Profiling Great Sexuality Educators: Kira Manser

Profiling Great Sexuality Educators includes interviews that originally appeared on the website of The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health and is adapted and reprinted with permission.

Interview with Kira Manser

1.  What do you do in the field of sexuality?

I am a sexuality educator, student, and community organizer.

2.  Where are you based out of?

I am based out of Philadelphia, PA and Providence, RI. I have one foot and half my heart in both cities 

3.  What is your focus?  What do you do?

I have a few focuses, in a field as rich and complicated as sexuality it’s hard not to throw your weight behind a few movements and populations.   Professionally I have founded and run a sex education collaborative in Philadelphia.  We teach sex positive classes, hold community events that support sex-positivity, and do community organizing for gender and sexual minorities.  Besides the collaborative, my biggest interest right now is sexuality education/clinical training within medical schools curricula.  Also I am diversifying my skill set this year by getting clinical experience as a sex therapist.  I am about to start a year long internship working as a individual counselor at theMazzoni Center in Philadelphia which is one of the most active and comprehensive LGBT community health organizations in the country.  In all of the different areas of work that I do, I like to focus on spreading the message that sex has an unbelievable potential to be a positive force in people’s lives.  I try to get people to invest in the sexual life and find what makes them happy.

4.  What are your particular goals and passions in the field?

My goal is to develop a toolbag of skills- as a therapist, educator, presenter, organizer, and advocate.  And then use those skills throughout my life in many different venues to spread the belief that sex is something that can be incredibly healthy and positive.  Following that logic I want to put out my support for the belief that people should be allowed to express their sexuality as long as it is consensual.

5.  Why did you choose to work in this field? 

I think that this field chose me.  I’ve always been very comfortable and intrigued by sexuality as a topic, and I think I just naturally followed that path.  Working for Miko, a feminist sex shop in Providence for 3 years, really helped me to solidify my passion for working with people around sexuality issues.

6.  Where did you go for school/training?

I went to Brown University for Gender Studies and am currently in my third year in a social work and education in human sexual program at Widener University.  I was also trained at Miko and have learned SO much in the trail by fire method I have adopted with the work I do.

9.  What would you recommend to future sexologists attempting to get into the field?

Sexuality is such a complicated field.  Understand that you’re going to be a lifelong learner.  There will always be more to know, more complexity to wrap your head around.  If you want to be in the field I think you have to be ok with not always having an answer or having things be black or white.  There are so many ways to get into the field- working as a social worker, a teacher, a activist, a retail person in a sex shop even!

10.  What is the most challenging aspect for you working in this career?

Having to say no to so many amazing projects, ideas, or opportunities because there’s just not enough time to do it all!  I want to know and learn about sooo many things!

11.  One must read-what would you recommend?  Why?

bell hooks – Teaching to Transgress

To talk, let alone teach, about sexuality is a transgressive act in our society.  bell hooks really addresses how teaching is a powerful tool in the fight to freedom.  She addresses issues of class, race, and power in a thoughtful and productive way.  This is a must read for anybody doing education!

__________________________________________________________________Profiling Great Sexuality Educators includes interviews that originally appeared on the website of The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health and is adapted and reprinted with permission.

Profiling Great Sexuality Educators: Dr. Melanie Davis

Profiling Great Sexuality Educators includes interviews that originally appeared on the website of The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health and is adapted and reprinted with permission.

Interview with Dr. Melanie Davis

www.HonestExchange.com

1. What do you do in the field of sexuality?
Like a lot of sexuality educators, I have multiple jobs that combine to create an interesting career.  My work falls into five areas: teaching, curriculum development, consulting, writing, and advocacy.

I teach Human Sexuality and Marriage & the Family courses at Moravian College and have also taught at Marymount Manhattan College and Widener University. I work with medical students through the AMSA Sexual Health Scholars Program and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.  I provide professional development for healthcare professionals and educators through my firm Honest Exchange LLC.

For the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), I am the point person for the Our Whole Lives (OWL) sexuality education curricula.

I consult with teens and adults through the New Jersey Center for Sexual Wellness, in which I partner with an OB/GYN and a sex therapist. I love meeting with people one-on-one to find practical solutions that will help them enjoy their sexual lives.

