Photo by Flickr user vivified. Used under a Creative Commons license.

Jess McCabe of The F-Word Blog says

Following on from Laura’s post about the poverty of sex education in the UK, we got thinking about ways to fill in those gaps (and then some) for adults.

Me and Laura are looking to compile a listing of resources on safe, happy, consenting sex, relationships and sexuality, for the over 18 set, who can no longer benefit from whatever wisdom HMG and the national curriculum might impart. Can you help us?

Of course, we’re particularly interested in anything which is coming from an explicitly or implicitly feminist perspective. And we’re interested in making this as inclusive as possible. That means regardless of/aimed at all levels of experience (beginner to advanced!), sexuality, gender, kink or lack thereof, etc.

Book, blog, website, workshop, feminist/women’s sex toy store, DVD, audio tape – whatever it is, we’re interested! Not porn though, at least partly because that gets into contentious territory we’re not really interested in for this one.

A few words on why you are making the recommendation would also be great. You can tell us anonymously if you so wish in the comments, or email us using the feedback form.

We’ve got a few resources listed in the bookshop’s sex and relationships section, to get your thought process started.

I’ve quoted the whole post and please go there to leave any suggestions.

I think this is a fabulous initiative, and a much-needed one. Because almost all of us learn about sex at the same time we’re undergoing adolescence it’s not surprising we sometimes confuse the adolescence part with the sex part. That’s actually fine while you’re an adolescent. Not so hot if we never learn to migrate to real adult relationships or, well, um, adult sex.

I also have to say that it’s a fabulous idea because unlike a lot of other stuff in the world, the obstacles to real adult sex are way more a product of simply not noticing, not knowing, or not thinking about stuff. Plus, compared to other stuff in the world the benefits of adult sex education tend to be enormous, immediately useful, and instantly appreciated.

Just to get the ball rolling, since I’ve just moments ago finished a quarter in a college-level sex-education program here are some recommended links that my instructors and fellow students thought were pretty useful.

• Go Ask Alice
  http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/about.html
  Go Ask Alice! is the health question and answer Internet service produced by Alice!, Columbia University’s Health Education Program – a division of Health Services at Columbia.
  This site has three primary features:
  
  • New GAA! Q&As of the Week gives you the latest inquiries and responses – this section is updated every Friday.
    
  • Search GAA! lets you find health information by subject via a search of the ever-growing Go Ask Alice! archives containing nearly 2,600 previously-posted questions and answers.
    
  • Ask Alice! gives you the chance to ask Alice! a question.
    
  
  
• Babeland
  http://www.babeland.com
  
  
• Disability and Sexuality
  http://www.disabilityresources.org/SEX.html
  
  
• Equality Now website
  http://www.equalitynow.org/english/navigation/hub_en.html
  Equality Now was founded in 1992 to work for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women around the world. Working with national human rights organizations and individual activists, Equality Now documents violence and discrimination against women and adds an international action overlay to support their efforts to advance equality rights and defend individual women who are suffering abuse.
  
  
• The Gottman Institute
  http://www.gottman.com/
  Right here in Seattle we have one of the best relationship researchers in the country. The Gottman Institute is committed to helping couples using techniques built on substantial, reliable and valid research with couples. In addition, they hold useful workshops and train therapists.
  
  
• The Guide to Getting It On
  http://www.goofyfootpress.com/
  Here is the link for a very frank, amusing and completely useful sex guide, check it out.
  
  
• Guttmacher Institute
  http://www.guttmacher.org/index.html
  The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) is a nonprofit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health research, policy analysis and public education.
  
  
• SEX EDUCATION: WHAT PEOPLE THINK
  http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/pomr012904oth.cfm
  A new project by National Public Radio, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University’s Kennedy School examines Americans’ views on sex education in the nations public schools.
  
  
• Sexual Harassment: It’s not academic.
  http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/ocrshpam.html
  
  
• The Wet Spot
  http://www.wetspot.org/
  A sex positive community center in Seattle.
  Note: Now known as the Center for Sex-Positive Culture and on the web at http://www.sexpositiveculture.org/

Again, if you’ve got suggestions of your own, please make them over at The F-Word Blog. Thanks!

[Note: I just so want a t-shirt like the one in the photo at the top! —fl]