Lets just say it like it is. There’s not one of us on earth who doesn’t have any questions about sex.
Even the word itself is usually whispered, giggled or spelled because we if we say the word out loud we’re pretty sure that the four horses of the apocolypse, or worse, our Granny, will smite us. (What even is smite? Doesn’t sound ideal tbh).
Most of us learn about sex through a combination of three ways.
- The obligatory sex ed in schools in which a women who looks like your Aunt Brigid explains how a man and a woman will fall in love, get married and make babies through the clinical and not enjoyable procedure known as “intercourse”.
- From your parents, who never want a man to touch their little girl, and would rather want you to either wait until you’re 37 or join a nunnery.
- From porn, in which everything is shaved and bouncy and well lit and very far removed from reality which can be messy and awkward but yet okay.
As a result, many of us have a pretty messed up relationship with sex, consisting of guilt, curiosity, and embarrassment and that stops us considering what we actually, want, whats okay for us, and what we’re comfortable with.
Sex Ed in Ireland needs a serious overhaul. It needs to be inclusive and realistic. Its needs to include the LGBT community, be shame free and empower young people to make informed choices whilst staying safe.
Enter Anna Keogh.
Anna has an MA in Sexuality studies and if you’re read any of her previous posts for us, you’ll know she has no filter when it comes to sex and all that it entails. Last October she spoke at Zeminar, an exciting event for young people at which many of our team have either already spoken, or are due to speak this year.
Here, for your viewing pleasure, is “An introduction to sex” or “Sex 101”, by Anna Keogh. If you have any questions about sex or sexuality, please let us know, and we’ll ask Anna for her thoughts.
Stay safe kids, its a jungle out there x
