderful thing.
(via liberalmusings)
bportahh Asks:
becauseiamawoman Said:
Using gender neutral language as a default certainly is not easy. Unfortunately using gendered terms and pronouns is so ingrained in most of us by the culture we live in that breaking out of that mold seems incredibly difficult. I still catch myself making assumptions when answering questions and writing here on Tumblr, and even more often when speaking to people face to face. It is difficult to do but in order to create safe spaces, accept everyone for who they are, and break out of thinking about certain causes as “womens issues” or “mens issues”, making this change is very important.
I broke out of using gendered language on Tumblr by doing a lot of editing of my posts. Before I post anything that is purely of my own content (asks, original posts, etc) I go through it to make sure that I haven’t made any assumptions about anybody. If I am responding to a question where someone names their pronouns, then I will use their pronouns. However, most of the time I stick to using gender neutral terms like “you” or “they” which are pretty easy to substitute in. Instead of saying “men” or “women” I often say “people”. I try really hard, but that does not mean that I never make mistakes.
I think that the most important thing you can do is to be open to criticism when you are actively trying to change over to using gender neutral terms. You will make mistakes, and other people will point them out. Asking other people to let you know when you’ve made a mistake, taking the criticism, apologizing for your mistake, and learning from the mistake all make a really big difference in the grand scope of things.
I hope you never feel intimidated coming to me and asking questions. I do not expect people to format their questions in any specific manner, and I will not attack you if you do not use gender neutral terms. This is a safe space, all I ask is that you observe it as such.
For those of you who haven’t read it, you can find my post on using gender neutral language here.
I get asked this question quite a lot. I found this career path because of peer education in college. I was a sexual health advocate (SHA) and we were the peer educators that focused solely on sexual health education. I found my spark, my passion, and an amazing group of colleagues and like-minded people through peer education, and I honestly don’t believe I would’ve found my calling otherwise.
As a sexual health educator now, after a Master’s degree, CHES-certification, and years of experience, I can look back and say that my path did start out informally, but I definitely turned it into a formal trajectory through schooling, research and article readings, and staying up to date with networking and connections to the field.
If you’re interested in pursuing a sexual education profession, you should be aware of your own biases and tendencies first and foremost. I like this article from Charlie Glickman (linked to in the title of this post) because he mentions taking a Sexual Attitude Reassessment to get in touch with your feelings about sex. There are others ones available, so check those out as well.
The main thing to remember about being a sexual health educator or professional is that we’re not all porn stars, deviants, or people who just have lots of sex. We are educators first and foremost, we are nonjudgmental, and we want everyone to experience a healthy sex life and sexuality.
Because I am a Woman is teaming up with Dollar Rubber Club for week three of our month-long condom giveaway! For those of you who have yet to hear about them, Dollar Rubber Club is a wonderful company that allows you to get condoms shipped directly to you for as little as $1 per month. They offer Trojans, Durex, and Lifestyles brand condoms, so you can be sure they to pick up a brand you already use and trust in packs of 3, 6, or 12. Learn more about Dollar Rub Club and order your condoms here.
Want to get in on the safer sex action? All you have to do to win is to reblog or like this post! I will be randomly selecting a winner at the end of every week to receive a Dollar Rubber Club 12 pack.
Donʼt forget to keep in touch with the Dollar Rubber Club on Facebook and Twitter!
Good luck!
Hey everyone! I’ve been helping out with this research and advocacy project called Sexual Health Rankings™. Using data from the Guttmacher Institute, the CDC, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, the HRC, and much, much more, it is the most complete measure of Americans’ sexual health ever created, and the first state-by-state comparison of overall sexual health.
Similar to how students receive report cards to determine their progress and their progress in relation to their peers, thus allowing their educators to determine where there are deficits and where there are successes, Sexual Health Rankings™ ranks each state (and the District of Columbia) on a composite of 26 indicators (from access to abortion and marriage equality to STI rates). This valuable tool can be used by educators and policy makers as a catalyst for positive change.
I encourage you all to check it out! There is an interactive map that allows you to examine the data on a national and individual state level. There is also a discussion forum for users to discuss the project (whether it’s things they’ve learned, ways they plan on using the data, how this data could be used, or areas for improvement). There is an advocacy page full of resources for folks looking for more info on various topics.
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Full url: http://sexualhealthrankings.com
