Here is a brief guide to some of the important things you never learned about in sex ed.
- Debunking myths about anatomy
- Brief overview of sexuality and gender (More complex version here)
- Slut-shaming and consent
- Various types of birth control (with at least 95% effectiveness)
- Masturbation
- Lube
- Sex toys
Ebook for sharing is [HERE] (I’m sorry I just really love making ebooks…)
Testicular Self Exam diagram from Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation
!!! check your testes!!
Testes. One… Two… Three.
Always important to test those testes!
Stockroom Kink Month - Bondage Basics - How To Tie A Single Rope Cuff With Ring
We’re starting National Kink Month with an easy rope bondage tutorial that lets you attach a person’s wrist or ankle to a bed post, the arm of a chair, or any other piece of furniture your naughty heart desires. For more detailed instructions visit our blog.
Be sure to keep a watchful eye on us all month long for even more tips, tricks, and treats from your pervy pals at Stockroom!
The first abortion clinic in Northern Ireland will open next week amid fears it will attract protests along the lines of violent opposition to similar facilities in some US states.
The privately-run clinic in Belfast will be run by the Marie Stopes group, which said it would offer “a wide range of family planning and sexual health services under one roof”.
It is extremely difficult to get an abortion in Northern Ireland, and pro-life groups and smaller political parties have already voiced opposition to the Marie Stopes clinic.
Jim Allister of the Traditional Unionist Voice party told BBC radio: “Where is the need for this clinic? There could not possibly be one.
“So there are ulterior motives and I suspect the ulterior motives might be to try and push the boundaries.”
Just 35 pregnancies were terminated in Northern Ireland in the past year and it is estimated that about one thousand women from the province travel to England every year for abortions.
The clinic will not have a police guard because it is privately-run.
I hope everyone there will be safe.
The Visual AIDS artist cards I shot are released in a couple days! This will be the first time trans men are featured for this project.
(featuring Torie, Rocco and Saul)
Amos Mac for Visual AIDS, PLAY SMART trading cards, 2012.
Produced by Visual AIDS for free distribution, PLAY SMART cards will be available in bulk (at the cost of shipping and handling) starting in June. Or look for them in your local NYC gay bar.
(Here’s the full size, high-quality version. You may have to click again to enlarge, if it doesn’t automatically.)
Here it is, the clitoral hood coverage chart!
Inspired by the aforementioned foreskin coverage index, I wondered how much variation there is in the length of the clitoral hood, the vulva’s homologue (equivalent) to the foreskin. I decided to go about constructing a similar chart with the help of my followers. Each clitoral hood you see here belongs to somebody who was willing to contribute to the project. Pictures were taken in a non-aroused state, and contributors were asked to estimate their own level of coverage, to help me decide where on the chart to place them.
I’m happy with the amount of diversity I was able to represent. In addition to the wide variety of hood lengths, there’s also a variety of ages ranging from 18 to 36, different gender identities and sexual orientations, and different races and ethnicity. Some of the contributors are pierced, some aren’t. Some have had children, some haven’t. Some shave their vulva area, some don’t. All in all, I hope for the chart to serve as not only an informative tool, but also a celebration of uniqueness.
It’s worth noting that the fourth picture on the CI-1 level belongs to someone who was subjected to genital mutilation as an infant. Her circumcision removed her clitoral hood, but left her labia and clitoris intact, thankfully. I’m grateful that she was kind enough to share her story and her picture with me.
If any of you reading this are interested in being included in this chart, get in contact with me! I’ll be making a second edition of the chart in a few months, and would be happy to include new submissions.
Thanks goes out to each of you who contributed! I appreciate your willingness to share this.
This shows how diverse clitorises in particular are, just think about how diverse vulvas in general are!
October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month
October 1st marked the beginning of Bullying Prevention Awareness Month (amongst a whole bunch of other awareness months, but we’ll get to that later). Each year millions of children and youth experience the humiliation and devastating effects of bullying. Bullying damages the physical, social, and emotional well-being of its victims. It also hurts the children who bully, as well as those who watch it happen. In fact, bullying creates a climate of fear, callousness, and disrespect for everyone involved. SAMHSA is committed to reducing the impact of bullying and we will take this month to share information about bullying and its impact, and how everyone can and should play a part in taking action against bullying.
Bullying 101:
Bullying begins in the preschool years, peaks in early adolescence, and continues, but with less frequency, into the high school years. But bullying does NOT have to be a part of growing up.
Bullying is a form of emotional or physical abuse that has three defining characteristics:
- Deliberate – the child that bullies’ intention is to hurt someone
- Repeated—the child that bullies often targets the same victim again and again
- Power Imbalanced—the child that bullies chooses victims he or she perceives as vulnerable
Bullying occurs in many different forms, with varying levels of severity. It may involve:
- Physical Bullying—poking, pushing, hitting, kicking, beating up
- Verbal Bullying—yelling, teasing, name-calling, insulting, threatening to harm
- Relational Bullying—ignoring, excluding, spreading rumors, telling lies, getting others to hurt someone
Know the Warning Signs
A culture of silence often surrounds bullying. Many children who are bullied never tell anyone.
Most bullying is not reported because children …
- Don’t recognize it as bullying
- Are embarrassed
- Don’t want to appear weak
- Believe they deserve it
- Want to belong
- Fear retaliation
- Don’t know how to talk about it
- Don’t have a trusted adult to confide in
- Think adults won’t understand
- Think nothing can be done about it
Just because you don’t see it, and children don’t talk about it, doesn’t mean bullying isn’t happening. Even when children fail to report bullying, they often show warning signs.
What are some warning signs of bullying?
- Unexplained damage or loss of clothing and other personal items
- Evidence of physical abuse, such as bruises and scratches
- Loss of friends; changes in friends
- Reluctance to participate in activities with peers
- Loss of interest in favorite activities
- Unusually sad, moody, anxious, lonely, or depressed
- Problems with eating, sleeping, bed-wetting
- Headaches, stomachaches, or other physical complaints
- Decline in school achievement
- Thoughts of suicide
Some children may withdraw, while others may get angry and seek revenge. Don’t assume the problem will go away on its own: Invite children to talk about what is bothering them. If you find out a child is being bullied, show support, help develop a response strategy, and follow up to make sure the bullying does not continue.
What You Can Do
Recommendations and Strategies for Adults
If you don’t intervene, bullies, victims, and bystanders will continue to believe in the power of bullying, rather than the power of prevention. They will continue to let bullying happen. So, why don’t adults intervene more often? Sometimes, it’s because we don’t see it happen; we’re not sure what to look for. But often, it’s because we don’t know what to do or we’re afraid that our actions will somehow make matters worse*
*http://blog.samhsa.gov/2012/10/01/october-is-bullying-prevention-awareness-month/?from=carousel&position=2&date=10012012
October is the awareness month for everything.
