“Let’s talk about sex, baby. Let’s talk about you and me.”
As alluded to in Salt-n-Pepa’s hit song from the early 90s, there is probably nothing that runs through a young adult’s mind more than sex. Yet it’s a topic that is rarely discussed outside the locker room and with credible sources.
Let’s face it, most guys learned about sex through online porn – and we all know how “real” that is.
That’s the problem.
In a typical sex-education class, beyond learning the basic anatomy or sex organs of both the male and female body, not much is discussed in terms of safe sex except for preventing unintentional pregnancy.
Enter BeforePlay.org – a Colorado sexual health campaign whose mission is to spur conversation and provide unbiased, easy to understand information on sexual health that was accurate and reliable for young adults aged 18 to 29.
“The reason [we focused on young adults] is that’s where we see the highest number of unintended pregnancy. This group has higher rates of STDs and other sexual health needs,” said Greta Klingler, Family Planning Supervisor at BeforePlay.org. “This age group doesn’t want to be told what to do. They want something that is funny, but reliable and weird. This site is fun and non-judgemental.”
It’s exciting to see programs like this emerging throughout the country – especially ones that have a male component in their education and outreach that aim to start a conversation.
“Men historically have been very overlooked in the pregnancy planning,” Klinger said. “We want to recognize their input and experience. They are a very important piece of this puzzle. If we want to make an impact, we need to include men in this issue.”
Overall, the site has been extremely successful. Since the site went live in Feb. 2012, there have been 2.5 million hits to the website. Additionally, the campaign has gathered a strong Facebook campaign of over 20,000.
“The most commonly viewed pages on the site are the STD pages, but so many of the visitors jump over to the ‘Get Talking’ and ‘birth control’ pages. People are spending a lot of time interacting with the ‘Get Talking’ page and it’s really exciting.”
Additionally, Klinger said that the impact of social media on their campaign has been a huge part of the success of the campaign. “To see some of the conversations that have played out has been really fantastic. Whether it’s about birth control methods, or starting a conversation about sexual health. It’s been very cool to see the conversation starting around this traditionally taboo topic.”
So get on with it. Let’s talk about sex, baby. Let’s talk about you and me….
Visit BeforePlay.org and see all the resources available on sexual health and education.
