by Samantha Mazze

Artist Statement

For my research project piece I decided to make a zine. I felt this would be the best way to reach my target audience, which is middle school and/or highschool students as well as their counselors and parents. Each page of my zine is a basic introduction meant to be representational of an entire lesson encompassing the main topics you would find in a comprehensive sex ed course. I used bright colors, eye catching graphics, and affirming language to be sure to give the reader an informative and positive experience with a topic that can sometimes be seen as taboo or is met with resistance.

Research Resources

“America’s Sex Education: How We Are Failing Our Students.” Nursing@USC, 2 Sept. 2020, nursing.usc.edu/blog/americas-sex-education/.

CDC. “National Center For Health Statistics .” Teen Birth Rate by State , vol. 1, no. 11, ser. 1, 28 Apr. 2020. 1. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/teen-births/teenbirths.htm

Kovarik, Andin J. “Implementing Sustainable Safer Sex Education on a College Campus .” ProQuest Central , 3 Aug. 2016, search.proquest.com/docview/1805510556/2C0C0F9BE01C48DFPQ/2?accountid=8388.

Rough, Bonnie J. “How the Dutch Do Sex Ed.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 29 Aug. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/08/the-benefits-of-starting-sex-ed-at-age-4/568225/?utm_source=newsletter

vanKoot, Bex. “This Is What Sex Ed Looks Like Across the Country.” Esquire, 20 Aug. 2020, www.esquire.com/lifestyle/sex/a27663524/sex-edcuation-in-america-state-by-state-1559243998/.

Ligon, Z. (2020). Carnal Knowledge (1st ed., Vol. 1, Ser. 1). New York: Prestel Publishing.

Zine created for LANG120 (Johnson)