(1992) “Naughty Bits” was a feminist comic series by Roberta Gregory that sardonically addressed many concerns of young women in the nineties, including their right to reproductive choice. In “The Groovy Teen Pregnancy Ish,” Hippie Bitch becomes pregnant and, after some distress, seeks out an illegal abortion.
(1973)
cover enlargement from “Our Bodies Ourselves” “Our Bodies Ourselves” gave women a new sense of understanding and control over their physical and sexual selves. Its comforting and testimonial approach was the epitome of the modern sex guide. Read the rest of this entry »
This paperback volume was a compilation of some of Sol Gordon’s older cartoon pamphlets with additional illustrations and written advice. Read the rest of this entry »
(May 1989)
Matilda Publications (New York NY)
magazine
“Sassy” magazine heralded a new way of thinking about girls and sexuality, encouraging them to educate themselves and enjoy sex. Read the rest of this entry »
(1910) 
When Joycelyn Elders, Surgeon General under the Clinton administration, agreed in 1994 that masturbation could “perhaps” be taught as a means of preventing teens from engaging riskier forms of sex, she was fired due to the resulting controversy surrounding her comments. Despite Elders’ recommendations, few sex education curricula today even mention masturbation, let alone promote it.
Pregnancy in young adult fiction often functions as an overwrought plot device to make an incredulous moral point. “My Darling, My Hamburger” used this device to communicate the message that sex was inextricable from pregnancy and pregnancy from tragedy.
Abstinence activism has been a somewhat time-honored American tradition, serving as the means to a diverse set of ends. Read the rest of this entry »
