YES

We're back with more training opportunities!

Young people need information and skills regarding consent, bodies, gender, sexual orientation, pleasure, and more in order to thrive. But how do we teach these topics age-appropriately and engagingly for an elementary school audience?

In this interactive workshop, we will build skills and discuss techniques for teaching these topics for elementary school-aged children. Participants will practice using simple, age-appropriate language and designing play-based activities.

[id: A photo of Isy, our facilitator and Executive Director, reading to a group of children sitting on the ground. Below is a purple box with text that reads, "Building Skills for Teaching Seggs Ed in Elementary School; Tuesday October 13 7-8:30pm; Zoom." Below is the YES! logo and more text that says "PD Series." In the bottom left corner is a QR code that says, "Register here!"]

"YES! wouldn't be what it is today without support from our volunteers. Volunteers table at community events, help with outreach, create social media posts, and help with research. We're so thankful for our volunteers for their dedication and commitment to our mission!

Do you want to help us bring anti-oppressive, consent-based, and pleasure-focused seggs education to the community? We have our next volunteer orientation on October 3rd from 10:00-11:00 AM. Take the first step to becoming a volunteer and fill out our interest form in our bio!

[id: Slide 1 - A light blue slide with orange text that reads, "All aboard!" Below is blue text that says, "New volunteer orientation: October 3rd, 10:00 - 11:00 AM. Interest form in our bio!" In the top right corner is a yellow sun. Along the bottom of the slide are blue waves and a ship. Slide 2 - Orange text reads, "All hands on deck! Volunteers help us with:" Below is a blue bulleted list: "Staffing and tabling at events; Sending outreach for fundraising; Creating social media posts; Data entry; Grant writing; Survey creation and research; and so much more!"]

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Janielle and Lili led consent sessions for the Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade classes at Ludlow Elementary School! The kids were awesome - one told Janielle that she was "magnificent"!

[id: Slide 1 - A photo of Janielle, our facilitator, sitting in a chair and reading to at least 4 children in a classroom setting. There are large white posters hanging around the room. Slide 2 - A photo of Lili, our facilitator, standing and reading a book to a larger class. A few students have their hands raised.]

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Welcome Phantazia (Tazer, they/them) to our Facilitator Team!

Tazer is an artist, facilitator, and programmatic strategist whose work is grounded in community-driven strategies for collective liberation. For more than a decade, they have worked across advocacy, education, community organizing, and cultural work to expand opportunities for historically marginalized communities.

Besides being a facilitator for YES!, Tazer currently works at GALAEI, a radical social justice organization serving and advocating for Q***r, Trans, Indigenous, and People of Color (QTBIPOC) communities. Their work spans LGBTQ+ equity, racial justice, youth leadership, policy reform, and community engagement, including supporting youth-led efforts that contributed to the School District of Philadelphia’s adoption of Policy 252, which established protections for transgender and gender non-conforming students.

Channeling their support of the arts, Tazer has also collaborated with Mural Arts Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Museum of Art on projects exploring racial inequity, housing insecurity, and community resilience.

[id: Slide 1 - A purple and orange ombre slide with curved text that reads, "Facilitator Highlight: Tazer Washington, they/them." A badge frame is in the middle with a headshot of Tazer, who has a shaved head with pony tail, blue eyeliner, and piercings. They are wearing a black top and smiling at the camera. Slide 2 - A purple and orange ombre slide with black text that reads, "I do this work because bodily autonomy is foundational to our collective liberation. Often, young people are left out of conversations and aren’t afforded the agency to name and advocate for what happens to their bodies. In a society that’s constantly telling us all how our bodies should look, function, behave, and perform, reclaiming agency over our bodies is one of the most revolutionary practices we can engage in."]

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You don't have to be thin to be be worthy.

At young ages, we're taught which bodies are desirable, and which bodies should be changed. Oftentimes, the media portrays thinner, White, non-disabled, cis bodies as more desirable, creating pressure to change ourselves for the approval of others and contributing to low self-confidence, and self-criticism. What happens when the pursuit of desirability becomes an expectation?

Fatphobia intersects with racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, and transphobia. The bodies most often excluded from society's standards of desirability are often already discriminated against, setting unrealistic and impossibly narrow expectations of what it means to be desirable.

Fat liberation challenges the idea that your body has to be small to be desirable and worthy of bodily autonomy, love, respect, and pleasure.

Bodily autonomy means that YOU make decisions on YOUR body. Societal expectations are constantly shifting, but what stays the same? You.

Your body belongs to you, not society.

[id: Slide 1 - A background of a faded orange and red flower. White text in all caps reads, "You don’t have to be thin, White, non-disabled, or cis to be worthy." Slide 2 - A pastel pink slide with all caps text reading, "Your body doesn’t need to be “desirable” to deserve dignity, love, respect, and autonomy." Slide 3 - An orange slide with all caps text reading, "Societal expectations of desirability constantly change. You don't have to."]

