June 9 is National Sex Educator Appreciation Day!
Sex education saves lives.
And not just because of condoms and STIs.
Sex education saves the quality of lives.
It teaches:
love
health
respect
pleasure
kindness
emotions
self-worth
connection
compassion
responsibility
human rights
communication
Because:
fear
guilt
abuse
shame
cruelty
violence
misogyny
ignorance
repression
homophobia
voicelessness
low self-esteem
emotional isolation
unhappy relationships
is no way for humans to live, and we deserve better.
Sex educators are fun, passionate and highly qualified professionals, often with advanced degrees, who make the world a better, happier, safer place, and save lives.
But it is a misunderstood profession.
From abstinence only funding, to censorship, protesting parents, community backlash and harassment, an overarching cultural shame of sexuality that makes our students hard to reach, and a profound society-wide misconception about what sexuality educators even do and why it's important, sex educators are up against a lot when they go to work every day.
And they don't make much money.
Current job listings nationwide for sex educators, gathered across the non-profit sector, higher education, and government positions, pays an average of $31,618 per year. Many require the advanced degrees and years of experience most sex educators possess.
On June 9, thank a sex educator for the important but often underpaid and unappreciated work they do.
June 9- 6/9, because sex educators have a sense of humor and are known for bringing a fun lightness to a serious job :)
Observe National Sex Educator Appreciation Day by:
- Using the #SexEducatorAppreciationDay hashtag on social media and tagging your favorite sex educators.
- Contacting your local school board and telling them you support sex ed K-12 and the hiring of more qualified sex educators.
- Contacting your representative and telling them you want more funding for community sex ed programming for all ages and more money allocated for sex educator salaries.
- Contacting a sex educator's supervisor and telling them how much their work has meant to you/your child. If they are a freelance or self-employed sex educator, leave a 5 star review for their business/books/podcast/blog on Yelp/GoodReads/iTunes, etc.
- Supporting a sex educator by buying their book, attending their workshops, or subscribing to their digital library.
- Hosting a fundraiser to support an individual sex educator or sex education non-profit.
- Buying lunch or teaching supplies for a sex educator who saved the quality of your life.
- Sending a thank you note. That's always appreciated!