Face-Palm Questions or Sex Education in Bulgaria
“I wish I could be a normal kid with a normal dad and a normal dick,” said Adam Groff, the character in one of the Netflix’ most popular TV shows Sex Education, according to Deadline, Hollywood news agency. Adam is not the only teenager having concerns about his body and relationships. Puberty, according to Psychology Today, American magazine, is problematic and “no time for a young person to be uninformed about what is going on in their bodies.” Fortunately for Adam, he can seek help from Otis Milburn, the character of the amateur teenage sexologist in Sex Education. What about real-life teenagers?
In Bulgaria, the country with the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the European Union, sex education (SexEd) as a part of school curriculum is still in development, according to World Health Organization. Nikoleta Popkostadinova, journalist and founder of LoveGuide, Bulgarian sex education platform, believes that such ratings are not the teenagers’ fault. “Kids lack the proper information when they start their sexual lives,” she said. “They are not promiscuous or anything else. They just don’t know.”
LoveGuide, Popkostadinova’s project, was founded in 2015 in attempt to change the situation. At first, sex education classes only were held all around the country. Now, in addition to lectures, LoveGuide has an online platform with SexEd videos and articles, which provide teenagers with a more anonymous way of receiving information. According to Popkostadinova, however, kids are welcoming and happy to receive sex education in class as well. “We had pupils that said that they didn’t go to school the day [LoveGuide held lectures for them], but when they heard what kind of classes they would have, they decided to show up,” she laughs. “They are not reluctant [or ashamed] to talk in front of their peers. They are so looking forward to it! They talk about their menstruation, about having sex, about growing up, about having problems with ejaculation, masturbation, etc.”
Despite the sensitivity of the topic, Popkostadinova believes that separation of boys and girls during the classes is unnecessary. “It’s very important to know about each other and what’s going on with the other sex,” she said.
Screenshot from LoveGuide’s animated YouTube video on how to recognize a victim of sexual violence. Illustration by LoveGuide.
From 100 questions LoveGuide website receives every week, “all … are face-palm questions,” said Popkostadinova. “[Kids] are heavily misinformed,” she added. Teenagers she speaks to often know nothing about contraception or pregnancy. “They literally ask, ‘If we wash up really well, is that good enough?’ ” Popkostadinova said.
Even though LoveGuide is a SexEd platform, about half of the incoming questions is about communication and relationships, not sex. “Sex doesn’t happen in a vacuum. First people talk, they like each other, they tell each other that they like each other, they touch [each other’s] hands, they kiss, and eventually they have sex. It’s not [coming] from ‘Hello, let’s have sex.’ And kids know anything about this process [either],” Popkostadinova said.
LoveGuide’s YouTube video screenshot about how to deal with a broken heart. Photo by LoveGuide.
Personal boundaries is another important topic raised by LoveGuide. “No one talks to [kids], and they don’t know what’s okay and what’s not. We have a lot of content on preventing sexual violence,” Popkostadinova said. The mother of a 10-year old, she advised all parents to start talking to their kids about their boundaries from the age of three. “SexEd is not when you start having your puberty issues. It’s lifelong education,” she said.