I have created a website that I strongly believe would be useful to teens and to tv and film fanatics alike. During my dissertation (which can be read here) I discovered that my participants did not feel that teen films were accurate nor did they feel represented. They mentioned some worrying things that they felt within their teen years because of teen programming, with one participant stating they were scared to go to university as a virgin. During this assignment I was tasked with using what I have found in my dissertation and making it accessible for a wider audience.
I decided that I would create a website/ 'webzine' that focuses on teen programming and this website aimed to look at a sample of programming and discuss what I have seen and write in a casual way so that it is easily accessible. During the first assignment, a report into the digital marketing industry, I focused on Sexpression and Outspoken; two organisations that focus on sex education and I thought it appropriate to reach out and ask some questions. I was fortunate enough to get in contact with Leah Jewett, the Director of Outspoken who has provided me with amazing responses which help to contextualise the research and media making project.
I have written about several films and tv shows that I feel are most watched and relevant, including; The Sex Clinic (2019-), She's the Man (2006) and Mean Girls (2004). I referenced the interview with Leah Jewett many times as she is a professional in this industry and her input is valuable and trustworthy.
I felt that a website would be easily accessible and utilise my web design skills in a useful way. I have also used the many functions that a Wix website offers, including buttons and hyperlinks, as I wanted the user experience to be as easy and care-free as possible.
I have targeted a specific audience of 15-25 year olds as they are the most effected age group of teen programming and this reflected in the way that I write and communicate. In the future I would like to add social media channels to the website so that it reaches the relevant and targeted audience. I would also promote it through my personal social media channels.
If I were to do this again then I would follow my original plan, which was to team up with Bath Spa University's Sexpression branch and run a sex education session on the effects that teen programming can have and try to de-bunk some of the things shown within it. However, within the current pandemic I felt I could get the message across most effectively on a website platform.
Olivia Thorne.
Transcript of Interview with Leah Jewett.
In the second part of my dissertation module I am looking to contextualise my research by creating a 'webzine' that is accessible to all and I would like to know several different things about sex education.
My own sex education was far from ideal, so most of my own research and trying to learn, was what I saw in TV, film and YouTubers. I'd like to know what your opinion on adolescents learning through this same way would be?
We are living through such fast-changing times. Everyone has always been socialised and conditioned by the culture they are exposed to – and culture can have a profound effect and formative influence on young people’s emotions, attitudes and behaviour. With the advent of platforms like social media, marginalised groups such as women and LGBT+ people can find content that speaks to and represents them and can broadcast their viewpoints, take up space, have a voice. Created via a male gaze, mainstream culture has long perpetuated gender stereotypes and created unrealistic expectations. Fortunately film and TV increasingly deal in a more explicit, open-minded way and nuanced with relationships and sex education (RSE) topics such as sex, relationships, LGBT identities and consent – just look at recent shows such as Sex Education, The Half Of It and Normal People. Meanwhile YouTubers like Hannah Witton and Lucy Moon share vulnerable, thought-provoking glimpses into their own sex and relationships experiences – they’re deep diving and relatable.
What’s important for young people – for everyone – is media and digital literacy: thinking critically and questioning the messaging of our culture. If young people look at film, TV and YouTube videos through a critical lens, they can put it into the perspective and context of time, place, who made it and why.
These days kids can get so much out of searching up sex and relationships issues online. For people who prefer anonymous or distanced sex ed, Planned Parenthood has launched the sexual-health chatbot Roo. There are great informative websites offering sex-education advice, stories, videos and animation. It can even be useful to read online comments, because the more young people compare and contrast other people’s opinions the more they will figure out where they stand – and the more emboldened they might become to talking openly with people they know.
Do you think a 'webzine' would be useful as I am looking to enter a digital marketing career, and with so many young people having unlimited access to the internet that it does have the potential to help.
A webzine that’s fresh, catchy and created by young people – with gaps in young people’s knowledge in mind – could be helpful and relatable to their peers. The question is how to market and widely publicise it. Contacting like-minded organisations would allow you to plug into a ready-made network. But even if the webzine doesn’t gain traction and just reaches a few people, it’s a great thing to do – you never know what it could lead to or inspire. There is also a lot to be said for near-peer learning and organisations such as Sexpression:UK.
Why did you pursue this career path and how do you think it has helped to develop you as a professional?
