the beautiful world

'mommy, how is breakfast made?' by hack7oriole on deviantart

Since my article on innocence being a fallacy, I hadn't found the time or the right mood to write more about safe sex and sex education. Some ads, some videos, some interesting links and my thoughts on the subject is what you take for homework today :P

Image heavy as usual and you enter at your own risk- NSFW material...

Some pretty earnest and funny attempts have been made to get the message across 'Be responsible with sex'. The following ad campaigns are some of my favourites, capturing the spirit 'safe is sexy'. And that's exactly what is missing from parents' and religion's preaching.

In the first ad, 'cherries' run away from a naughty 'willy' until a girl 'equips' him with a condom. Then the ladies chase him to get some fun.

In the second one, men are pigs. I know, sounds sexist, huh? But the advertisers simply used the female perspective to enhance that a real man is the one respecting you and using a condom. No condom? no girl.

Then we get something different: sex associated with pregnancy and (unwanted) parenthood. You don't get this often. Usually, the reason for using condoms remains unspoken as something already known. It can work very well this way, too: use condoms or else you'll have to babysit a brat... Kids are a huge responsibity.

The fourth ad digs in another reason you don't want to forget to use condom: STDs (sexually transmitted diseases).  And guess what? both this and the previous ad are swedish. Of course rubbing off the truth on the audience can be painful, but truths must be heard.

In the fifth and sixth ones women learn being persistent about things that matter. Men can bring up pretty silly excuses, but safety comes first. 'If you are this big, then you don't do for me' was a clever response: immediate convincing.

Ads targeting at LGBTQ audience, and good ads at that, are few. They are mostly associated only with HIV, although in reality STD's are way more common.And somehow they target only gay men. Let's note here that lesbians don't have it easier... just because there isn't penetrative sex through a penis, that doesn't mean everything's fine... Anyway  I posted 2 adds here, one animation and another (polish) one using photos. The message of the polish one translated here in english is :

You conquer unknown territories. You're attracted by intense sensations. You love extreme experiences. Your adventures turn you on. Condom extends pleasure. Even if it's quick sex. Don't give AIDS any chance.

The last three commercials are from durex. It's not like I'm paid to promote the company or anything, I just think durex does a fair good job on promoting its products, that are not limited to condoms. Durex is being straightforward, daring to say that you can even have more kinky sexual practices, like a threesome, and still be safe. I respect the efforts done for another reason as well: safe sex isn't only about diseases and pregnancy; it's also a matter of good lubrication. In spite the fact that their ads may stress the pleasure factor, they also tell you in their way not to rush (see the ad with the sperms).















As for posters and leaflets here are some tasteful and genius ideas:

Illustrations by James Jean

MTV has some of the most serious and shocking ads about safe sex. You can check more in the links below.

And since space is limited here are more links with clever ad campaigns :
staying-alive.org  mtv's ad campaign
funny and clever durex sex ads
weburbanist-creative safe sex ads
weburbanist-more creative bizarre safe sex ads
telegraph.co.uk/health
NHS campaign



In Biology class kids and teens get a laugh out of the lesson concerning the reproductive system. And I can understand them. The talk is a taboo and the words used are too classy for something that common and misused by them. It also doesn't embrace values, feelings and relationships. Pleasure is excluded, too. In Biology class we get taught for people like they are common animals. Yes, we are animals, but not just any. The immature stance of parents towards the topic, the cold scientific handling of things, the difficult position teachers find themselves in contribute to the students' little knowledge of crucial matters. Adolescents only get DON'Ts without further explanations, without any pictures of STDs... Different sexualities, different gender identities, intersexuality aren't to be discussed with serious social and personal consequences (see bullying and abortions). From CH1LDREN NOW:

Studies show that kids who feel they can talk with their parents about sex—because their moms and dads speak openly and listen carefully to them—are less likely to engage in high-risk behavior as teens than kids who do not feel they can talk with their parents about the subject.[...]

While our children need to know the biological facts about sex, they also need to understand that sexual relationships involve caring, concern and responsibility. [...]

One aspect that many parents overlook when discussing sex with their child is dating. As opposed to movies, where two people meet and later end up in bed together, in real life there is time to get to know each other—time to hold hands, go bowling, see a movie, or just talk.[...]

Why sex ed?
guardian.co.uk
avert.org

More educational links:
http://www.sexualityandu.ca/ with good graph about STDs and knowlegde games. seperate parents', teachers' and teens' sections
parenting.com_ handling questions about sex
Dr. Berman's handbook (pdf)_ talking to your children about sex: how and when plus some illustrations of genital anatomy
sexperienceuk.channel4.com_ many Q & A, many videos and real photos' gallery. works best for UK
http://www.sexinfo101.com/sexualpositions.shtml
kama sutra instructional videos, beautifully filmed and quite helpful by eros exotica