Conversation Starter

Let's get talking. Here are some ideas to successfully use to initiate a conversation.

Massachusetts

Brave Topics

Conversation Starter

Published: 29 February 2020

Read Time: 6 mins

Protecting Youth

Overview: This article reviews current laws in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that protect minors or chaste individuals from receiving unsolicited messages or images from adults.

“Crimes against chastity, morality, decency and good order.”

Massachusetts has Chapter 272; but in the new age of sexual predators are current laws protecting young people's chastity?

Wait. I write a blog on teaching about sex? Isn't this topic counterintuitive?

Well, actually, no.

Read more: Protecting Chastity

Brave Topics

Conversation Starter

Published: 22 December 2019

Read Time: 1 min

Exposure to Sexuality

Sex in Films & Videos.

“The Rating Board does not determine the content that may be included in motion pictures by filmmakers, nor does it evaluate the quality or social value of motion pictures. By issuing a rating, it seeks to inform parents of the level of certain content in a motion picture (violence, sex, drugs, language, thematic material, adult activities, etc.) that parents may deem inappropriate for viewing by their children. It is not CARA’s purpose to prescribe socially-appropriate values or to suggest any evolution of the values held by American parents, but instead to reflect the current values of the majority of American parents, so that parents benefit from and feel fairly informed by the ratings system.”

Do you know the difference between nudity and sexually-oriented nudity?

Well our film rating board does!

Young people hear about sex all the time. The older they get the more exposure to sexuality in daily life.

Let's look at where we will find sexuality: movies, tv, music, magazines, social media, mainstream advertising and to a lesser extent billboards and other public offerings

That is a pretty vague list but the idea is that we want to be clear with our young people: sex is everwhere and we don’t need to hide from it. We do need to look at it through our own values.

What we see in moving pictures (on screens of all kinds) can show unrealistic expectations of sexuality and who or what we should find sexually appealing.

When young people learn about sex from trusted adults in their life when they see things that don’t mesh with their values they can take notice.

Example:

	Family / Young Person	Family / Young Person
Building Values	Talks about sexuality, positive body image and teaches their young people appropriate vocabulary for describing the human form in a respectful manner.	Tells their children that they don’t need to worry about _____________________ (insert topic above)
Music Video with scantily clad female dancers	Girl understands that the breast in the video are totally normal, but she also knows that small breasts are also normal. She appreciates the skill the women have as dancers.	Girl thinks that her breasts should look like the women dancing. She sees the beauty of the dancers and thinks that she should dress like that for school because she likes how the men in the video touch the women.
Music Video with scantily clad female dancers	Boy understands that he can look at the woman and find them attractive, and maybe think about them while he masterbates. He also notices that he wouldn’t want his mother, sister, daughter dressing like that.	Boy thinks that all women should look like the dancers. Wonders why the girls he knows don’t dance and dress like that. At the school dance he smacks a classmate’s behind laughing because that is what was done in the video and the girls like it.

While teaching facts about the human body and reproductive system the goal is to frame it with information about values and how we want to treat other people in our lives.

Sharing sexuality education with your young person does not start and end with the birds and the bees. Living a Brave Life includes how to help young people to build up their own set of values.

Brave Topics

Conversation Starter

Published: 05 February 2020

Read Time: 1 min

In my family's quest to help young people have a voice we do our best to support the Days for Girls program. Although the organization focuses mostly on getting period supplies to young people in need, they have another mission to help end female genital mutilation and female circumcision.