FINALLY! Technology-based Prevention Strategies Hit the Mainstream!

"'It's safe to say that some of the [current STD/HIV] prevention efforts are not working. New, innovative methods will be required to get through to this generation of young people, for whom text messaging and the Internet are integral parts of daily life,' says Dr. Yolanda Wimberly, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the Morehouse School of Medicine and the medical director for the Center for Excellence in Sexual Health."

Oh, Yolanda, ISIS <3 U. According to the new "Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2007" report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, STD transmission rates are on the rise – particularly among women and minorities, between 15 to 24 years old.

FINALLY! The mainstream media, doctors, health educators and even the government have discovered what we at ISIS have known for about seven years now: Technology, particularly internet-based and text messaging, is an incredibly effective way of making sexual health information easy and nearly free to access for everyone.

Our peer STD partner notification website, inSpot has been replicated in 10 states, 11 cities and is quickly growing. SexINFO, our sexual health text messaging program has been replicated in Washington D.C. as part of the RealTalk Campaign and is definitely the service to watch. Both of these services break down the barriers that prevent open, honest communication around sexual health and fill the information void.

Surely this article has piqued your interest in technology-based STD prevention methods, so you’ll definitely want to check out the Sex::Tech Conference Focus On Youth, where innovators in technology, past, present and future and sexual health badasses converge to show us all the goods they’ve been cooking up to facilitate dialogue and prevent disease transmission. The Sex::Tech Conference is the only place that you’ll be able to see many of these emerging sexual health innovations and talk to their makers. There might (definitely!) be some ideas or partnerships for you to take back to your organization and implement in the future!

Redefine Abortion? Put Your Foot Down Via Online Petition

It's an epic bummer to realize that this new era of Obama led change that we've all been so looking forward to will be wrapped up with undoing the last 8 years of Bush era legislation – particularly around sex education and abortion rights.

Bush being the sneaky sneaky lame duck he is has tried to pass "a regulation establishing a 'right of conscience' allowing medical staff to refuse to participate in any practice they object to on moral grounds, including abortion but possibly birth control and other health care". Surprised? We're not.

Needless to say passing such legislation would be problematic for many, because who wants their doctor to have the ability to refuse an individual medical care based on their personal rather than professional objections? Let's fight back with the peeps over at Planned Parenthood Action Center by digitally signing and circulating this petition that aims to "Tell the Bush Administration to Keep its Word: Stop Efforts to Redefine "Abortion" to Include Birth Control".

Microsoft Helps Teachers Get Digital

The classroom is often the site for stimulating innovation but unfortunately the tools used are not that innovative. Kids are beyond bored by the current teaching methods and are prohibited from using their cell phones, laptops and other emerging tech goodies that are components of their daily lives. Instead of banning technology from classrooms, teachers and administrators from preschool to college should consider integrating it as education aids since they are platforms that kids and young adults feel the most at home and engaged with, especially when it comes to sex education.

Microsoft explored how schools are failing to adapt to their students’ digital lifestyles at their School of the Future World Summit in Seattle. Microsoft also showed off some of their projects that aim to remedy the digital disconnect, like their “content-creation tools” for teachers to assemble digital content for students and a Surface tabletop computer that could revolutionize how information is presented and absorbed.

Microsoft’s School of the Future World Summit has planted the seeds to get educators thinking about embracing technology in the classroom. Imagine if homework assignments could be sent from the teachers “content-creation tool” directly to youth’s cell phones (so there’s no excuse for them not to get their assignments done) or if they could display critical sexual health information and diagrams on those sexy Surface tabletop computers.

Channel 4 and Embarrassing Teenage Bodies

In an earlier post I went on and on about this great UK based online sex education show called obviously enough The Sex Education Show. After doing a little more digging on the host site, Channel 4, I found the "Embarrassing Bodies" section. The idea behind the section and its accompanying webisodes (Called "Am I Normal") is to remind you not to let embarrassment stop you from keeping your body healthy. The Am I Normal webisodes are frank open and honest. What I think is most helpful and informative about them is that if they are talking about a penis, they will show you a penis. When they try to assure the viewer that there is a wide range of normal for a vagina they show you actual vaginas representing that range. They've just blown past innuendo and started talking facts. I love the Brits!

Check out the info video:




Am I normal penis:



Am I Normal Vagina

Announcing the new ISIS myspace page

Internet Sexuality Information Systems, Inc. (ISIS) is excited to announce the launch of our new MySpace page!