I blog, tweet, and review sexology books and curricula. I also write articles for sexology journals and mass media. That’s a holdover from my days in journalism and marketing, I suspect.

I advocate for the sexual rights of adults in mid- and older age as co-president of the Sexuality and Aging Consortium at Widener University.

2. Where are you based?  
Honest Exchange and the New Jersey Center for Sexual Wellness are in Somerville and Bedminster, New Jersey, respectively; I teach in Pennsylvania; and I telecommute to Boston for the UUA.

3. What are your particular goals and passions in the field?
I hope to help improve communication between healthcare providers and patients regarding sexuality. I also enjoy helping people who have cancer and other chronic illnesses, as well as those who are aging, to enjoy greater self esteem and intimacy despite the challenges they face.  In the classroom, I help students explore their attitudes and beliefs about sexuality while they increase their sexual knowledge.

4. Why did you choose to work in this field? 
I was a journalist and marketing consultant for 25 years, and while it was enjoyable, there was little direct connection with people. In 1999, I was asked to co-facilitate an OWL class for church and discovered that it addressed my desire to do more meaningful work. Things steam rolled from there. As a professional sexuality educator, I get to help people build knowledge, improve communication, create healthier relationships, and enjoy their sexuality. I also have the chance to work daily on breaking down limiting beliefs and attitudes – mine as well as those of my students and clients.

5. Where did you go for school/training?  
My first training was from Planned Parenthood, when I was a volunteer sex educator and exam room assistant; then I became a certified OWL facilitator. I took countless workshops from ANSWER and the Center for Family Life Education before entering the Widener University Graduate Program in Human Sexuality.  I take a lot of continuing education classes because there’s always something new to learn or a new way to explore an issue.

6. Do you have any literature out (websites, articles)?
I blog and have posted some of my articles on www.HonestExchange.com and on the Consortium’s site, www.widener.edu/sexualityandaging . I tweet links to and comments on sexology news at @DrMelanieDavis.

My sex advice column for Fantasia Home Parties can be found here:http://www.fantasiahomeparties.com/sex_expert.php

One of my favorite publications was on Sexuality Education as a Ministry, for the American Journal of Sexuality Education, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2011.

7. What would you recommend to future sexologists attempting to get into the field?
I suggest that people to think strategically about both their academic programs and their careers. Some opportunities that are exciting when you’re new to the field may come back to haunt you when you’re looking for a fulltime position with a non-profit organization, a corporation, or a university. That’s not to discourage people from exploring their options but rather to encourage them to think twice before blogging, tweeting, or posting everything they do, think, or feel.

8. What is the most challenging aspect for you working in this career?
Finding lucrative jobs can be difficult. Most people who aren’t fulltime academics, therapists, or retailers cobble together careers out of multiple consulting, teaching and speaking gigs. The bigger challenge, however, is to stay positive amid the constant political and religious attacks against healthy and equitable sexuality.

9. One must read-what would you recommend?  Why?
Peter Palmer’s book “The Courage to Teach” addresses the emotional vulnerability of teachers and the importance of teaching from the heart, no matter how heartless our evaluations, our paychecks, the demands on our time, the political pressures, etc. It wasn’t written for sexuality educators, but it’s pertinent for us.

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Profiling Great Sexuality Educators includes interviews that originally appeared on the website of The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health and is adapted and reprinted with permission.

Why I Teach Sex Ed: For "Christopher"

Why I Teach Sex Ed: For "Christopher"

by Lindsay Fram, MPH

Senior Family Life & Sexuality Education Instructor
Carrera Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program

Bronx, NY

Twelve years ago I stood monitoring a line of 23 kindergartners on their first day of school. They waited patiently to use the bathroom, two at a time. Two girls. Two boys. When two came out, the next two went in. We waited. We sang songs. I was their first “real” teacher. I asked them about their families, their pets, their favorite foods.

