Of all the developed countries, the United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate. Although Maine is a moderately populated state, the southernmost county, York County, is well populated and diverse. Its residents make up approximately 15% of the population of Maine.
In York county, there are 3,058 students enrolled in grades 6 – 8 and 4,099 students enrolled in high school (grades 9-12). These students in middle and high school in York county receive top-notch education through the Maine Department of Education regulated by the U.S. Department of Ed. However, there is an immense gap of knowledge between the day-to-day curriculum and the sexual education curriculum. Currently, Maine’s required state sexual education curriculum is to provide information about consent, medically accurate instruction on abstinence, healthy relationships, contraception, family planning, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and conflict resolution. Maine’s curriculum is not required to include information about sexual orientation or gender identity and is also not required to be culturally responsive to the needs of young people of color.
Research shows that in Maine, 9.1 in every 1,000 teenage females become pregnant, there is an average of 4,345 cases of chlamydia and 710 cases of gonorrhea annually, and 7.5% of Maine High School Students have experienced sexual assault or coercion. It is clear that Maine’s education system has failed to provide students with the sex education they deserve to become healthy and happy adults. Hardy Girls, Health Women’s program Sexualized Stigmas strives to provide accurate educational resources with the ultimate goals of lowering rates of teenage pregnancy and STD/STI transmission while improving general knowledge and understanding around human sexuality.
The proposed curriculum for Sexualized Stigmas will cover changes in body odor, body hair, removal of body hair in line with gender norms or against them, hair health and care for all different types, gender v. sex, menstruation (pads, tampons, cups, disks), sexuality and gender identity, masturbation, body secretions, having safe sex, and encouraging being an advocate for your own health. There will be a strong focus on the concept of “you know your body best” and the importance of going to the OBGYN. The Hardy Girls, Healthy Women Fund’s goal is to promote education for women and girls in Maine, and what better way than to teach students how to take care of their bodies in the most healthy ways possible.
