Latest news with #SexEd
USA Today
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
The Manosphere is a growing problem. These 'Sex-Ed for Guys' videos may be the solution.
The Manosphere is a growing problem. These 'Sex-Ed for Guys' videos may be the solution. Setting boundaries with your partner? Backflips? Florida Gulf Coast's 2013 March Madness run? 'That's what's up,' exclaim Colby College freshmen Mitch Humphrey and Jack Gatjanis in a video that's racked up more than 3 million views. It's one of dozens that have gone viral on the account Sex Ed for Guys, where Colby College students tackle concepts like masculinity and consent with humor and candid discussion. The account provides an alternative option to what's being circulated online by creators in the manosphere, a digital collection of websites, videos and social media that promote male supremacy and advocate for traditional gender roles. So what's the main message these Colby College kids are hoping to get across? That sex education and masculinity doesn't have to be hard to talk about. 'Being told as a man to kind of just shove it down and not deal with it, that's a lot of pressure,' says Gatjanis, who plays on the men's basketball team at Colby with Humphrey. 'As guys, it's not weird to check on your friends.' More: These young men were sucked into the manosphere. Here's how they found a way out. Meeting Gen-Z men where they're at The page features light-hearted skits on sexual health, mental health and relationships. Colby College Junior Chris Maichin says the videos have resonated with viewers because the account creators mirror their target audience. Many of the videos feature young men who wouldn't look out of place at a frat party or on a basketball court. 'Athletes who could be joking around with their buddies about doing something to a girl can see this on their TikTok and be like, 'Oh, wait, those guys look exactly like me,'' Maichin says. The account took off in April of 2024, after a 'respecting women workout' video — which featured reps of 'got you flowers,' 'tell me about your day' and 'close the pay gap' — gained more than 11 million views. Account hopes to combat misogynistic online content Creators like Andrew Tate provide a pipeline for men seeking advice about romantic rejection, physical self-esteem and economic insecurity to fall into radicalism and misogyny. The combination of technology and the natural insecurities that arise during teenage years creates a 'perfect storm' for innocuous sports and health spaces to tune young men into radical content, according to Gary Barker, the president of Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice, an organization that advocates for healthy manhood. 'They're going there with kind of innocent intentions, but without somebody else supporting them, that innocent intention can become a follower who drops their critical thinking,' Barker says. The account was started as part of Colby College Professor Adam Howard's research on elite all-boys schools. Howard says he's concerned about 'overt' misogyny that 'overwhelmingly' positions men as victims and leans on rigid, traditional forms of masculinity, and says the influence has caused young men to be less resilient as they face challenges. He hopes it will help young men build agency to navigate the messages they see online. Maichin says he knows peers who don't share Tate's views on women, but were drawn to his content because of its controversial and dramatic nature. But repeating Tate's views, even in a joking way, 'reinforces that self-fulfilling prophecy' of how young men see themselves. 'It's just that constant reinforcement of 'No, you know what? There's a different way,' Maichin says. 'You could still be a strong, rough and rugged guy, while being able to show your emotions.' More: Netflix's 'Adolescence,' toxic masculinity and what these emoji really mean Making conversations about sex-ed more accessible One of the main topics on the account is consent. Howard says he wants teens and young adults to know that consent goes beyond just saying yes, and should be discussed with a comprehensive view of sexual agency. 'We decided to focus the TikTok on sex-ed and not just the act of sex, but a comprehensive sex education about human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behaviors, sexual health, society and culture and what it means to be a man,' Howard says. A study Howard conducted of recent alumni from 41 different elite all-boys schools found that only two offered any form of sex education. In both cases, the instruction was outsourced from individuals or organizations who delivered short-term programming, and was not a permanent feature of the school's curriculum. 'If you're not teaching boys about sex-ed, then who do they go to? They go to their peers, and their peers don't always give them the correct information,' Howard says, using an example of the falsehood oft-repeated by teenagers that two condoms is safer than one. The students featured on the viral account, who are research assistants of Howard's, are developing a curriculum around sex-ed that they translate into these bite-size videos. More than 30 students have been involved with the account since its launch in 2022. Moving forward, the creators say they want to include more of a focus on men's mental health. Maichin, who credits therapy with improving his headspace, says he wants more men his age to know that talking about emotions is important even when you aren't struggling. 'By doing that, you're not going to take away any part of your masculinity. If anything, it makes you an even better man,' Maichin says. Rachel Hale's role covering Youth Mental Health at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal Ventures and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input. Reach her at rhale@ and @rachelleighhale on X.