Christopher was the first to ask me a question, “How old are you, Ms. Fram?” I laughed and told him to guess. And he did – correctly. He said that his mom was 21 and she looked just like me so, you know, he could just tell. Counting back on my fingers in disbelief, twice just to be sure, Christopher's mom had been 16 when she gave birth to him and his twin sister. Just 14 when she had his older brother. I scanned the line of five-year-olds waiting in size order to use the bathroom and wondered how many more of them had teen parents.

I found out during the course of that first year as a teacher that most of the mothers had been in their teens or early twenties when they became parents and that many were children of teen parents themselves. When I called home in the evenings to remind parents about upcoming field trips, check in about an absence or talk about their child’s behavior parents kept me on the phone. The talked about wanting to break the cycle, about regretting not being able to provide for their kids the kind of life they had always dreamed of, about what they would have done if they knew then what they know now.

That group of 23 five-year-olds will be graduating from high school this year. Those who make it to graduation, anyway. Statistically speaking, not many of them will. Statistically speaking, many of them have already become parents, spent time in jail, and will spend years working for an indecent wage. I can’t go back and change their lives or the lives of their parents. But, every day I work to provide the tools, information, and motivation for so many others to shape a more positive future.

I teach sex ed for them. For my first group of students and for their parents.  I teach sex ed because every infant deserves to be born into a family who is ready for him, a family that planned for her arrival. I teach sex ed because every adolescent deserves to know how beautiful her body is, about the fabulous ways his body will change. I teach sex ed because every teen deserves to be able to speak confidently about his sexual boundaries, tell her partners what she does and does not want. I teach sex ed because everyone, when he is ready, when she wants it, deserves satisfying and safe sexual relationships. I teach sex ed so that my students can break the cycle, give their children the lives they always dreamed of (or not have children of their own at all), and I teach sex ed so that my students know now.

Profiling Great Sexuality Educators: Dr. Elizabeth Schroeder

Profiling Great Sexuality Educators includes interviews that originally appeared on the website of The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health and is adapted and reprinted with permission.

Interview with Dr. Elizabeth Schroeder

1.  What do you do in the field of sexuality?
I’m the executive director of Answer, a national sexuality education organization that provides and promotes comprehensive sexuality education to young people and the adults who teach them.

2.  Where are you based out of?
We work nationally, but we are based at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

3.  What is your focus?  What do you do?
We have two main programs: our award-winning teen-to-teen sexuality education program, Sex, Etc., which features a magazine written by our teen editorial staff for teens.  We also have a Web site, Sexetc.org, also by teens, for teens, written by both our teen editorial staff and teen contributors from around the country.  We also find that educators and parents use Sex, Etc. as a reference for understanding what young people want and need to know about sexuality, although we also have an organizational Web site with resources for adults, answer.rutgers.edu.

Our second program is our national sexuality education training initiative, which provides both in-person trainings and online professional development (OPD) for school teachers, educators and parents. We are just now launching our third OPD workshop, “LGBTQ Issues in Schools,” which follows “Sexuality ABCs (Abstinence, Birth Control and Condoms)” and “STD Basics.”

We also provide technical assistance to colleague organizations, state departments of education and health, and individual school districts and schools on how to provide age-appropriate, medically accurate sexuality education to young people.

4.  What are your particular goals and passions in the field?
I love pedagogy – understanding how people learn, how we teach them most effectively. Given that sexuality is such a vital topic to people’s overall health, well-being and happiness, the pedagogy specific to teaching sexuality education is particularly important and nuanced.  As technology has become more and more important to young people – and in the world at large – I love discovering and learning, and then determining the most effective ways for us to share that learning, as an organization, with our constituencies.

5.  Why did you choose to work in this field? 
Oh, it wasn’t a choice – it literally hit me like a freight train!  I started my career working in the arts as a fundraiser, and while I adore and value the arts, I knew I wanted to do something more social service focused.  I became determined to find a job with Planned Parenthood, and joined the national office as a development officer.  I had a meeting one day with the education department, and knew by the end of the meeting that I had to do what they did.  I went to the person who was the VP of that department a few days later and begged for a job, and she made it happen.  It was a pay cut and I was basically starting over from the beginning – but I didn’t regret it for a minute, and still don’t.

