sexetc.

org

By Teens

For Teens

Winter 2017

Get In
Touch with
Yourself

Contents

ISSUE 33 Winter 2017

FEATURES
PERSPECTIVES

4 Staff Talks

Whats the Sex, Etc. teen editorial staff

talking about this winter?

5 Web, Etc.

Get the latest on Sexetc.org.

9 Family Matters

Eleanor has her sex education class to

thank for making her peers accepting of her
mothers same-sex relationship.

10 Faces of Change

IN THE KNOW
6 News, Etc.

News on transmen and periods, a study

on oral sex among heterosexual teens and
what is really driving the fall in the U.S. teen
pregnancy rate.

7 Sex 411

If a heterosexual woman is attracted to a

transman, does that still make the woman
heterosexual? Weve got answers to this
and other questions.

8 Our Health

How do you figure out which hormonal

birth control method is right for you? Jillian
explains what the process was like for her.

Eighteen-year-old Alba Alvarado is a firstyear student at Wesleyan University. While

in high school, she made condoms available
to high school students in her San Rafael,
CA school district. Read what spurred Alba
to take action on this issue.

11 The Spectrum

To shave or not to shave? Grace talks to

guys and girls about gendered expectations
around leg and armpit shaving.

BACK IT UP
18 #KnowYourself

Sam talks to teens about what theyve

learned about themselves that has helped
them take better care of themselves and
make healthier decisions about sex.

12 How to Talk to Your

Health Care Provider

Panicked at the thought of asking your

pediatricianwho has known you since
you were bornanything about sexual
health? Ashley offers some things you
can do to have important conversations
with your health care provider.

14 Why We Should
Be Talking About
Masturbation

Are masturbation and pleasure talked

about in your sex ed class? Grace
shares why learning what your body
likes can be important to having healthy
sexual relationships.

16 Giving Consent: Why

It Can Be Complicated

Consent can be as simple as yes or

no, but what if youre not even sure
what you do or dont want to do?
Shelsea considers the things that can
complicate giving consent and what
you can do to get clear about what you
want and communicate that to a partner.

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: jennifer rowsom; COVER MODEL: TIM SALINAS

2016-2017 EDITORIAL STAFF

Naomi Akiyama, 15
Jessie Choucrallah, 16
Ashley Fowler, 17
Adrian Lam, 17
Jack McNeilly, 16
Bennett OBrien, 18
Shelsea Rodriguez, 17
Svanik Shirodkar, 16
Jessica Stier, 17
Grace Wampold, 17

Lucinda Holt, M.A.

Director of Communications
Erica Pass, Psy. D.
Editor
Aimee Pelletier
Copy Editor
The Public
Graphic Design
Nicole Cushman, M.P.H.
Executive Director
Susan N. Wilson, MS.Ed.
Senior Advisor

Funding to support Sex, Etc.

comes in part from the following:
Mary Owen Borden Foundation,
Ford Foundation, E. J. Grassman
Trust, Grove Foundation, The
George Gund Foundation,
Harbourton Foundation, F. M.
Kirby Foundation, WestWind
Foundation and generous
individual donors.
Views expressed in the
magazine do not necessarily
reflect those of the funders.

Sex, Etc. is published by Answer.

Answer
Center for Applied Psychology
Rutgers University
41 Gordon Road, Suite C
Piscataway, NJ 08854
Phone: 848.445.7929
Fax: 732.445.7970
E-mail: sexetc@rci.rutgers.edu
Website: http://answer.rutgers.edu

Donations to support Sex,

Etc. can be sent via check to
the address above and made
payable to Answer/Rutgers
University Foundation. Or go to
http://answer.rutgers.edu and
click on Donate.
Sex, Etc. relies on a review board of
sexual health experts to ensure that
we provide medically accurate sexual
health information.

sexetc.org

Copyright 2016

Editorial Staff & Contributors

Get In Touch With Yourself

Shelsea Rodriguez, 17

Grace Wampold, 17

Jessie Choucrallah, 16

I learned to embrace my
crazy personality when I got
in touch with myself.

