Everyone’s favourite taboo subject is destined to be discussed by all school children before they enter college (and not just in the playground). As sex education is set to be  compulsory for everyone over the age of 15 from 2011, some groups are still saying education ISN’T the key.  Is ignorance bliss, or is knowledge key?

The general sex-ed syllabus is as follows:

Age 5-7 - puberty, relationships and how to keep safe
Age 7 - 11 - puberty, relationships including marriage, divorce, separation, same sex and civil partnerships and managing emotions and dealing with negative pressures
Age 11 - 14 - Sexual activity, human reproduction, contraception, pregnancy, STDs including HIV/Aids and high risk behaviours, relationships, including those between old, young, girls, boys and same sex
Age 14 - 16 - Body image and health, choices relating to sexual activity and substance misuse, and the emotional well-being, reducing risk and minimising harm, parenting skills and family life, separation, divorce and bereavements, prejudice and bullying

Under current laws, parents have the right to withdraw their children from classes up to the age of 19 (although only a tiny minority –some 0.04%– choose to do so). The new law will also force all faith schools to discuss same-sex relationships and contraception.

HIV remains the most prominent STI in the headlines. Researchers are starting to  develop vaccines that show some effect, but HIV is still a major problem. (Thailand, 2009)

People continue to be discriminated against on the grounds of HIV status, with ‘One third’ of sufferers experiencing some form of discrimination, and the US only now lifting bans on travel and immigration. There are also claims that HIV stigma fuels homophobia. Yet with bareback porn proving increasingly popular, groups and charities have been coming under attack for becoming lax and wishy-washy in HIV prevention compared to the ‘no-nonsense’ campaigns of the 80s. In a 2008 survey, 82 per cent of Pink Paper readers voted for harder-hitting HIV campaigns.

There is also some contention around forms of campaign, with one Yorkshire charity criticised for distributing condoms in cruising areas. Whilst two thirds of gay men are apparently testing for HIV, half don’t discuss it with casual sex partners.

Meanwhile, the gov is under fire for wasting money on its chlamydia screening program, the ‘invisible’ STI that continues to spread, especially amongst young people (and even koalas).

Porn actors pressured into producing bareback porn have spoken out in the past, as it led to their infection with STIs, however barebacking is still prevalent on the scene and the world wide web.

BBC Newsnight discovered that four out of eight young men who took part in a shoot were diagnosed as HIV+ shortly after. One victim explained that he was approached on the internet site Gaydar just after his 18th birthday. He was told everyone else was HIV negative, but never saw anyone else’s certificates.

Pornography in any form remains controversial. A US senator’s chief-of-staff recently advocated an anti-porn campaign telling boys that “porn makes you gay”. Actors face discrimination in more mainstream workplaces, even losing jobs (be it as TV stars or fast-food servers). A 25year old PE teacher in Kent was exposed as a former porn star after photos were circulated across Facebook by students. He chose to resign amidst a storm of media attacks, but has not been prevented from obtaining other teaching positions.

A lot of porn sub-cultures still remain outside the media spotlight, with furries (people who have a fascination with anthropomorphic animals - animals that are given human traits, like walking and talking. They can be anything from cartoons characters like Bugs Bunny to computer game personalities like Pokemon) only recently being discovered by mainstream media, hentai (drawn pornography) and the even lesser-known ‘yaoi’ (boy-love, oddly often “by women, for women”) and ’shota’ (featuring prepubescent characters) communities are almost invisible to the general public. Debates abound on whether such images should be legal or not; the acts they often depict would be illegal were they ever enacted, but proponents insist that art and drawings should be allowed, as they harm no-one.

Check out Sex Sex Sex on Fyi Radio

    It has come to my attention that you are de-ranking books,
supposedly on the basis of “adult content.” Apparently, according to
the Amazon Dictionary, this is defined as books that have anything at
all to do with GLBT characters, authors, issues, or references, with
some general erotica being roped in, as well. In the meantime,
however, books on the illegal, inhumane, and horrifyingly violent
sport of dog fighting remain ranked and appear on a first page search
under “dog fighting”: http://bit.ly/18l70B. Further, a search under
“playboy” yields as the first return “Playboy: Wet and Wild Complete
Collection,” followed by “Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds,” and so
on. At what point did “adult content” exclude nude women and dogs
killing other dogs for sport?

    This is nothing short of discrimination; this is nothing short of
censorship. This is nothing a business that claims commercial
integrity at even the most basic level would do. Consequently, as a
longtime Amazon customer, I look forward to an immediate reversal of
this ridiculous policy. Otherwise, I will purchase elsewhere and
encourage everyone else I know to do the same.

- Drew Miles

Tim and Ryan went to Bournemouth to visit Space Youth Project to discover what life is like on the south coast.

Right we’ve initially decided on our queer alternative radio shows for 2009 with the first just a couple of weeks away.

These happen the last Tuesday of every month as per the list. More shows will be coming soon to fit into this list. Stay tuned to LGBt Queer alternative youth radio - for today’s community

27th Jan: New Year Newbies

Review of ‘08, what the LGBT community did and achieved throughout the year.
A look ahead at ‘09
Retrospective and Prospective
‘Mystic Red’ with her predictions for the year…….(!)

31st March: Breeding Gays

Spring has sprung, breeding season, new families being created.
Discussions - What is your family? Is the Gay community one big family.
Do you want kids, if so, how will you go about it?
Fun element - a short ‘episode’ of family fortunes with ‘Lezza Dennis’!!!

28th April: Fight for fitness

Fitness and summer bodies - how sexy do you need to be/want to look.
Do you get fit for summer?
Fashion disussion and changes as summer approaches.

26th May: Gay Straights

Homo socialites, fag hags.
Good or bad? Can there be a good balance?

30th June: Gay World
Gaypedia, travels for gay people, do hotels take gay couples?

Download Gay Faith Part One from here