Blog
Meet the Educators: Madeleine B.
Now that the academic year is off to a great start, we’re excited to introduce our friends and fans to another amazing educator who is making the Speak About It mission come alive. Hot off the heels of her first orientation tour, Madeleine has already spoken to thousands of students in her first month as a Speak About It educator.
Meet the Educators: Olivier
Meet Olivier, one of Speak About It’s new educators for the 2019-2020 academic year! We’ll let him introduce himself and share why he’s excited to speak about it this summer (and beyond) in his own words.
Meet the Educators: Maya M.
A spoken word poet with a masters in social work, educator Maya is all about the intersection of activism and art. We’re so excited to start introducing our newest class of educators to our fans and followers. 25 new educators are beginning training this month…
#hotgoss Redux: Hair, hair, everywhere!
On this month’s #HotGoss, Speak About It got way into the weeds about body hair. You can check out our full conversation here. SAI staff talked about our own relationship with body hair and body hair removal, and how conversations about hair have shown up…
I Gave Lube to a State Senator and Other Amazing Things from these Past 12 Months
It has been a year since I joined Speak About It as the Executive Director. While I can no longer use “It’s my first year on the…
Speak About It PALentines 2019
Happy Valentine’s month! Instead of celebrating sticky sweet corporate ideas of love and high fructose corn syrup (though you’ll definitely see us nibbling on quite a few VDay sweets in the office), we wanted to get to the core of what we think Valentine’s Day…
Continuing the Conversation: #MuteRKelly
There has been a lot of media coverage about the new documentary Surviving R. Kelly this past month. Produced and directed by former music journalist and activist dream hampton, and featuring celebrities like John Legend and #MeToo founder, Tarana Burke, the documentary shares the harrowing stories of numerous…
How can we write Title IX Guidelines that protect survivors and promote justice?
The open comment period on proposed rule-making for Title IX guidelines around campus sexual conduct closes January 28. Speak About It asks: How can we write guidelines that are human, humane, and equitable, while…
#hotgoss Redux: Dating Apps, part one. An Apps Appetizer.
Dating Apps. If you’re a person between the ages of 14 and 100, you can’t avoid at least a conversation about them. While the media made it seem like dating apps signaled the end of love as we know it, we’re seeing…
2018: A Year to Speak About
2018 has been a monumental year for Speak About It and a monumental year for the national conversation about sex and consent. Olivia looks back on her first six months as Executive Director with a year-end update on where…
#hotgoss Redux: Table Talk or A Thanksgiving Survival Guide
Hold up… we CAN talk politics at the dinner table and don’t have to totally dread Thanksgiving dinner? Check out our most recent #hotgoss episode where educator Ella, and Oronde and Catherine chat about their strategies for a happy, harmonious and intentional holiday.
Speak About It Change Makers
Speak About It acknowledges that our own work is built on the brave work of many activists, educators, and thinkers before us. Likewise, we work today in community with incredible violence prevention and consent advocates across the country. The narratives of people of color, queer…
#hotgoss Redux: The Charm of Vulnerability
One Speak About It educator gets real about flirting Educator, Ariela, had some great thoughts to follow up our most recent #hotgoss episode. Check out the full episode here and read on to learn more about flirting with honesty and…
#hotgoss Redux: Get Your Head in the Game
Thank you for tuning in to our #hotgoss episode all about oral sex and consent! If you didn’t watch the full episode, check it out on FacebookLive here. We covered a lot of ground on the episode, so as a follow up…
Meet the Educators: Tonya I.
Meet Tonya! Tonya brings a distinct passion for building a more sustainable, equitable, and just world to her work at Speak About It. Tonya, center, with her touring cast at Syracuse University. Tonya is a recent graduate from Vassar College who is joining Speak About…
#hotgoss Redux: Cock Talk
This month on #hotgoss we talked about why Speak About It wants to #givedicksachance. Check out the full episode here. It can seem like all mainstream culture is ever doing is talking about penises. So why perpetuate that? But #hotgoss is all about looking at how people…
Meet the Educators: Chelsea E.
Chelsea is a three year veteran of Speak About It, bringing energy, enthusiasm, and heart to every show. It’s only appropriate that she’s been the manager for Team Hearts for the past two years! Chelsea had never done something like Speak About It before…
#hotgoss Redux: Body Talk
For episode 9 of #hotgoss, we invited special guest, activist and writer, Kirsten, to talk all things bodies with us. Check out the full episode here. It’s summer, and for most of us that means our news feeds, emails, and everyday consciousness will be swarmed with…
All the Sex Ed You Didn't Get in High School
For Portland Pride this year, we hosted “All the Sex Ed You Didn’t Get in High School,” a queer-inclusive sex ed panel with experts from local organizations. We learned so much, and want to share all this awesome knowledge with…
#hotgoss Redux: Intersectionality & Relationships
On this week’s episode, Catherine and Oronde were joined by LaLa Drew, an activist and poet based in Portland. We talked about intersectionality and dating, and how we can have authentic relationships across difference. Watch the full episode here! Oronde (center) and LaLa (left) pose…