After that I worked at Planned Parenthood of New York City, and then went off on my own as a consultant, which was an amazing experience that introduced me to international work, which I still continue to do on my personal time.  Having been an adjunct professor, I chose to pursue my doctorate, and then had a brief stint in academia before the job at Answer became available.  I’ve been here now almost 3 ½ years, and it’s a phenomenal place to work with an outstanding mission and staff.

6.  Where did you go for school/training?
I earned an MSW from NYU – great program; it was clinical, and although I knew I never wanted to be a therapist, the training I got there on understanding both individuals and groups has been invaluable to me as an educator and now as an executive director.  I earned an EdD from Widener University’s human sexuality education program.

7.  Do you have any literature out (websites, articles)?
Answer has a professional Web site that’s answer.rutgers.edu.  I love to write, and I love to co-write with folks, so I’m fortunate to have a good number of publications out there, one of which I’m going to recommend as a “must read” below if that isn’t too shameless!  But they include two curricula: Making SMART Choices: A Curriculum for Young People; Being Out, Staying Safe: An STD Prevention Curriculum for LGBQ Youth (I co-wrote those last two with Eva Goldfarb), a chapter in Health Counseling: Applications and Theory, a chapter in The Continuum Complete International Encyclopedia of Sexuality, a lesson in New Expectations: Sexuality Education for Mid- and Later Life;

And three editions of Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Controversial Issues in Family and Personal Relationships. Those last three came to me thanks to Bill Taverner.

8.  What would you recommend to future sexologists attempting to get into the field?
So, here’s the thing – I don’t identify myself as a sexologist, so I think the first thing I’d say to folks is that that’s okay – that the sexuality field is comprised of a wide range of jobs and potential to make an impact on a community or whatever part of the world you choose. It seems like—and I’ve heard this directly from a few of them—some of the newer folks in the field feel pressure to be the most cutting edge, fierce, button-pushing sexologists they can be.  And if that’s what motivates you, have at it.  But as someone who works in the land of school-based sexuality education, in communities where teachers have lost their jobs because they taught even the most basic sexuality information, I see first-hand that there is a ton of foundational work that needs to be done. There are many ways to define yourself, and you should feel like there is room for you in this field even if you choose not to be a “sexologist” but are, say, a health teacher who is responsible for teaching sex ed.  You’re an important part of the field, and you are most welcome.

9.  What is the most challenging aspect for you working in this career?
There are a number of them.  But the greatest one, I think, as someone who works with and for youth, is the pervasive fear that far too many adults have of teaching about sexuality to young people, and the accompanying manipulation they do to each other to feed that fear and build paranoia so that the opposition to our work remains – even though there’s so much research demonstrating the effectiveness of the work we do. I can’t believe that, 20 years later, we’re still fighting to eliminate abstinence-only-until-marriage funding for programs that have no impact on young people.  Even with the progress we’ve made, we still have a long way to go when it comes to shifting public awareness and understanding, and that feels a bit daunting at times.

10.  One must read-what would you recommend?  Why?
A few years ago, I co-edited a four-volume book series with Dr. Judy Kuriansky titled, “Sexuality Education: Past, Present and Future.”  I recommend it because it’s really the most comprehensive work we have out there on sexuality education so far, and because the chapters are written by some of the sharpest colleagues in the field right now.

Another great book was Sex in History by Reay Tannahill; one of the best books I’ve ever read relating to our work.

You can finder more information about ANSWER at www.answer.rutgers.edu, or follow on Twitter at @sexedhonestly.

You can follow Dr. Schroeder on Twitter at @drschroe. You can also follow Sex Etc at @sexetc.

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Profiling Great Sexuality Educators includes interviews that originally appeared on the website of The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health and is adapted and reprinted with permission.

Why I Teach Sex Ed: Colorado Springs, Co

Lauren Cikara

by Lauren Cikara

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains

One of the first things people share with me when they find out that I teach sex education is their own experiences (or lack thereof) with sex ed while they were in school. The second thing they tell me is that I have a cool job and that they wish they had someone like me teaching their sex education class. And then the questions begin! Good thing I like talking about sex, as a sexual health educator’s work does not stop at the end of the traditional work day. And they are right; I do have a cool job!