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We're one month out from our Turning Red program with for their cineKIDZ program!

Join YES! and cinéSPEAK for a day of learning, play, and empowerment for elementary schoolers. Together, we'll explore themes of changing bodies, handling embarrassment, friendship, and self-love through stories, art, and play. Plus FREE FOOD!

Doors: 12:00 PM — Enjoy complimentary lunch from Renata's Kitchen!
Story time with YES!: 12:15 PM
Film: Turning Red: 12:30 - 2:10 PM — with movie-theater style popcorn by cinéSPEAK!
Cookies and post-screening activities with YES!: 2:10 - 3:00 PM — Stick around to unpack the themes of the film using interactive play and dialogue. Plus, we're pleased to feature cookies by Darnel's Cakes!

Reserve your free spot at the link in our bio or here: https://cinespeak.eventive.org/schedule/6a74c1dc707ca329d8bb2a9a

[id: A sunset-colored slide with the cineSpeak logo at the top. Text reads, "cinéKidz. Cost: Free, donations welcomed. Crafts, films, food, music, story time. RSVP: cinespeak.org/cinema." Below are three panels with dates. The panels say, "September 19th: Season Kick-Off Party at Cobbs Creek Library. 12:00 PM-3:30 PM. October 17th: Turning Red at Kingsessing Library. 12:00 PM-3:00 PM. November 21: Earwig & The Witch at 52nd Street Library. 12:00 PM-3:00 PM." Below is text that says, "Supported by WilliamPennFoundation."]

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We are days away from the cinéKIDZ Season Kick-Off Party! The afternoon will feature films from around the world, live music from Ants on a Log and DJ Courtnee Owens, story time, art-making with Kah Yangni, and free refreshments! Come celebrate the community and these amazing movies at the Blanche E. Nixon/Cobbs Creek Library!

cinéKIDZ is a part of cinéSPEAK , a Philly-based arthouse cinema and journal that celebrates and strengthens movements for collective liberation.

RSVP at the link in our bio, or here: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://cinespeak.eventive.org/schedule/6a68c45985d312b0a37a50e0&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1789422547640848&usg=AOvVaw15_vH88TFI41DkZYtz2Qv7

[id: a purple and orange ombre slide with the cinéSPEAK logo at the top. White text reads, "cinéKIDZ: 2026-27 Season Kick-off. Saturday, September 19 at 12:00 PM - 3:30 PM. Blanche E Nixon / Cobbs Creek Library (5800 Cobbs Creek Pkwy). Cost: Free, donations welcome. CRAFTS | FILMS | FOOD | MUSIC | STORY TIME. RSVP: CINESPEAK.ORG/CINEMA." Below are graphics of two people, four stars and a planet. One person has a hijab. Another person is sitting on a spaceship. There is a graphic of a presentation, with "cinéSPEAK" in the middle. Below is text that says, "Supported by WilliamPenn Foundation."]

What are some questions you wished your seggsual education taught you?

We know education isn't perfect, but seggsual health specifically could improve. Too often, seggs education leaves out the things we used in day-to-day lives: pleasure, consent, bodily autonomy, power dynamics, and how intersecting identities can play a role in our experiences with seggs and relationships. It's not just avoiding STIs or unwanted pregnancy. It's also about having the information you need to make informed decisions, communicating your needs to others, and exploring pleasure and what works (and doesn't work) for you.

We're focused on providing workshops and resources that are rooted in anti-oppression, pleasure, and consent. Were those featured in your health education?

Fun fact: YES! has a podcast called, "What Is S*x?" Listen to our episodes on our website!

[id: A photo of a classroom with desks. In the center is a searchbar with the text, "What is S*x?" typed in.]

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It's Back to School Night, and we're focusing on reproductive justice! Even though we're well into 2026, we're STILL fighting for bodily autonomy and reproductive rights. It's ridiculous, but necessary.

On September 10th from 5:30-7:30 PM, we'll be making reproductive and seggsual health kits and sharing resources for self-managed abortion support. Join us at the Mazzoni Center and learn a thing or two about seggsual health resources. We're excited to partner with the Auto(nomous) Body Shop Vanbassador Program for this event! Mazzoni Center .student.vanbassadors

We're happy to do this others, but we also want to equip YOU with the knowledge and tools you need to make decisions (and maybe help others, too)! Attendees are welcome to take these kits home, or even bring them to friends.

Sign up in our bio! The event is capped at 20 people.

[id: A graphic that looks like a piece of lined notebook paper. Text reads, "Back to School Night: Reproductive Justice Edition. Join YES! and the Auto(nomous) body Shop Vanbassadors for an evening of back-to-school themed seggsual & reproductive health kit making and self-managed abortion resource sharing. When: Thursday, September 10th from 5:30-7:30 PM. Where: Mazzoni Center (1348 Bainbridge Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146)." There is a QR to sign up below with a photo of people making kits. The logos for the Vanbassadors, YES! and Mazzoni Center are below.]

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