SRHR work via Social Media (AIDS 2012 Youth-Pre)

So, here - yes, finally - is the presentation Annaïs and Maya gave during their Session on SRHR work via Social Media:

Srhr via Social media from jauatkales

And some Tumblr goodness shared during the session:

• Because I am a Woman
• Body Positive Zone
• Feminist Frequency
• Fuck Yeah Sex Education
• Fuck Yeah, Sex Positivity
• Fuck Yeah, Sex Positivity! Yes, there's 2 of those!
• Fuck Yeah, Sexual Health
• (hell, yeah) Scarleteen Recommended by Annaïs as the best, btw.
• Jessica Valenti
• Ms. Jamie Keiles
• QPOC In Like
• Sex as Subject Matter

Also, Laci Green is still on Youtube!

And Life in My Shoes - a very innovative approach to address the mix of personal and anonymous frequently needed when working with SRHR and people affected by HIV directly particular - was presented.

AIDS 2012 Youth-Pre, Day 2

Starting the Session on the labyrinths of Social Media and SRHR messaging using them!

The presentation they used in this Session is coming soon!

And, talking about the local I [heart] Being a Girl Tea Parties, ...

Trying to breathe (which does not always come easy).

Maya working on her 1st Day report to be found here!

And you just do not mess with people then!

AIDS 2012 Youth-Pre, Day 1

Maya participating in the opening panel Turning the Tide: Where do we go from here with the global HIV/AIDS response? and insisting on the crucial importance of comprehensive sexuality education. Everybody on the panel agreed, off course.

Annaïs during her session Sexual and Reproductive Health Education: What is Comprehensive?

Luize co-facilitating the session on best peer education practices around the world. Talking about the importance of keeping gender in mind when doing peer education. You can find the presentation on the topic below!

Gender in Peer Education (AIDS 2012 Youth-Pre)

The presentation we gave in the AIDS 2012 Youth-Pre Conference today while sharing a session on best peer education practices with Leo and Jackie:  Youth pre peer_ed_gender_luize_ratniece

View more presentations from jauatkales.

To Washington D.C. we go (or, IAC'12, here we come!)

As we already said, we are excited to bring I [heart] Being a Girl back to the International AIDS Conference that will take place, well, bascially, starting from NOW! in Washington D.C, USA.

Below you can find the sessions we will be participating in, both during the Youth Pre-Conference and in the Global Village's Youth Pavilion.

As always, both our Facebook and Twitter will be on and going! And we will be wondering around looking for new ideas to bring back, new friends and new insights. Catch us if you can!

Girls + pregnancies

In the SRHR community, we spend a lot of time talking about maternal morbidity and mortality, about the need to insure access to health care services and supplies. We insist on need for access, real access to education for girls. We advocate for mandatory Comprehensive Sexuality Education since very early in one's life.

But the curious thought that sums it all up, as presented by Hugo Schwyzer, somehow surprised me

"Sperm kills.* For hundreds of millions of women over the course of millenia, the riskiest action they ever took was having sex (consensual or otherwise, married or not) with men. As medical historians will tell you, until the 20th century, childbirth was the leading cause of death for all women of childbearing years; in some societies that maternal mortality rate may have reached 40%, while other researchers prefer a lower figure of 1 in 5. Given that many women in the developing world still have half a dozen children or more, as they did in previous centuries, the overall risk is compounded by the sheer number of pregnancies carried to term. (1 in 7 Afghan women today die in childbirth.)

To put it even more bluntly, men have killed far more women by ejaculating inside of them than they have by any other method. Semen has killed more people than any other body fluid."

He concludes that, culturally, as a collective unconscious knowledge, it might be one of the reasons to fear the patriarchy-wise channeled male (hetero)sexuality even in places where the feminist fight is not anymore about the legal right to say "no".

A thought-provoking read, anyways.
 

Starting later thanks to books and your Mom,

Books do good things to everybody!

Although early (go, define!) sex is nothing bad, in case you think it has to be avoided, here are your answers. And, no, it is not socio-economic class of the family or race/ethnic origin (we are talking US data here, keep in mind).

Two factors play critical roles in protecting girls-regardless of their socioeconomic status and household structure-against early sexual activity: (1) the quality of their relationship with their mothers and (2) achievement in school, specifically their reading proficiency.

(The research from Girls.inc + the commentary from Feministing.org)

So, education and social networks are the key! We can still look more into some more particular variables and such, but you get the general image.
And knowing that the academic success is also very much household attitudes-bound, more support for education (oh, books! oh, good public education!) and quality family time (oh, parental leaves! oh, work that's compatible with private life!) should be the key for anybody that actually feels like supporting family values (!) and postponing sexual activities.

If that's not your cup of tea, this might be,

 

Sonya Renee Taylor: The Body is Not An Apology

Sonya Renee Taylor @ Seattle Poetry Slam Feb 2011

launching the revolutionary idea that the body is not an apology, that radical self love and body empowerment is as needed as it is a radical notion

"In this picture I am 230lbs.  In this picture, i have stretch marks and an unfortunate decision in the shape of a melting Hershey's kiss on my left thigh.  I am smiling, like a woman who knows your watching and likes it.  For this one camera flash, I am unashamed, unapologetic."

You can find the story and the movement here
+ check out the tumblr

TEDxTeen: Tavi Gevinson on Still Figuring it Out

The most awesome rule-breaker Tavi Gevinson talking about being a teenage girl,

You can find her fashion blog The Style Rookie here, the Rookie Magazine she's talking about here, and the pop culture role models she's mentioning are Lindsay Weir, Angela Chase and Stevie Nicks.

Oh, IAC...

Hey, we are drooling over our IAC'2010 photos and preparing our Global Village activities for IAC'2012! 

We'll have the pleasure to have two Global Village sessions on July 26, one on Society, Sexuality and Pleasure and an I ♥ Being a Girl Tea Party.

We are saving the date already!

Much love,

your YSAFE