education = empowerment (and better + safer sex)
Informed Consent is a community based initiative that works to provide sexual health education from the lens of Whole Person Sexuality.
Synopsis:
Informed Consent: permission granted in the full knowledge of the possible consequences and benefits.
It is not sufficient to simply say “yes.” You have the right to know what you are agreeing to.
Without education one cannot make informed decisions | Without consent one individual can not a have access to another.
The Issue
The core issue we see in modern culture is a prevalence of low sexual education and esteem at the foundational level. The lack of comprehensive education corrodes our ability to cultivate healthy self awareness and empowerment. Without that empowerment we perceive both ourselves and others as having little or no value, and thus are more likely to engage in self destructive and high risk sexual practices. In addition without culturally and community integrated rites of passage in the western world, we seek out those high risk behaviors to feel challenged and ‘alive.’
Our Solution:
In response to these issues both at the macro level and as specifically voiced by the communities we’re from, Informed Consent will create safe and open spaces for those communities to become better educated, hold informed discussions, and share stories about sexual health, esteem, and well-being without shame or judgement. By re-examining and normalizing sexual identity we believe education can act as one part of larger initiation of young and old alike, while duly bringing the weight and importance of legally binding contracts into the conversation of sexual consent and education.
Whole Person Sexuality is the foundation from which Informed Consent has grown. We define it as the open acknowledgement and discussion of one’s sexuality and gender not just internally but as an integral part of healthy community. By sharing our self perception and esteem, as they relate to other individuals and the community, we can become more sexually and emotionally literate, engendering healthy intimate relationships with self and others.
As seekers ourselves, our goal is to help cultivate the interdependent sexual health of the entire community.
We will attempt this through the creation of a series of informational videos, each providing facts, stories, and interviews from local community members about a particular topic. Each of these will be shown through a public forum, where after the viewing, we will host a heartfelt dialogue encouraging community members to hold genuine and authentic conversation, in which nothing is taboo, but respect is always non-negotiable.
who are WE anyway?
Informed Consent is the love-child of Erika Carter, RN and M Dane Zahorsky. Find more about us HERE
topics addressed
Self-Image: Body-Image, Shame, & How to Have More Positive Self Talk
Rites of Passage and Sexuality: How to be a Grown Ass [ ].
Self-Pleasure: The Mechanics + Assumptions & Expectations
Sex: The Mechanics + Assumptions & Expectations
LGBTQ: Survival, Support, & Safety
Trans-Talk: Gender, Sexuality, & Perception
STD’s: Prevention, Signs, Symptoms, & Treatments
HIV+ [Culture & Normalization]
Menstruation as a Sacred and Vital Act
Promiscuity & Dynamic Sexuality: Freedom vs Dysfunction
How to Have Healthy Relationships: Sensuality, Touch, Attentiveness, & Erogenous Zone Bias
Pregnancy: Prevention, Termination, Contraception, & Post Pregnancy Resources
Sexual Assault: Rape, Abuse, the Signs of an Abusive Relationship & the Culture of Taking
Consent Culture: Mandatory & Proactive Communication
Parenting in a Sexually Modern World