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sex education

Education

Teacher brilliantly turns getting her period in front of her class into a teaching moment

"That boy who emailed...his parents must be incredible."

Emily Elizabeth|TikTok and Cliff Booth|Canva

Teacher starts period in front of class, turns into a lesson



Teachers are almost always teaching even when it's not in their lesson plan.

Those that were born to be teachers find teachable moments everywhere and one woman found herself in one of those moments. Though this one was likely just a bit more personal than she probably would've liked.

Emily Elizabeth posted a TikTok video about how she found herself in a predicament in front of her classroom full of 10 and 11-year-old kids. The teacher explained that she was noticing a lot of commotion and whispering among the little girls in her class while she was wearing white pants. After reminding the girls to stay on task, the whispering continued, prompting Emily to be more direct.

That's when one of the girls asked to speak with her privately dropping the bomb that no one that gets periods wants to hear in public.

"She goes, 'I'm sorry Ms. Emily, but I just want to let you know that I think you might have got your period,'" the teacher recalls.

But instead of freaking out or being flustered, Emily decided to swallow her embarrassment and use the moment as a teachable experience. She promptly told the concerned girls that it was fine and that she had a change of clothes that she could wear. Just before excusing herself, the boys noticed something was wrong so they curiously asked. Emily informed them that she had gotten her period and while she was annoyed, she was perfectly fine.

One of the boys even sent her an email double checking that she was okay in a less public way. The sweet reaction from her class warmed her heart and the hearts of viewers.

"That boy who emailed...his parents must be incredible," one commenter says.

"You set an excellent example! And to not hide it from the boys who asked because that would have spoken SO LOUDLY to the boys and girls about normalizing periods," another writes.

"The email, you sound like an amazing teacher with an amazing group of kids," someone says.

You can watch Emily tell the entire story below:

@emilyelizabeth.w

Let’s normalise talking about periods for girls AND boys … trying to find the silver lining 😅 #fyp #melbourneteacher #teachersoftiktok #teacherlife

This article originally appeared on 10.2.23

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Wellness

Billie Eilish opening up about her porn use at age 11 offers a prime opportunity for parents

Lars Crommelinck Photography/Wikimedia Commons

Billie Eilish shared with Howard Stern that early porn use "destroyed" her brain.

In the internet age, parents have to talk to their kids about pornography. If parents don't, someone else will, and that someone else will more than likely be a peer or peers who don't really know what they're talking about.

But talking to kids about porn can be tricky. The when, how and how much questions are hard to navigate. Parents might worry about saying too much, too soon or too little, too late. Research shows that it's not uncommon for kids to see pornography online, either intentionally or unintentionally, and the age at which some kids are first exposed is far younger than parents might think. However uncomfortable parents might be about it, the conversation needs to start early.

Thanks to singer Billie Eilish's openness about her own porn experiences, parents now have an especially opportune "in" to bring up the subject with their kids. She recently shared with Howard Stern that consuming porn at a young age "destroyed" her brain, and that as a woman, she finds porn "a disgrace."

"I used to watch a lot of porn, to be honest," she told Stern. "I started watching porn when I was like 11. I think it really destroyed my brain, and I feel incredibly devastated that I was exposed to so much porn."

Part of the problem with porn is that so much of it depicts violence and aggression and the objectification of women. Eilish told Stern that she frequently watched violent porn, and the first few times she had sex, she didn't say "no" to things that were "not good" because she thought that's what she was supposed to find attractive.

Another problem with porn is that is gives kids unrealistic portrayals of what sex is like as well as unrealistic images of people's bodies.

"I'm so angry that porn is so loved, and I'm so angry at myself for thinking that it was okay," she said. "The way that vaginas look in porn is f—king crazy. No vaginas look like that. Women's bodies don't look like that. We don't come like that."

Hearing someone like Billie Eilish say things like this is refreshing. Eilish, 19, came onto the music scene at 14 and made it big at 17. She's attracted fans of all ages, but much of her fanbase is young, which makes her an ideal bridge between generation smartphone and the parents who didn't grow up with pornography constantly accessible at their fingertips.

If parents aren't sure where to start the conversation about porn, start here. "Hey, you know the singer Billie Eilish? Here's what she says about her experiences with porn." It's a good opportunity to ask kids what they hear in their social life, what they think, what questions they have. For kids who might think their parents are old or out of touch, hearing a young, hip celebrity drop such wisdom from a place of experience may lend some credibility to the "why you should avoid porn" lessons parents are trying to teach.

