Sense Project

Are you interested in leading sex ed workshops with youth? Do you want to contribute to the Sense Project at Head & Hands? We are currently seeking new volunteer animators for the 2010-11 school year!

Some need-to-know info about applying to be a Sense Project animator:

• New animators must be aged 25 and under
• We’re looking for people who can commit to being an animator for the entire school year (Sept-early Dec, Jan-May)
• Animators should have at least some availability on weekdays during the day. Some evening and weekend availability is appreciated too. Last year’s animators volunteered an average of 65 hours each throughout the school year, but how much you end up volunteering depends on your schedule and your availability.
• Bilingualism is not mandatory, but it’s an asset if you are comfortable animating in French. The working language of the training is English.
• It is also an asset if you have previous animation experience or experience working with youth, but it’s not a requirement.
• It is mandatory to attend the full animator training (see dates below)

Animator training dates:

Tuesday Sept. 7^th 6-9pm

Thursday Sept. 9^th 6-9pm

Saturday Sept. 11^th 11-4pm

Tuesday Sept. 14^th 6-9pm

Thursday Sept. 16^th 6-9pm

Saturday Sept. 18^th 11-4pm

Tuesday Sept. 21^st 6-9pm

Thursday Sept. 23^rd 6-9pm

Saturday Sept. 25^th 11-4pm

If you meet these criteria, please contact Nikki at (514)481-0277 or healthed@headandhands.ca. We’ll then book a short screening interview with selected volunteers! The deadline to apply is Friday, August 13^th. If you have any questions, contact Nikki at (514) 481-0277!

Check it out (for queer women) and Check it out guys (for trans men) are two awesome campaigns that spread the word about the importance of getting regular Pap tests, regardless of who you have sex with.

Nice posters, too! Click for more

As they say:

“…we may have been told by doctors and other health care providers that because we have sex with other women, we do not need Pap tests. This is NOT true. Anyone with a cervix who has ever been sexually active needs a Pap test.”

But WHY? Because HPV, the major cause of cervical cancer, is a sexually transmitted infection that is passed on through genital skin to skin contact. You do not need to have penetrative sex in order to get HPV.

Meaning > If you’re sexually active (in any way), even if you don’t have sex with men, you should still get regular paps!

Meaning > If you have ever in your life had any kind of sexual activity with anyone that involved the genital area, you need a Pap.

The website also has advice for making pap tests and pelvic exams easier for trans guys as well as an awesome tip sheet for health care providers to give sensitive, empowering paps.

Montreal youth aged 12-25 can get Pap tests and STI tests right here at Head & Hands! Check our clinic schedule here.

A Switzerland company manufactures condoms for 12-year-old boys, and plans to distribute them outside of Switzerland. While it’s only a minority of 12-year-olds that are sexually active (and the sex is typically very occasional), I believe safer sex supplies should still be available for them, and a condom that fits your penis size is also great if you want to practice with it, which we always encourage people to do in workshops.

A standard condom has a diameter of 52mm in comparison with the Hotshot’s 45mm. Both are the same length – 190mm.

According to a study of 13 to 20-year-olds, a quarter said that a standard condom was too large.

Hilary Pannack, of teenage pregnancy charity Straight Talking Peer Education, said: ‘We know young people are having sex and if this is what it takes to protect them, we need to go along with it.’

Condoms in ‘extra small’ for boys age 12 set for Britain’s shelves soon @ Mail Online

Mega meta pop phenomenon Lady Gaga is at it again!  As if I needed another reason to love the Lady, her newest tirade about teens and safer sex in this article Lady Gaga’s Message to Fans: “Have Safe Sex” totally made me smile and nod.

I really like this part, where she talks about her fans:

“I see them every night and they are so beautiful and precious and lovely, but some of them are insecure and very troubled and not confident,” she said.

“I meet them and they cry, and they say ‘Gaga you make me feel like I belong’.

“And I think to myself about that one girl or those hundreds of thousands of girls who meet that guy at a club who makes them feel like they belong and they don’t have that negotiation.”

I think she brings up a great point about how body image and self confidence can really impact a person’s enjoyment of sex and their ability to negotiate things like condom use.  Non?

Gaga also recently caused a fuss when she launched her own brand of designer condoms.

Also, whether a person is sexually active or not, they can still wear a garbage bag-like contraption on their heads a la Gaga - SEXY, SAFE AND STYLISH!