The following was received from the Justyn Hintze, a Board member of the Center for Sexual Pleasure & Health, the Rhode Island-based sex education and advocacy organization:
This is going to sound weird, but I want you to close your eyes in a second. I want you to think back to high school. What would it mean if your health teacher had talked about queer sex? What if your parents described sex without gendering it? What if you were celebrated for going through puberty? What if you could wear whatever you wanted without being called a slut? What if you weren’t a pariah if you got an STI? What if….
(Seriously, just close your eyes and think about it for a moment.)
What if you donate $1 for every story you can remember where someone around you said something shaming about sex and sexuality, or you were told something grossly inaccurate about sex, or made to feel bad about your body? What if we think of the donation as a swear jar for sex shaming? I challenge you to donate now.
What would it mean to live in a world without sexual shame? The whole world is a lot to ask for, I know. But, what if we even lived in a community, or a neighborhood, without sexual shame? Do you think your life would be a little bit different right now? I know mine would be.
It’s one of the reasons I began working with the Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health (CSPH). It’s because we envision the world, or our neighborhoods, the same way: as a place where pleasure is acknowledged as an integral part of sexual health, where people can talk openly about sexuality without fear or shame.
It’s not an easy job to undo all of the ingrained shame, the misinformation, and the stigmas. But that’s what the CSPH is doing, one person at a time, through professional trainings for health care providers, educators, and counselors, and by holding educational initiatives and community events within local communities. And, spoiler: People don’t want to fund nonprofits who have the word “pleasure” in their name. And we can’t fight for sexual literacy for free; it just isn’t sustainable.
Speaking of giving back, you can also join the Sex Ed Squad with me. Your membership makes our sliding scale, client-centered therapy program possible and ensures the next generation of sex educators and therapists are well equipped to provide sex-positive, consent-based services.
Let’s fight harmful sex shaming, and continue working toward a world where sex-positivity is just the norm. Please help us meet our #GivingTuesday goal of $5,000. For anyone that makes a gift of $25 or more by the end of day today, you will get a limited edition Cats of the CSPH Calendar.