Buzz Feed
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Aimee Lou Wood Admitted She's 'Bothered' That She Was 'The Only One' Who Had To Go To 'Extremes' When Filming NSFW Nude Scenes On 'Sex Education'
Mild spoilers for The White Lotus ahead. Aimee Lou Wood is continuing to shed light on what it was like shooting intimate scenes on The White Lotus. Aimee, 31, plays Chelsea in the latest season of the HBO drama, which came to an end earlier this week. A couple of months ago, Aimee opened up about what it was like shooting a sex scene, in which she's topless, with her on-screen love interest Walton Goggins, 53. 'I love intimacy coordinators, and I think they're absolutely essential,' Aimee told Elle as she recalled feeling incredibly supported by everyone involved in putting the scene together. Elsewhere in the interview, Aimee compared her experience on The White Lotus with her time on Netflix's Sex Education, revealing that despite being well 'looked after' on the latter series, she found herself agreeing to unnecessary nude scenes. ' Sex Ed taught me a lot, and I had to do so much stuff in Season 1 that, after that, I was like, 'Right. Now, we're going to be more discerning,'' she said. 'Because I was young and I was so looked after, but I think I was very much just like, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!' And now, I'm more like, 'Do we need this? Is there a way to tell this story with just a look or just a kiss?'' 'I think it's always about asking: What is the scene saying? Because if we can say it without doing a full-blown nude sex scene, then let's try that. I'm definitely more aware of that now,' she added. Now, Aimee has opened up further about her time on Sex Education during a new interview with GQ. While discussing her White Lotus scenes, Aimee revealed that she and her female costars Carrie Coon and Michelle Monaghan — who play Laurie and Jaclyn — actually went to dinner to go over their intimate scenes together and make sure that they were necessary to their storylines. Aimee said, 'It made me feel so much better because what bothered me about Sex Ed, that I'm only just realizing, is not what I did, it's the fact that I felt like I was the only one.' 'In the first season no one else in the main cast actually went to the extremes I went to and so I think that's what made me feel exposed,' she said. For context, the very first scene in Season 1 of Sex Education features Aimee nude and having graphic sex.
Buzz Feed
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Aimee Lou Wood Revealed That For The First Time In Her Career, She Was Allowed To Actually Watch Back And Approve Her NSFW Sex Scenes While Filming 'The White Lotus'
Mild spoilers for The White Lotus ahead. Aimee Lou Wood is opening up about her intimate scene with Walton Goggins in the latest episode of The White Lotus. For some quick but necessary context, the pair play Chelsea and Rick in the HBO show — a seemingly mismatched couple with a 22-year age gap who are on vacation at the titular Thailand resort. In the second episode of Season 3, we see a different, non-argumentative side to the two when they sleep together. Looking back on filming the scene, Aimee told Elle magazine that she felt incredibly supported not only by Walton, but by the show's intimacy coordinator, Miriam Lucia, and creator, Mike White. 'I love intimacy coordinators, and I think they're absolutely essential,' she said, explaining that she and Walton 'designed' their characters' intimate scenes together. '[Miriam said], 'You tell me your vision for this scene, and I will make sure that we can execute that in a safe way where everyone's happy,'' Aimee recalled. '[Walton and I] were like, 'This is what we think should happen. This is why we think it's important.' Because we don't see a lot of tenderness from Rick to Chelsea the rest of the time. So we have to make sure that when they're physical and intimate in that way, that you see the love. We don't want it to be like a fucking gratuitous [sex scene]. We wanted it to be very tender,' she added. Aimee went on to reveal that for the first time in her career, she was allowed to view and approve her sex scenes after filming them. She recalled Miriam telling her, ''I just want you to watch it. And I want you to know that if you are not happy, we can change it.'' 'That was the first time that had ever happened, that someone had straight away been like, 'Come in this room and watch it.' She's like, 'Obviously it's your body.' It's still a big deal. Nudity is still a weird thing,' Aimee shared, adding that Mike actually offered to cut parts of the scene if she was in any way uncomfortable. Aimee also looked back on filming nude scenes in the past, noting that while she was on the Netflix comedy Sex Education, she often agreed to unnecessary scenes — despite being well 'looked after' on the series. 'Sex Ed taught me a lot, and I had to do so much stuff in season 1 that, after that, I was like, 'Right. Now, we're going to be more discerning,'' she said. 'Because I was young and I was so looked after, but I think I was very much just like, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!' And now, I'm more like, 'Do we need this? Is there a way to tell this story with just a look or just a kiss?'' 'I think it's always about asking, What is the scene saying? Because if we can say it without doing a full-blown nude sex scene, then let's try that. I'm definitely more aware of that now,' she added. Aimee's candid comments have reignited an important, age-old discussion about the need for intimacy coordinators on set. 'This is why I roll my eyes when more established actors dismiss the idea of intimacy coordinators. Just because intimacy coordinators weren't a thing during the peak of your careers doesn't mean they aren't valuable today. Actors absolutely should have a say in how these kind of scenes are rehearsed and shot and know how they fit into the larger narrative because at the end of the day it's their bodies up on screen in hi-def, streaming media,' one Reddit user wrote. 'Aimee Lou Wood noting that even while well protected on Sex Education, she still had a tendency to agree on stuff, puts even more importance on intimacy coordinators,' said another. 'It sounds like it was a good experience for everyone involved, and that's exactly how scenes of intimacy should be. Glad to hear it was done with a lot of care,' someone wrote, while one more user added, 'This is great and should be industry standard. This also shows that Mike White is a true G and it's just one more reason I love literally everything he puts out.'
