1. 1
Section Name
ANECDOTIER
Let’s Talk About Sex
Bhawna Sati
S
ex, the word alone brings
frown to faces in this
country. It’s okay to abuse
in public, to piss in public, but
it’s not okay to talk about sex
out in the open. This erotophobic
attitude had made the topic of
sex forbidden for a long time and
subsequently sex education a
big no-no. But this is the reason
which makes sex education all
the more important in today’s
time. Sex Education is a topic
which the parents avoid to talk
about and teachers at school are
not equipped enough to impart
knowledge on. So who is going
to talk about it? Well there seems
to be an answer and that is the
private counselling centres.
A number of private
institutions and counselling
centres have come up in the
city which are not only open to
imparting sex education but are
also professionals at that. These
institutions organise seminars
and workshops at schools and
privately on various aspects of
sex education. These centres not
only provide sex education to
children and teenagers but also
guide parents and teachers. One
such organisation called ‘out
of the box’ founded by Anju
Kishinchandani, was born out
of the need to answer her son’s
question regarding sex education.
“My kids started asking me
questions and I didn’t want to
tell him the wrong things or not
to answer those questions.” says
Kishinchandani on how she
started with her workshops.
One of the reasons that these
private institutions are needed is
the hesitation of the parents to
talk about sex education to their
children. The topic is a taboo and
the parents feel uncomfortable
due to the lack of knowledge. This
is where these institutions come
to rescue. The professionals in
these centres are trained and have
knowledge about the subject.
The sex education does not only
have sex as the only aspect, as
the conception goes, but has
many other important features
to it. “Sex education is not just an
Heart to Heart: Minnu Bhonsle conducting a class on sex education
Picture Courtesy: Abhilash Mallick
Moving on from ‘Birds and Bees’ to open discussions in classrooms
2. 2 ANECDOTIER
Section Name
education of the sexual act, that’s
what most people think. When
you are talking to a child about
good touch, bad touch, that is sex
education, talking about changes
in your body, your puberty, that’s
sex education. In fact,
if you are talking about
menopause to a lady that
is also sex education.”
says Kishinchandani.
In an environment
where the children
have so much access to
the internet and other
material, it becomes the
needofthehourtoimpart
sex education. Kishinchandani
states, “Just like you may not
want your kindergarten child to
cross the road alone because it’s
dangerous; similarly, allowing
your child to walk out without
a proper course in sex-education
can be as dangerous.”
A common opposition that
comes in the way of sex education
is that it is considered against
the Indian culture. But the sex
educators disagree. “Is raping a
girl part of our culture? No. But it
still happens. Our culture was one
of the most open if you go back to
the older days. Somewhere it all
changed, but it is the need of the
hour to talk about sex education”
says Kishinchandani. Rajan
Bhonsle, co-founder of heart
to heart foundation, believes
the same. “Our Indian culture
was always very accepting of
sexuality. We built the Khajuraho
Temples thousands of years ago,
sex education was a very much
part of our culture” he adds.
Today, when we
daily hear about rape
and molestation, it
points towards how
sexuality is being
perceived in our
society. This calls
for an urgent change
in the outlook and
perception of sex and
sex education. The
good news is that people are
now opening up and willing to
educate themselves and their
children about sex education
and these private institutions are
providing a helping hand to get
the taboo off the word sex and its
education.
“Just like you may not want your
kindergarten child to cross the road
alone because it’s dangerous; similarly,
allowing your child to walk out without
a proper course in sex education can be
as dangerous”
MOBILE APPS: THE NEW SEX EDUCATORS
Why do you use mobile apps: to order apparels, to look for restaurants or to book movie tickets? Well, you can do
much more than that with your phone, you can educate yourself about sex. The digital world is becoming a one stop
solution for almost all the problems and now there are apps that are breaking the taboo of sex and education. Here
is a list of top 4 apps that will guide you on your path to sex education with just a swipe of your finger:
1. It Matters: The app built by Access Matters, a Philadelphia based NGO focuses on topic of sexual
health and STDs. The app provides the user with information on specific topics and let’s them ask
question to the experts. One thing that makes this app unique is that it caters to the health issues of
LGBT community as well and .
Available for: IOS, Android
2. My Sex Doctor: This app caters to both teenagers and adult and answers questions on topics like
puberty, mensuration, pregnancy and contraceptives. The app incorporates sex dictionary including
definitions from acne to abortion etc. The app also provides for expert advice on sex relarted issues.
The content is age specific and one can choose from the desired version of the app corresponding to
the age of the user.
Available for: Android
4. Birdees: Birdees is a digital platform which imparts sex education to kids using various cartoon
characters like Beetriz the bee, Archie the Owl etc . Apart from website and the app, Birdees is also
available in e-book format which one can download from the website itself.
Available for: Online only