Definitely check out the site to hear and see the latest and greatest ways to practice safe sex and find answers to sexually related questions that you might not be able to ask any of your friends or family.



We showcase some of the winners of the Fresh Focus Sex Ed Video Contest as well as the winners of some of our latest contests and the messages are tight. There are photos from the 2008 Sex::Tech Conference held in San Francisco and the latest info on what ISIS is getting ready to launch in the coming months.



We hope you enjoy and visit often, tell your friends to log on as well.



See you soon!


Blessings,



AfroPeruvian Queen






























Blessings,







AfroPeruvian Queen

Planned Parenthood takes care of your down theres

Planned Parenthood wowed me today. I saw Take Care Down There for the first time this morning and gobbled up all 9 of the videos. TCDT addresses sexual health issues that are important to young people, while making solid fun of 'adults'...while trusting that, yeah, sometimes they do have good answers.

The short starburst-y clips touch on masturbation, queerness, communication in bed and include simple messages like "women should get tested once a year, and men should get tested before starting a new relationship." And while that's pretty basic, it's also pretty dang palatable.

There is also an amazing song which includes lovely names for our mentionables like, furry pink canoe, hum diddler, panty hampster and love-log.

Oh, and the site has a handy zip code search for a clinic near you along with a check list of what to bring with you ('friend' makes the list) and an ask a nurse function.

Grand slam. I dig it.

Sex, Film and Videotape: 100 Years of Sexual Health

Mark the date
Thursday May 1st 8pm
at The Roxie
3117 16th St, San Francisco
ISIS presents our first public screening

Sex, Film and Videotape: 100 Years of Sexual Health

Award winning filmmaker and human sexuality expert, Dr Mark Schoen, will be presenting footage of early sexual health films from the 1900s to the present day and he will also provide narration/commentary on the footage concerning the social implications of the films.

Underwear Design Contest launches!

What if your underwear really did have the last word? Too many of us miss the opportunity to talk to our partners about STD/HIV prevention and other ways of maintaining a rockin' sex life.

inBrief is an underwear design contest where you get to design your own STD/HIV prevention slogan or sexual health motto on a pair of boxers, underpants or a T-Shirt. The winning design gets a 1000 bucks and we'll make a dozen pairs of your design! You have until May 15th!

We've partnered with Brickfish to run this contest because (they rock) each entry can be shared in multiple ways. You can email entries, blog them, and bookmark them. This way, sexual health messages can take on a course of their own! Brickfish even maps how viral the entries become and you can follow their progress.


Cyrene, of Fresh Focus Video Contest fame made us this sweet animation. (Check out her previous work, "Sex Monsters"). Feel free to re-post this video. Click 'share' for the embed code. Or, steal our press release.

And now...start making undies.

Deb Chimes in on the Podcast "The Wet Spot"

Check out this podcast featuring Dr Jeff Klausner, Dr Sheana Bull of University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Dr John Santelli and our one and only Executive Director Deb Levine.

SMS and Computer Based Sex Ed in Nigeria

LearningAboutLiving.org is a computer based sex ed program for Nigerian youth. The site guides students and teachers through some of the rough puberty topics by offering conversation- starting texts and suggestions for activities. The topics for discussion range from: Body Image, Love/Friendship, Assertiveness and HIV/STIs. I do have to mention that though the site offers fodder for discussion the word condom never appears.

The really interesting portion of this curriculum is the text in feature. I would love to know how it works in a little more detail. But it seems that when students have questions they aren't comfortable asking an adult or in a group setting they can text their issue and receive a personalized response. In the first 2 months the service fielded 10,000 questions. I think it would be great to include the questions and responses on the site so students who didn't know how to frame their questions could learn from their peers.

Zizi Sexuel

I know, I know, here I am again snuggling up to The French. Call me a Francophile if you will. But the fact remains that they seem to have a completely different approach to talking to their kids about sex. Check out this LA Times article about the Paris exhibition Zizi Sexuel. The exhibition and accompanying website seem to be a frank exploration of what really goes on with a penis and a vagina, including the physical and emotional mechanics. (The exhibition looks to be strictly hetero, but every gem has a scratch- right)

Zizi Sexuel seems to try and pick up where parents leave off. The LA Times article quotes one mother who brought her daughter to the exhibition as saying "We talk about some things," the 42-year-old mother said, hesitantly, "but penetration -- that I had trouble with."

