She’s Shameless

Veronica — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:59:05 +0000

Remember what it was like being a teenager? If you’re like me, you’re probably shuddering just a little bit. Being a teenage girl is hard–especially for girls who don’t fit into the mainstream. Fortunately, the fabulous people at Shameless magazine have created She’s Shameless: Women Write About Growing Up, Rocking Out and Fighting Back, published by Tightrope Books. Edited by Stacey May Fowles and Megan Griffith-Greene, this anthology, which was launched last night in Toronto at the Gladstone Hotel, features non-fiction writing by women who share their teen experiences (with all the gory details). The writing is intended to appeal to “freethinkers, queer youth, young women of colour, punk rockers, feminists, intellectuals, artists, and activists.” Sounds like good reading to me.

While I haven’t had a chance to sink my teeth into the book yet (just picked up my copy last night), based on the sample performances I heard last night plus the crowd’s enthusiasm, I expect I’m in for some entertaining stuff. So pick up a copy at your local independent bookstore or online. Give one to your daughter, your niece, or the teenage girl who lives next door. I have a feeling she’ll appreciate it.

Children, let us rigidly dictate the rules of gender

Teens want more sex ed

Veronica — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:47:53 +0000

According to a study published yesterday, Toronto teenagers want more access to sex education. The media are reporting this story as if it’s honest-to-goodness news, but I’m kind of wondering whether anyone is actually surprised at the findings of the Toronto Teen Survey, which was conducted by Planned Parenthood Toronto in conjunction with York University, the University of Toronto, Wilfred Laurier University, and Toronto Public Health. I’m sure community groups that deal with teen health and sex education, such as Planned Parenthood or Head and Hands, are more than ready to yell out a huge “I told you so” to governments and boards of education that have been slowly hacking away at sex ed classes in public schools.

I have to admit that I’m not entirely up to date on the quantity and quality of sex education classes in Canadian schools, which certainly must vary province to province, given that education is provincially regulated. But, from what I’ve read and heard over the past couple of years, my general impression is that sex ed classes are not meeting the needs of today’s teens. In Ontario, teens receive sex ed classes in Grades 7 and 9, which is not nearly enough, as far as I’m concerned. In fact, the newly published report recommends that sexual education be included in all elementary and high school grades. Far worse than Ontario is the province of Quebec, which decided last year to eliminate sex ed classes altogether in favour of an approach where teachers of all subjects are encouraged to include sex education in their classes. (I’m not sure how a math teacher is supposed to incorporate a discussion of, say, sexual intimacy while also teaching the quadratic equation, but maybe I’m just not being imaginative enough.) Not surprisingly, Sue Johanson was less than pleased with Quebec’s new mandate. And considering that just last week Alberta passed a law that allows parents to pull their kids out of classes in which religion or sex will be discussed, I’m going to guess that some kids in Alberta aren’t getting their fair share of sex ed either.

Okay, so now that this study has been conducted and published, what next? Is anything actually going to change? Are these teens who have indicated a subpar understanding of sexual health going to get more information? Or are governments and school boards going to pretend the study doesn’t exist? I suppose we’ll have to wait and see what happens, but my guess is that the sex ed battle has just barely begun.

Confabulous » teens

She’s Shameless

Teens want more sex ed