Greetings audience, I’m Thea, I’m a high school student, and today we’re going to talk about sex. [It won’t be too scary.] Operating on the assumption you’re human, you’ve certainly heard of sex. In case you haven’t, to get you up to speed, sex is the process by which many organisms ensure their continued existence. Here’s the thing though: sex is more complicated than that because - spoiler alert! - humans are complicated. So how do we learn about sex if it’s so complicated? You might remember sex education like this: [Don’t have sex; you will get PREGNANT and die.] Urban Dictionary - your source for news and information about the 21st century zeitgeist - describes sex education as: “.. where they try to scare you out of having sex with pictures of diseased genitals…” A more hopeful description of sex education would be something like: a lifelong process of learning about sex and sexuality, exploring values and beliefs and gaining skills to navigate relationships and manage your sexual health.
This, as far as I’m concerned, is a solid definition. So what can we do to make sex education something that teens find actually, like, educational. Clearly, teens need answers to their questions. Where do people go when they have questions? [The Internet] Listen, I love the Internet. It’s one of the greatest developments in human information exchange. [Yes. Thanks Internet.] But what it says about sexual health is not accurate by any stretch of the imagination or is so laden with bias that it feels more like being pelted with judgement than actually receiving information. Unfortunately, not every teen is willing and able to chat it up with their parents about sex. So if not always the Internet, where can teens turn? Enter the peer educator. People my age do, indeed, talk to each other about sex. So when teens are sources of accurate information, it spreads among us quickly. As a peer educator, I belong to a program that gives me the tools to learn about everything from STIs and safe sex to contraception and consent.
Basically, I can tell you more about human sexuality than the average adult. When teens see someone like me instead of someone older, they’re quite open to the information I have to offer them. At lunch once, some friends wanted to know the difference between hormonal and copper IUDs. So I brought this to the table. Another day, my teacher didn’t understand how emergency contraception works. So I explained it to the class. What does it look like when teens ask me questions about sexual health? It goes something like this. Venereal disease, STD, STI? This terminology, it baffles me. STI stands for sexually transmitted infection. We used to say STD, which stood for sexually transmitted disease, but it was changed recently because STI is a more medically accurate term, and taking away the big scary word “disease” helps decrease stigma. What the heck is trichomoniasis? Well, trichomoniasis is a STI usually spread through vaginal intercourse. It’s curable with just one dose of an oral drug.
Common symptoms, regardless of a person’s sex, are unusual discharge, painful urination and itching. But it spreads really quickly because most of the time it’s asymptomatic, which means people don’t realize they have it. That’s why it’s so important to get tested regularly. Is it OK to be gay? Yes, all people of all identities and backgrounds, including on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, can live healthy and productive lives. Regardless of your beliefs, everyone has the right to explore and express their sexuality without the fear of shame or judgement. Thanks! So often, when my peers approach me with questions like these, seeking this or that piece of information, at least a sliver of what they’re wondering is: “Am I normal?” So let’s talk about normal. Part of the point of peer education is to give teens the opportunity to understand that there is no such thing as the elusive “normal.” Peer educators are here to say they’re armed with information that empowers you to make informed decisions; you are going to be OK.
“Normal” isn’t really necessary. When you can get accurate, judgement-free information from your peers, you realize that sex-ed doesn’t have to be scary. So instead of striving to be normal, let’s talk to each other. Since peer education allows sex-ed to reach the community in ways that go far beyond pictures of diseased genitals, it turns out to be pretty brilliant. An idea that, unlike trichomoniasis, is certainly worth spreading.