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Porn Literacy
The topic that brings all the feels!
Porn literacy is a critical part of sexual health education - it's time to talk about it! Porn is a controversial topic, but it's important to have open, honest conversations to raise awareness and create understanding. Exposure to porn is a community health issue, and keeping it in the dark does more harm than good. It's time to recognize the power of porn literacy and start having these important conversations!
Services
Interested in a Porn Literacy Training?
I’ve been teaching since 2015, both virtually and in-person, and have spoken to 5,000+ young people throughout schools, youth groups, and community based organizations. Questions about porn show up all the time!
Exposure to porn and other sexually explicit media is a real issue young people face today. Recent studies have shown that many first-time exposures to porn occur in elementary school. These exposures are often accidental. Keeping young people in the dark about this topic does not protect them, rather it prevents them from understanding this real issue facing them today.
Watching porn to learn about sex can be harmful to the viewer. While it is normal for young people to be curious about sex and sexuality, porn is not a form of medically accurate sex education. In California, the CA Healthy Youth Act requires that all public and charter schools provide comprehensive sex education - once in Middle School and once in High School. Unfortunately, porn literacy and discussions around media and sexuality are not included in the requirement. Learn more about the CA Healthy Youth Act here.
Have a look at my offerings:
How to Talk to Youth About Porn
Media and Sexuality 101
Media and Sexuality 201
Intended audience for educators, teachers, and anyone who works with young people.
An interactive porn literacy training that visits your own personal values and biases towards sex and sexuality and gives you the tools to effectively have conversations with youth about pornography. The what, the who, and the why. This training provides activities to provide critical thinking skills for youth and how to identify trusted adults in their life.
This lesson informs young people about media and sexuality, promoting informed decision-making. It emphasizes identifying trusted adults for sex-related questions and highlights the harmful effects of relying on pornography for sexual health education. Porn literacy helps youth recognize misconceptions in porn about sex and sexuality, fostering healthier perspectives.
Intended audience for middle-school and high school aged-youth
Intended audience for high school aged-youth and young adults
In addition to learning porn literacy 101 basics, this lesson takes it a step further in developing critical thinking skills and how to navigate pornography. Other concepts such as body image, consent, identities, safer sex practices, and healthy relationships are introduced. This lesson also introduces the racial and homophobic stereotypes introduced in porn.
How to Talk to Your Child About Porn
Curriculum Consulting
As parents, there are many concerns about children’s access to media. This workshop is intended to learn how to start the conversation about internet safety and sexually explicit media, while still holding your family’s values at home. Many adults I’ve spoken with feel that they need to have a conversation about pornography once “something happens.” The thing is, you don’t want to wait! This workshop provides the tools necessary to maintain a safe space, normalize your child’s curiosity about sex and sexuality and continue to be the trusted adult in their life. Intended for children of all ages.
Are you currently putting together a lesson that focuses on media, sexuality or porn? I've created multiple curriculums over the years for Middle and High School classes, youth groups, and even school districts. Check out my contribution to the "Media and Sexuality" lesson from the Be Real, Be Ready sexuality curriculum implemented in the San Francisco Unified School District here. I'm passionate about helping young people understand the importance of sexual health and safety, and I'm ready to work with you to create meaningful educational content that will have a lasting impact. Let’s work together to create lessons that are memorable and effective.
*Group sessions and one-on-one available
Currently servicing in-person workshop presentations in the San Diego County Only. Virtual workshop presentations available upon request.
Disclaimer: These are not “how to” classes, in that none of the workshops provided display pornography and/or other forms of sexually explicit media. These workshops are intended for educational purposes only.
What folks are saying:
Birds, Bees, and Porn?!
An interactive porn literacy book for teens.
By Jess Melendez
Illustrated by Remy Alva
An interactive porn literacy book for youth. This book dispels the myths surrounding sex and sexuality that mainstream porn depicts. It encourages critical thinking about the messages and images found in porn through interactive activities, self-reflective questions, and much more. It provides an opportunity for teens to express their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences surrounding porn - because they got em!