I learned to love shopping

for clothes in the childrens
section when I got in touch
with myself.

I learned to love my
natural eyebrows when I
got in touch with myself.

Jack McNeilly, 16
Jessica (Jessi) Stier, 17

I learned to embrace my
Netflix addiction when I got
in touch with myself.

I learned to appreciate my
quirky sense of style when
I got in touch with myself.

Ashley Fowler, 17

Naomi Akiyama, 15

Svanik Shirodkar, 16

I learned to embrace my
caffeine addiction when I
got in touch with myself.

I learned to love the taste

of mushrooms when I got
in touch with myself.

I learned to love my
sleeping habits when I
got in touch with myself.

Adrian Lam, 17

Bennett OBrien, 18

I learned to express my
love for Canada when I
got in touch with myself.

I learned to embrace
swinging in my hammock
when I got in touch with
myself.

Eleanor Pearson, 18

Sam Breault, 16

Jillian Thompson, 18

I learned to appreciate
alone time when I got in
touch with myself.

I learned to embrace
myHow I Met Your
Mother addictionwhen I
got in touch with myself.

I learned to embrace my
pale complexion when I
got in touch with myself.

Why Wonder?

Staff Talks

Get In Touch With Yourself

By Adrian Lam, 17, Staff Writer, and Jessica Stier, 17, Staff Writer

10:21 p.m.

10:39 p.m.

Adrian: Hey, Jessi! Its great to be back on the Sex, Etc. staff
this year! Im so excited for our first issue with the new staff
and its themeGet in Touch With Yourself.

Jessi: Very true! I think its so important for teens to learn how
to comfortably talk about stuff like this, including consent.
Feeling comfortable about communication with a partner
is definitely a key part of a healthy relationship and feeling
comfortable with yourself is just as important; the two go hand
in hand!

10:22 p.m.
Jessi: Hi, Adrian! Im really excited for our readers to see this
issue. What do you think of the theme?
10:27 p.m.
Adrian: I think its a great and honestly quite punny way to
address some topics not many teens talk about. For example,
Shelsea does a wonderful job in her feature article of covering
how teens can negotiate consent for themselves. I also loved
Ashleys sidebar about how to have a conversation about
consent with your partner.
10:31 p.m.
Jessi: I agree! I also really enjoyed Graces feature and the
way she talks about pleasure and figuring out what works
best for you, likening it to food. Talking about topics like
masturbation in a lighthearted manner definitely makes them
more approachable for some teens who might be nervous to
talk about them.
10:35 p.m.
Adrian: Exactly! Topics like masturbation really arent talked
about enough due to the shame and stigma around them.
This can sometimes lead to teens feeling uncomfortable
or embarrassed. But at the end of the day, its OK to give
yourself some self-love and explore your body.

sexetc.org

10:47 p.m.
Adrian: Meanwhile, in Ashleys feature, she discusses how
to talk to your doctor about sexual health. I think its very
important to develop a healthy and open relationship with your
health care provider. It can help teens obtain the information
and support that they want and need.
10:50 p.m.
Jessi: Yes! Plus, I love how Ashley notes some ways to get a
private moment with your doctor so you can ask any questions
you have that might not be as easy to bring up with a parent
there. I also thought it was interesting to read what the doctor
she spoke to had to say about the discomfort doctors can feel
about bringing up sexual health!
10:54 p.m.
Adrian: I completely agree. I wish these topics were covered
in my sex ed classes. Anyway, I hope our readers enjoy the
issue!
10:57 p.m.
Jessi: I think this months issue is awesome, and I look
forward to our readers learning from its content. It definitely
gets into topics that not all teens love to talk about but are
often curious about, so I think it will be super helpful!

Web, Etc.

CHECK OUT WHATS TRENDING on sexetc.org

Gender Inequality,
Protective Latino Parents
and Sex Ed

 ow Our Families Influence

H
Our Ideas About Sex

 hinx Underwear: A New

T
Option for Dealing With Your
Period

 hat are young people

W
asking us?


What
is an Intrauterine
Device (IUD) and how does
it work?

Where Do You Stand on the

Value of Virginity?

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Why Wonder?