Reading Jessica Valenti’s The Purity Myth solidified my decision to become a sexual health educator. While abstinence-only-until-marriage programs continue to receive federal funding, it is important to me to advocate for and provide comprehensive sexual health education. I have always been sex-positive and have been amazed by the number of people I have encountered who never received any sort of formal sex education. I am lucky since my parents were very open and honest about sex and sexuality while I was growing up. Dinner table talk normally featured something about puberty and how babies are made. Topics were discussed from a medical and pleasure standpoint, which I think shaped my openness with discussing sex and sexuality.

As a sexual health educator, my goals are to provide a safe, sex-positive, and accurate platform to explore sexual activity. Every person deserves respect and the right to information about sex and sexuality free of fear and shame. Sex is a normal and a healthy component of everyone’s growth and development. Teaching sex education also allows me to play a part in helping to shift the societal dynamic that women are the gate keepers of sexual morals when there should be equal responsibility and consequences for all people when they choose to engage in sexual activity.

There are two things I tell participants over and over again when I teach: communication is sexy and consent is sexy. Exploring these concepts is one of the things that I like most about teaching sex education. Another part of my job that I really enjoy is answering questions from the participants in my classroom. Working with the participants to explore the answers to their questions is amazing. Having honest and fun conversations about sex and sexuality is important to not only the participants in my classroom but also for my own development as a sexual health educator. I feel very fortunate and thankful when I get to have these experiences. My cool job allows me to give back in a way that I feel is important in providing people with the tools to make the choice to be or not to be sexually active and therefore make their exploration of sex and sexuality safe and positive. 

Profiling Great Sexuality Educators: Konnie McCaffree

Profiling Great Sexuality Educators includes interviews that originally appeared on the website of The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health and is adapted and reprinted with permission.

Konnie McCaffree

1.  What do you do in the field of sexuality?
I began my career in sexuality as a classroom teacher for 11^thgraders in a Health Class connected to their physical education class.  The course was called Marriage and Family Life.  None of the other teachers  (huge suburban high school with at least 10 health/PE teachers) wanted to teach it, so I took it over for most of us.

I didn’t think the course as described really related to adolescents so I altered it based on their questions to be a Human Sexuality class.  Because there would have been restrictions on a mandated class, I designed an elective Human Sexuality class for seniors and it was approved by the School Board (based on the fact they assumed that parents wouldn’t approve of their children taking it.)

This was the early 70s and parents were interested in having their children know more.  The class quickly increased from one section of students to many.  We could talk about every topic in sexuality… and did.  During the nineties when I retired there were challenges to the course that we had not had for 25 years. A few parents of this new generation seemed to feel that knowledge in all aspects of sexuality was harmful to them. I was very glad to be retiring at that time. I retired and the course continues though there are restrictions on materials used, specifically visuals. Many of the teachers who had been trained at that time are retired now.

While a public school teacher I also began teaching at the college level and was part of the Human Sexuality Program for professionals that began at the University of Pennsylvania and now is known as the Widener Human Sexuality Program.  I continue to adjunct there, though I am not involved in the day to day running of the program anymore.

I began consulting internationally in 1997 and spent time in South Africa, Zambia, Philippines and Nigeria, helping them develop curricula for sexuality education and train teachers. I continue to work regularly in Nigeria, having helped them implement a sexuality education program for all ages in the schools of Nigeria, and training their teachers and professors who train their pre service teachers.

2.  Where are you based out of?
I live in Doylestown, PA and have always worked out of my home.

3.  What is your focus?  What do you do?  
I am retired from the day to day work of teaching students but I am very involved in looking at what is happening in the field of sexuality education, and very proud of the teaching methods that I introduced into professional education training for those interested in the field of sexology.

When I was hired at Penn my sole work was the development of courses to help students increase their skills as teachers of human sexuality. I helped them move from information being content driven through lectures, to how people learn through examining their attitudes, how those attitudes influence what we choose to teach, and how we relate to students and how to help people consider their attitudes.  I introduced skill-based learning, where communication in sexuality became the most important skill.  Other skills were introduced as well.

