2 years of Let’s Talk About Sex!
We’re delighted to be celebrating 2 whole years of our Let’s Talk About Sex course! We chatted to previous course attendees John C, Leanne, Erin and John C about their experiences of being on the course, what they learned, the peer mentors, and advice they’d give to members who are interested in signing up to the next course in September but are perhaps a little nervous!
Read on for the full scoop…
What was your favourite thing about the LTAS course?
John C: Knowing more about sex and being able to speak up and express how I felt and listening to other people and their stories.
Leanne: All of it! Meeting new people, making them feeling welcome and sharing my story.
Erin: It helped me open up to my family about relationships and how there shouldn’t be a taboo about who you love and how you love someone. Relationships aren’t just about having sex, it’s about loving in the right way with the right kind of support.
John G: I think doing the roleplays. Me and Kaz did a roleplay of what it is like to be on a romantic date and we pretended to go to a hotel room. We did a roleplay about boundaries where Kaz asked me if we could kiss and I said “no, I don’t want to do that, but how about we hug?”.
What did you learn?
John C: I learned a lot. I learned a lot through the roleplays.
Leanne: Lots! There was some great stuff on flirting and chatting someone up.
Erin: That I was able to help my friends understand about relationships so that if I ever got into a relationship it would be the best relationship in the whole planet!
John G: There was a lot of laughter and giggling on the course which was a nice way to learn. You’ve got to laugh about these things, because I know it’s a serious thing to talk about but there needs to be a bit of humour in it and I suggested that there should be more sex education in schools for people because I did sex education in school and it wasn’t good and I didn’t understand the full of it.
How was it having peer mentors on the course?
John C: It was good having peer mentors on the course because if the members were too shy to speak up then the peer mentors were able to give suggestions and help the members out and help the members to speak.
Leanne: It’s good! I think we should maybe switch up who the peer mentors are though.
Erin: Really good because it helped me know things about contraception and things like periods and I feel like that stuff can be quite hard for certain people but I think when you’re doing the Let’s Talk About Sex course it helps you understand that we all go through these things. The course helps you not be so scared of talking to people about these things and being cautious.
John G: Kaz and Mairi were amazing, absolutely amazing. It was really important, just as with Katrina as a peer mentor on the Live Your Life course.
What would you say to members who are interested in signing up but are a bit nervous?
John C: There’s nothing to be nervous about because everyone listens and they won’t make fun of you. When I first started, I was a bit nervous to talk and didn’t want to say anything because I felt like I would maybe be laughed at, but I wasn’t. For anyone who is nervous, there’s nothing to be scared of, and if you don’t want to talk that’s up to you, but if you do, you can always message someone privately in the chat and say what you want to say.
Leanne: Make them feel welcomed, tell them to come along because there will be peer mentors that will help.
Erin: Don’t feel nervous! Don’t feel embarrassed! You won’t get judged and it’s okay to love someone.
John G: Depends if they want to explore it! If they want to learn about it, then you get the help and support you need on this course. It’s about having open conversations.
Final thoughts?
John C: I enjoyed the course and am looking forward to the next one.
Erin: I wish I did this course sooner before my dad passed, because then I could’ve let him know that I am okay and in a good place. I was worried and embarrassed about talking about things like sex but I think now I’ve done the course I would love to do it all over again and be more confident about myself.
John G: It was a good course. Everybody was so supportive and explained everything well even though some bits were quite complicated which was amazing.
Interested in signing up to our next Let’s Talk About Sex course? Contact rosy@get2gether.org.uk or clare@get2gether.org.uk for more information!