After 19 years at the Guardian as deputy chief sub-editor on the Observer Magazine, I took voluntary redundancy in 2016 and hit the ground running volunteering with the Women’s Equality Party, becoming co-leader of the Camden branch. I already had an interest in gender stereotypes, which is part of relationships and sex education (RSE), and saw the world through a feminist lens.
It became clear to me that I was very interested in sex education, particularly in the topics of pleasure and the impact of porn on children and young people. That interest is partly inspired by my having a now-teenage daughter and son – I wanted to play a part in their learning about sex and relationships and to accompany them on their journey. In addition I was curious about my own experiences as a 53-year-old woman struggling with being postmenopausal.
So I retrained by taking various courses, attended workshops and conferences, started a working group on RSE at the Women’s Equality Party, ran Speakeasy workshops for parents at my children’s school and joined forces with a Danish RSE teacher who became my Outspoken Sex Ed co-founder.
Co-founding a social enterprise that targets parents to encourage them to talk openly with their children about sex, relationships, bodies and consent has made use of my editing, writing and communications-outreach skills but it has also forced me into less familiar areas such as needing to be on top of social media, thinking about marketing, refining business strategies, applying for funding etc.
From the start it has been clear that we want to empower parents to empower their children, to change the conversation around sex education and to contribute to a more open, inclusive society. The question is: who exactly are we trying to reach, and how can we reach them?
I was already drawn to facilitating people communicating openly and honestly about sex-education issues. Being in this line of work has only intensified that interest.
What are your opinions on the current SRE guide? Do you think it is up-to-scratch or that it needs updating?
We feel that the new RSE guidance falls down in many vital respects.
The current RSE guidance, with its crowded paragraphs that combine many ideas, is much less clear than the previous guidance from 20 years earlier with its easier-to-follow bullet points.
A crucial failing was the government’s not making LGBT+ issues mandatory at primary-school level. It’s important that LGBT+ inclusivity is part of education from the start – it’s important for children to learn about difference, acceptance, self-acceptance, respect and self-respect and about the reality of other people’s identity and families.
In the guidance from the year 2000, the Department for Education called parents their children’s “primary sex educators”, whereas in the new guidance parents are considered their children’s “prime” educators. We feel the original wording should be reinstated. After all, parents are the missing link in their children’s sex education.
Our Outspoken Sex Ed work concludes that talking openly at home is preventative: it reinforces safeguarding, improves mental health and strengthens the parent-child connection. Parental engagement supports sex-ed lessons, the school-home partnership and implementing a whole-school approach.
Pleasure and porn literacy should feature in the new RSE guidance. Porn presents unrealistic expectations about sex and bodies, normalises the degradation of women and has detrimental effects on body image, self-esteem, attitudes and behaviour. The antidotes: resilience, critical thinking and a sex-positive approach. Given that children see porn and young people watch it, they need the space to process, analyse and discuss porn in terms of it being an industry, in terms of what it shows and doesn’t show, in terms of its effects on people’s attitudes, desires and behaviour. Proactively discussing porn can combat the rise of child-on-child sexual abuse, everyday sexism and sexual harassment. Raising awareness around the interrelatedness of pleasure and consent can future-proof young people. It can help encourage respect, self-knowledge, good decision-making and delayed, safer, positive sexual experiences.
In the new guidance, parents are allowed to withdraw or “excuse” (a term that waters down the forcefulness of withdrawing) their children from sex education or relationships and sex education (RSE). Sex education, starting early, is vital for children’s development. Parents’ wishes to withdraw their children from lessons override children’s right to comprehensive sex education and prevents them from benefiting from the advantages of learning accurate information alongside peers.
What are your opinions on the TV show 'the sex clinic' (Channel 4).
Although I have only seen a few episodes of The Sex Clinic, I am a fan! I have to declare a vested interest: Dr Naomi Sutton is a member of the Outspoken Advisory Board. When I first heard her on a panel discussion at an event run by the gynaecology charity Eve Appeal I was impressed by her warmth, openness and willingness to communicate. She has been a dedicated Advisory Board member.
The Sex Clinic is colourful, upfront, enlightening and honest, entertaining yet unsensational. Although some of what the participants say can land in a slightly shocking or offputting way, their desire to open up and be honest is inspiring. The medical experts who treat them are both matter of fact and compassionate.
Ironically some Sex Clinic themes and participants have been sensationalised in articles in The Sun newspaper. But at least the fact that The Sun reports on the show means that the media is contributing to greater openness around sex and relationships topics. Accuracy, honesty and transparency are absolutely vital.
Another similarly engaging and factual show is The Unshockable Dr Ronx.
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