Transwomen and Sexism: Difficulties on the Road to Transition
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Transwomen and Sexism: Difficulties on the Road to Transition

Over the last five years, I have focused part of my therapy practice on working with trans and gender non-conforming individuals. This is largely thanks to the mentorship of the late Stephanie Mott, LSCSW who was a well-respected trans advocate and spokesperson in Kansas. Having done this work for a while, I have noticed several…

Moving from Sex Talk to Sex Conversation
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Moving from Sex Talk to Sex Conversation

Here’s the material from the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) I discussed on the air (listen to attached clip), with the annotations taken from our slowly forthcoming book Consent-Based Sex Education to be released in 2020 (finally!) Key Concept I: Human Development Goals: Help children[1] to appreciate their bodies. Provide information about…

Understanding How A Teen's Conflict in Gender Identity Can Come Out Pretty Great
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Understanding How A Teen's Conflict in Gender Identity Can Come Out Pretty Great

In this segment of Up to Date with Steve Kraske, I’m joined by Peter, a twenty-four-year-old transman who recently underwent top surgery–the removal of breast tissue to to confirm gender. I’ve known Peter for many years and have watched him on his journey from insecure and dysphoric teen to confident and hopeful young adult. As…

Make Consent an Everyday Conversation
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Make Consent an Everyday Conversation

In the wake of the #metoo movement there’s emerged a necessary and welcomed conversation about consent and its importance in the reduction of sexual assault. On the local level there has been a strong emphasis on self-defense classes to help empower individuals against potential attackers. While this is important work, it leaves out a key…

Let's Leave the Politics Behind in Understanding the Seriousness of #MeToo
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Let's Leave the Politics Behind in Understanding the Seriousness of #MeToo

I don’t care who you believe in the whole Kavenaugh and Blasey Ford situation. You’re entitled to your interpretation of the facts and your opinion of the various parties and the motives, and I’m entitled to mine. I’ve done forensic psychology long enough to have seen every side of cases like this. In the vast…

Same-Sex Attracted and Gender Nonconforming Teens: What a Difference Five Years Makes
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Same-Sex Attracted and Gender Nonconforming Teens: What a Difference Five Years Makes

I thought I’d post this blast from that past, from November 2013. While the Up to Date segment with Matt Rood of Lawrence High School and Casey, then a student at KU, is still great information for parents, it’s amazing how far we’ve come since then. To think that this was cutting edge stuff back…

Insta, Finsta, Snapchat, Nudes: Teens and Sexual Expression on Social Media
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Insta, Finsta, Snapchat, Nudes: Teens and Sexual Expression on Social Media

Nicole and I are just finishing our chapter on Sexting, Snapchat, and Finstagram for Consent-Based Sex Education, Book Two: Parenting Teens in an Internet Age. The book is going  out to our focus groups, likely in October. Book One: Parenting Teens for Sexual Competence is finishing it’s focus group run and should be to reviewers…

Teens Are Saying "Me Too" Too
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Teens Are Saying "Me Too" Too

Rape culture, misogyny, sexual harassment, abuse of power. In the last few months, these terms have all come to the forefront of our national discussion under the banner of the #MeToo movement. But, I can safely say from countless discussions over the last decade that those topics are nothing new to teens and young adults.They’ve…