Some pieces of this email have been adapted from this month’s Thunder Thighs email, a newsletter for body-related news with a social justice bent, recently published clips, books recs, silly memes, and gifs used solely to convey my deepest emotions. Subscribe if you’re interested in my musings beyond sex ed.
The morning after the presidential election—a morning on which I woke up early, checked my phone, and proceeded to stare at the ceiling for an hour—feels like forever ago. I have lived entire lifetimes since then. Haven’t you?
Before any of us even had a chance to take a breath that morning, the headlines began screaming at us about all the terrible things that would now come to pass. Duh, I thought. We already know. Can you give us some moments??
As for the election results themselves, I was unsurprised but also disappointed. A little bit heartbroken. A little bit numb.
After floating around with that feeling of numbness for a bit, I eventually reached a renewed sense of determination to continue doing what I was doing. To continue caring for and supporting those who need it most. Because I don’t want to spend the next four years swallowed up by my own anger.
Make no mistake. Another Trump administration will have disastrous consequences. I bring it up here because your children will also be impacted. Their education will be impacted. Your ability to protect and support them will be impacted. (Take a stroll through Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise if you don’t believe me.)
But my anger has only ever hurt me, and I don’t want to stay in that space. I believe, instead, in focusing on the things I can control.
To that end, I wanted to share my guiding principles for the year(s) ahead:
Community. Hold tight to your community. Don’t be afraid to lean on them. Don’t forget that they need you, too. And if you feel motivated to make change, remember that these are your people, and they can help you. We’re stronger together.
I am finding community in so many places these days. My writer-friends. My mom friends. The Feminist Book Club. My old social justice choir. The Sex Education Alliance.
Nurture the communities of which you’re already a part. Look for new ways to connect with others. This is what will help carry you through the days ahead.
Care. We can’t change what happened on November 5. All we can do is keep moving forward, looking to those who can most use our help and giving it when we can.
For me, that’s meant continuing to contribute to my local mutual aid organization. Sending gifts to those in need through the Transanta initiative. Donating to a NJ-based organization called the Pink Haven Collective. Culling my closet of superfluous coats for a local coat drive. Singing in a pickup choir during an interfaith service for the Transgender Day of Remembrance.
I am hungry for more and new ways to care for others. If you are, too, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Look for local initiatives in your community.
And maybe share some of your favorites in the comments below.
Support Small, Local Organizations. In my Thunder Thighs newsletters, I focused on shopping small for the holidays. But since we’re in a sex ed space, I also want to encourage you to support your small, local sex ed organizations. Some of my favorites:
You can search for more organizations and resources on the resource page of Guerrilla Sex Ed, or search the legislation map to see if there are any small organizations local to you.
And of course, share your faves below! If you know of a local organization that should be included on the site, I absolutely want to know about it.
And remember that this is your community, too. If you have an initiative you’d like to move forward or you need advice on how best to support your child at this time or you just want a safe space to share what you’re feeling, this is the space for that. You can leave a comment below or message me directly.
Take care of yourself out there. Take care of each other.
Full Disclosure: Sex Ed in the News
This one came in through my local news site: N.J. school accidentally released names of kids who opted out of sex education. And while yes, this was a terrible breach of privacy, I’m more interested by the observation tacked onto the end of the article, from a release by the New Jersey Public Schools Coalition: “This clearly confirms that the claims of the right-wing organizations do not represent a majority, and the organizations that have been making those claims are misinformed and have been pursuing a campaign of disinformation. These organizations do not represent anything near a majority of parents.”
New Sex Ed Resources
The Center for Anti-Violence Education released these tips for calling folks in at family gatherings. They posted it to their Insta ahead of Thanksgiving, but I’m sure December will bring many more opportunities to put those tips to use.
Educator Kathleen Hema has some great insight on how to respond to kids’ questions on when the right age is to have sex. This is probably also a good time to mention that Hema offers a Top Talks parenting course.
Activate: The Center to Bring Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Research to Youth-Supporting Professionals released a guide on how to decode signs of sexual cyberbullying and support teens and youth.
Action Step
EducateUS is fundraising to support pro-sex ed organizers and school board candidates. You can donate here, or read their tips on how to start your own fundraising initiative.
Hot Take
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