And again, it is vital that parents teach it. Dr. Michael Flood of Queensland University of Technology shared research on the negative impact of porn use on young people, including:

- shifting sexual interests, behaviors and expectations, which can impact relationships

- lowering men's relationship satisfaction and leading to coercion in sexual acts

- teaching sexist and sexually objectifying understandings of gender and sexuality

- increased violent behavior, sexually aggressive behavior and sexual harrassment, especially from men toward women

Ideally, discussions about porn are a part of larger, ongoing conversations about sex kids start having with parents at a young age. Children are curious, and answering their questions matter-of-factly (and without embarrassment, which for some parents might take some practice) provides a solid foundation for frank conversations about sex as kids get older.

Kids may not always want to talk to their parents about sex as they go through adolescence and puberty, but if they don't learn from you, they're going to learn from somewhere. It may never dawn on kids that their parents have a lot more experience with sex than their peers do, so the more we normalize talking with them about sex in healthy ways, the less (hopefully) they'll seek out answers from unreliable sources like peers and pornography.

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Wellness

These are the most unbelievable things women have heard men say about women's health

via Robin Higgins / Pixabay

Let's face it, a lot of guys are a little out of the loop when it comes to understanding women's bodies.

It seems that either they didn't pay much attention in sex education class or maybe they needed to take it for an entire year just to get the basics down. However, in some cases, men aren't taught about these issues at all.

A study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that "in 2011–2013, 43% of adolescent females and 57% of adolescent males did not receive information about birth control before they had sex for the first time."

A lot of men are in the dark on the topic of menstruation as well.

RELATED: Male athlete gets roasted for comparing period pain to skinned knees

"Boys' early learning about menstruation is haphazard," researchers Katherine Allen, Christine Kaestle and Abbie Goldberg, wrote according to Popular Science. "The mysterious nature of what happens to girls contributes to a gap in boys' knowledge about female bodies and to some negative views about girls."

However, after having heterosexual relationships with women, men tend to gain a proper understanding of menstruation. But for those who don't foster these relationships, the misunderstandings may endure.

"For the men who do not make that transition," the researchers write, "the myths and mystery from boyhood remain."

Sadly, the burden of educating these men falls on the women in their lives.

Twitter user @brownandbella asked her followers, "What is the dumbest thing a man ever said to you about sex, reproductive health, menstruation, etc?" and the responses were both hilarious and disconcerting.

As we said, a lot of guys are clueless about mensuration.

Evidently, men are having a hard time locating the "click."

They can be pretty clueless about sex, too.

Some guys need to learn more about pregnancy.






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Think young kids don't need sex ed? These adorably honest questions show they do.

A Twitter user, who says their friend teaches elementary school sex ed, recently shared student questions — and they were adorable.

Some of the best questions included:

"Wouldn't it be just as good if a boy had a baby for a change?" (Yes!)

"Are you sure that someone knows how to get a baby out of there?" (Yes!)

"If you intercourse longer is the baby born bigger?" (Good question!)

[rebelmouse-image 19496485 dam="1" original_size="750x400" caption="Photo by @kimyoogyeom, with permission" expand=1]Photo by @kimyoogyeom, with permission

First of all: VIRGINIA.

Second of all: How awesome is it that kids are asking such good questions and having myths busted right from the beginning?

I'm especially excited for the child who will soon learn that "intercoursing" does not take 24 hours.

The questions are delightful, and they drive home an important point: Early sex ed is important.

Kids won't ever stop having questions about sex and keeping the answers from them can lead to confusion.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says that developing healthy sexuality is an important part of development. Starting the discussion early helps kids gain both knowledge and autonomy over their bodies and can help them avoid risky or exploitive behavior.

A 2014 study published in Global Public Health found that kids as young as 10 benefit from learning about sex, gender identity, and contraception. Learning about sex and gender at the very beginning of puberty (or earlier) allows kids to view sex ed not just as risk prevention, but a safe space to learn about consent, their bodies, and its changes.

If we truly want to provide today's youth with all the tools they need to be safe and healthy, it's imperative that they learn about sex outside of just abstinence and risk-avoidance. And the best way to do that is by having frank and open discussions about sexuality. It may feel uncomfortable for adults, but for kids it will make a world of difference.

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