there's a political issue i wanna get involved

[Shreklover]

I wanna get involved in the political issue of children's rights and how that intersects with pedophilla
The whole epstein files situation has me wanting to start this path by becoming a sex educator or maybe psychologist. See children in our society are treated terribly thus making them a target for child predators and the intersection of them and pedofiles only made worse by lack of rehabilitation. Iv always wanted to focus on this issue plus the power imbalances but im afraid of backlash or losing my job can someone help me it eats at my mind.
Even if i could get involved now i would

[Sofi]

Hi Shreklover. It's awesome you're passionate about this and want to take steps towards making a change. We talked to you on another thread about the path to becoming a sex educator. Is there any other way we can help regarding this? What are you looking for from us at this time?

[Shreklover]

"im afraid of backlash or losing my job"
Thats my issue in society noone cant even speak about this without getting looked down on

[mikky]

Hey shreklover,
While it is true that backlash does happen and that we do see real opposition to speaking for justice, that's part of a risk that a lot of us can and do accept in order to create the world we want to live in. But people will "look down on" all kinds of things, like what shoes you wear or what music you like- sometimes we have to let that go.
The work that us at Scarleteen do is absolutely needed, sought out, and appreciated by a LOT of people. But it's also wildly unliked by others. Teaching young people queer sex ed definitely gets some backlash, and I am sure that in the many years of Scarleteen we've had staff/volunteers who've had that impact their lives significantly. But the good outlives and outweighs the bad.
AND, people can and do speak about justice for children. This is a whole field of study. There are so many people doing work that you might feel aligned with in my city alone, and I know there are plenty more out there in the world.
Do you currently have a job that you are afraid of losing? If not, I will say that if you feel like you aren't safe to speak against pedophilia (I think, probably the most universally held idea of "bad"), that's a sign that your employer is not going to generally be someone safe or that you want to work for. It can be hard to find a good employer, and I don't want to discount that, but not every employer is going to be absolutely oppressive of your individuality and beliefs.
I think a good starting point for you, that carries really no risk, is just learning. What learning methods do you like the most? For example, do you like to read? If so, do you like nonfiction books? Do you like podcasts? We might be able to find some learning materials for you.

[Shreklover]

I like podcasts, videos and to the point books with a good table of contents i dont have a job but plan on one. Id be interested on learning now

[Heather]

Can you say more about what you're interested in learning about in this arena, specifically? If so, we can probably give you some good resources to start with, here and elsewhere.

I do also want to back up what Mikky said about your notion that even talking about things like child protection or sexual abuse "get you looked down on," or mean you'll lose a job. In reality, I don't actually even think either of those things are likely risks for most people, and I say that as someone who has worked in both child and young adult advocacy and sex ed for my whole adult life. I've certainly dealt with some of the worst of some people's reactions, like being actively stalked for the work I do, but that kind of backlash generally comes from doing different work than you're talking about AND doing it in a hugely visible way (about 5 million people a year view Scarleteen, and I've been at this since a time when there just weren't many sex educators, period). That kind of reaction won't be the case for most sex educators in this era, and certainly for the vast majority of people working in the psychiatric field. I really don't think you need to worry about this in the way you are or let it stop you from pursuing your interests. If and when the work you wind up doing looks like it will be very, very visible or a kind that's likely to garner negative reactions, I think it makes more sense to address that then rather than projecting it onto your present or future now. <3

[Shreklover]

Ultimately i wanna get more into kink education but right now just learning basic sexual biology and health would be nice.

[Heather]

Well, that's easy because you are already at one of the places where you can find more information on those things than just about anywhere else! have you taken the time to look at the main site yet, or only the boards?

If you haven't yet, this section -- https://www.scarleteen.com/read/bodies -- and this one -- https://www.scarleteen.com/read/sexual-health would be your best starting places!

[Anya]

Hey shreklover,

I think this sounds like a great start. Let me give you some recommendations and you let me know what seems to "stick" and what doesn't. Then, we can work from there on how to do research of your own and what to look for in these fields!

I think it's fantastic this is an interest of yours, as it is for all of us here too. Here are some recs i'd start out with.

Sex ed starter pack
AMAZE
Center for Positive Sexuality
Every Body Curious
Sex, Etc.
And one of the most comprehensive guides to sex ed will be in Heather's book S.E.X.: The Scarleteen Book

Some articles of ours to start off with some "kink" or sexual fantasy ed:
How Can I Learn About Kink as a Minor?
How to Approach Sexual Fantasy and Desire on Your Own Terms

I think even if you already know some of the info shown here, it's important to pay attention to how its structured, what language is used, and how these topics are presented, especially as relating to different sexual fantasies and desire, or "kink" as we sometimes know it. Through doing this we can learn a lot about how sex educators and platforms like ours tend to communicate these ideas.

Let me know how all of this feels!