She has trouble talking to her 8 year old daughter about penetration?!?! I thought that was a really refreshing problem after glaring at the new cover of Cosmo in line at Walgreens. I mean seriously... do we really have to infantilize the vagina in order to talk about it directly?

Abstinence Only!? You could even pay me...

Ok, I admit it, I am a "perfect-world" Libertarian. By that I mean if we lived in a perfect world where there was mutual human kindness instead of greed and abuse I would be a card carrying Libertarian. Being that it is not a perfect world I have buried these leanings deep inside. But recently my little internal libertarian has been chomping at the bit as I read about all the states that have said "Thank you, but no" to abstinence only federal funding. I like to fantasize that the refusals of these14 (possibly more) states was not so polite and involved a certain taboo finger waving in the air and a song that said "take your 50+ mil and shove it" but I digress. It is so exciting to see states stand up for their citizens and refuse federal bulling to support a program that just doesn't work.

And why doesn't the abstinence-only-until-marriage approach work? Besides the obvious that it fails to give teens medically appropriate information about birth control, STD prevention, and the option of abortion. After watching a recent PBS Frontline Documentary called Kids Online I have a little fledgling, not quite fully formed hypothesis as to why this approach is doomed to continual and repeated failure. One of the ideas brought up by the documentary is that this generation of kids grew up with the internet and are used to and expect immediate access. They never racked their brains all day trying to remember that actor's name that was in that movie.... or, the next lyric after "my girl wants to party all the time..." or who is buried in Grants Tomb? They can just look it up. They probably never had to listen expectantly to the sound of a dial-up modem while waiting for it to grant them access to the world wide web. These kids have had constant and immediate access to all the information they have ever wanted a suddenly we adults want to try and deny them access to information about the one topic they think about all the time. Sex. It just won't work.

Hats off to the 14 states so far that have turned their collective backs on $50 million.

Sex::Tech into the future - themes from the morning

Running around with our nerdy heads in the Sex::Tech clouds was the ultimate. However, the one regret that most of us at ISIS have is that we couldn't enjoy everything. However, the sessions that we did all enjoy together, the keynotes, really framed some of the central challenges public health-ers and educators on shoestring budgets are facing.

Day one:
Given the opportunity, youth will tell us what they want. They will tell us what's missing from the prevention messages they receive. Why doesn't public health employ more young people to reach their peers? "Digital natives" know how this stuff works. They are masters of flash, they are widget geniuses, networking gurus and mobile warriors. We should all diversify the age range of our staff.

Day two:
We are a creative group, scrappy fighters, and strategic friend makers. So...we need to make friends with the ad people, the business people, web designers and folks that don't always live in a pile of epi stats. Partnerships outside of government health arenas and outside of education are a great idea.

For more conference takes:
Margaret (ISIS' youth outreach coordinator) wraps things up nicely on the Sex::Tech blog as does our superpal Cory Silverberg in his post of the century on About.com. Also spreading the word are SexRev2.0 blogger Regina Lynn, Melissa Gira who live-blogged Marty Klein's popular session for thos who missed it, and Jeremy Fisher, our talented Fresh Focus third place winner.

Phalligator will soon return to regular programming with what's happening in the center of the sex/health/technology Venn diagram.

Sex::Tech Mega Success!

ISIS staff is taking the rest of the week off to recoup after an amazing, surprising and wonderfully productive two days.

We want to extend our warmest thanks to all of our participants both in front of and behind the scenes.

We are working on finding the best ways to connect Sex::Tech participants virtually, as well as share thoughts and materials between us so we can continue to work together. We will be sending out follow-up information early next week.

Let's not lose this momentum! With new partnerships, new friends and a budding Sex::Tech community the possibilities for new media's influence on youth sexual health and sexual happiness are endless.

Eighteen Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty

That's right, as of this morning, 18,830 votes have been cast in our Fresh Focus Sex Ed Video Contest.

Amazing.

What else can be said? The amount of time and investment each video maker put in to this contest has consistently floored me and that same dedication is showing in the votes. I want to take a moment and write about one of the ten final contenders.

(I want to state up front that I love all ten finalists and plan on writing about each one individually, and my writing about this video first in no way betrays a personal bias. )

The video is called Sex.Ed.101 by Kalimah Abioto from Virginia (which happens to be my home state, hmmmmm maybe a little personal bias.) The video is quiet and thoughtful. Some of the other videos used a rowdy, jolly humor that kept me giggling. But this one was tuned way down like a low pleasant hum. Abioto uses dialogue sparsely and juxtaposes still images with moving ones in a beautiful way. Check it out:

Vote for your favorite Fresh Focus finalists!