I do a variety of other consulting work, creating curricula for various populations and training. I write, critique training methods, and promote involvement in professional organizations for students at the graduate level.

4.  What are your particular goals and passions in the field?
My goals continue to be connected to my passions. After I studied abroad, and now work abroad, I see the world and, in particular, people in such a different way.  In some places of the world where various aspects of sexuality are considered natural and positive, people seem more whole and relaxed about who they are. In the U.S. as well as other places, sexuality is so hidden and seen as a negative force. That makes me sad.  So many people feel badly about themselves, that they are deficient or abnormal.   I’ve never understood why ‘difference’ is a bad thing. Respecting people for who they are, what they believe in, and how they choose to live their lives is so very challenging.

My goal as a teacher was to help each of my students feel better about who they were, and to gain the skills to enhance their physical and emotional health.

5.  Why did you choose to work in this field? 
As a young teacher I was exposed to so many young people who were struggling with life issues, which now I recognize as sexuality ones, and I didn’t know how to help them.  It was clear to me, as so many young people, especially girls, came to me for ‘advice’, that I needed to know more and that I was in a position to help them.  It was more than teaching a science class, it was giving them something that might help to build confidence. I realized that I had a natural and relaxed connection to youth, that sexuality was something I could talk with them about and that the more knowledge and experience I gained, the more help I was able to give them.

6.  Where did you go for school/training? 
 I graduated from college with degrees in biology and physical education; got a Masters degree in Adolescent Psychology, but felt that none of that address what my adolescent students really need to be engaged in learning while they were in the throes of adolescence.  I felt that I needed to know more to be a successful teacher.  I was a coach and the girls always had questions that I couldn’t relate to since my background growing up was so different from many of theirs.

I then found the doctoral program in Human Sexuality at New York University, which had just begun.  I enrolled and received my PhD from there.  I was lucky to be involved in the program when it spent every summer studying sexuality abroad.  I studied in Sweden, Denmark, Kenya, Japan, and Thailand and learned so much.

7.  Do you have any literature out (websites, articles)?
Most of my articles were written years ago.  I have several published curricula. One in Nigeria, which you can’t access, but Select Media  (selectmedia.org) has the following evidenced based curricula by Jemmott, Jemmott and McCaffree:  Be Proud! Be Responsible! Making Proud Choices, and Making a Difference.

Chapters in books: Jean Levitan and I co-authored  “Sexuality Education in the Ongoing Sexual Revolution of the 1970s” in Sexuality Education Past, Present, and Future edited by Elizabeth Schroeder and Judith Kuriansky.

8.  What would you recommend to future sexologists attempting to get into the field?
We are all needed, so it doesn’t matter what type of job you have; you can educate those around you and often build a position that is specifically for sexuality right where you work or live.

There is opportunity for building programs for sexuality topics everywhere:  anti-bullying, relationship building, diversity training, pleasure parties, growing older and enjoying ones sexuality helping parents/communities teach their children, etc.

AND join and become active in one of the many professional or social organizations that support sexuality.  When I was a graduate student I was encouraged to join several and ‘try them out’.  It was one of the best experiences because I no longer felt isolated.  I had mentors, peers and people to feel more relaxed with (eventually).  I continue to have many colleagues and students that I see at a professional meeting or gathering and the support and knowledge I have gained is immeasurable.

9.  What is the most challenging aspect for you working in this career?
Challenging in a very positive way is the constant learning that takes place; research knowledge in the field changes.  Technology has changed and there is continual learning from my students.  It means you need to keep studying, growing, and changing.

The negative challenge for me has been the constant battle to see sexuality as a positive, integral force in our lives, and how so many deny it and thus don’t pass on valuable information, attitudes and values to the youth. I see so little respect for individual differences, diversity and values.  That makes living a healthy life challenging for everyone.

10.  One must read-what would you recommend?  Why?
Just isn’t one book.  There are so many wonderful sources.  The challenge is keeping up with them all!

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Profiling Great Sexuality Educators includes interviews that originally appeared on the website of The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health and is adapted and reprinted with permission.