The Fresh Focus Sex-Ed Video Contest finalists have been decided. Now is your chance to vote for your favorites. It's almost impossible to decide. Really...I don't know how anyone could really pick a favorite. But...you have to.

Here's one of my personal favorites that just barely missed the top ten...but it makes me smile every time.



Go to DoGooder.tv/freshfocusvideocontest to VOTE VOTE VOTE

The winning videos that you select will be presented by Nikol from the Midwest Teen Sex Show on Tuesday morning, January 22nd at Sex::Tech. And youth finalists will be on hand to answer questions.

If you haven't already, check out how MTSS rocks Katie Couric.

Teen birth rates may be rising - Let the "why?" debate rage on

In the Washington Post today, an article by Rob Stein called "Teen Birth Rate Rises in U.S., Reversing 14 Year Decline" ponders just why teen birth rates might be rising. The opinions couldn't be more different.

Is it that abstinence only messages have left our teens without the tools to protect themselves, or is it that condom promotion messages are encouraging increased sexual behavior?

Allegra Madsen, ISIS' new program manager, asked John Santelli, teen health expert at Columbia University, about his thoughts on the new data:

"Multiple social and policy factors are presumably influencing the recent rise in teen birth rates," offered Santelli. "One possibility is a decline in contraceptive use. The 2005 YRBS [Youth risk Behavior Surveillance] data suggests such a decline (a small decrease in condom use and a small increase in non use compared to 2003). One factor that may have contributed to a decline in contraceptive use would be the negative information on condom and contraceptive use that many abstinence only programs include."

Another thing is also clear. This debate is being played out among adults, health professionals, politicians, etc. But what do that teens want? What do they think they need?

The Fresh Focus Sex Ed Video Contest gives young adults (under 30) a chance to say what they want. We're asking film makers to imagine the future of sex ed, and what they think would work better. We're offering a $3500 first place prize, along with a chance to screen their videos at the Sex::Tech Conference in SF on January 22nd.

As I posted yesterday, Jennifer Garner isn't the only one who didn't get any formal sex education, check out the Fresh Focus submissions so far and judge for yourself.

Fresh Focus buzz ... controversy and excitement!

The Fresh Focus Sex Ed Video Contest, a joint effort between ISIS and RH Reality Check, is making some waves...and we don't expect things to calm down before the videos premier at Sex::Tech!

Andy Carvin, internet activist, education technology expert and host of Learning.now, highlighted us in his article titled Social Media vs. Social Diseases. He brings up some very interesting issues and elaborates on one of our main goals, which is to let the young people who have the greatest need for frank sex education tell us exactly what they need:

"I’m so intrigued by this project, because it’s basically accepting the premise that students will likely participate on their own time, far away from the classroom, since that’s the only way for them to be frank and open about the issues. They want students to talk about a particular curriculum, but do an end-run around the entire educational system, using the Internet to engage students without interference by teachers or administrators."

Andy also reviews some of our current submissions (which you can watch here).

In related news, our Sex::Tech keynote hosts, creators of the Midwest Teen Sex Show, were just featured in the Wall Street Journal in an awesome article by Andrew LaVallee. The article discusses the satirical nature vs. educational value of the show, two things that aren't necessarily in opposition to each other. Ultimately a great article!

The podcast is No.7 in the Health category on iTunes with 50,000 subscribers. Way to go MTSS!

Nikol and Britney will be at Sex::Tech!

Check the promo video from Midwest Teen Sex Show. Nikol and Britney will be at Sex::Tech in January to present the finalists and winners of the Fresh Focus Sex Ed Video Contest.



We have gotten several video submissions already...check them out and plan your own!

Youth Radio covers sexual health issues

Youth Radio offers media training to youth ages 14-17 to promote young people's intellectual and creative growth. Involved youth have access to industry professionals and get to participate in the production of award winning programming.

Youth Radio programming covers just about everything of interest to young adults. Here is a small taste of some of their STD, HIV and Sex Ed programming.

Get Tested

Shooting Down HPV

Latinos and AIDS

Changing the Course of Sex Education

To get involved as a youth check out these options.
To learn about supporting Youth Radio and their new expanded offices check out the Support Us page. A $200 donation provides field staff with recording equipment, and $50 provides teachers with supplies for after school tutoring.

Stay tuned to find out how Youth Radio may work with ISIS to report on the Sex::Tech conference.