Kaya Wechsler

WRT 205
Professor Esposito
March 5, 2017

Lets Talk About Sex, Baby

Although many public schools offer a course in sexual education, a lot is left to be

desired. Yes, these courses might teach kids to always use a condom, and that herpes can be

spread through saliva, but we can all admit that there is a lot more to sex than these things. It is

no question that young girls have a lot of questions about sex, and in this generation where

people are losing their virginities at younger and younger ages, it is extremely important for

these girls to have an outlet for information on these topics they may not feel comfortable

discussing with an adult. With the growing use of social media in every platform of our daily

lives, it was only a matter of time before sexual education became a part the digital sphere.

Young people need an online space where they feel comfortable engaging in this conversation.

Killerandasweetthang.com provides this space, all the while taking a small, but increasingly

important step towards normalizing sex with each blog post.

Killerandasweetthang.com is a playful, blunt, and visually engaging online blog

dedicated to teaching, understanding, and practicing safe sex, health, and love. In the about

section of the site, Eileen Kelly, the creator of the blog, writes that the site was created as a

space on the internet to read about issues and topics that we may not feel comfortable talking to

adults about. Right here, Kelly establishes the audience for this site; young girls, and possibly

boys, who seek more information about these topics, such as vaginal health, STDs, consent, and

masturbation. All of these are not exactly dinner conversation material, and its not hard to

believe that young people would rather get this information online instead of from an

uncomfortable interaction with their parents. Sex is still a taboo subject in our society, and often
leads to embarrassment when discussed. Kelly looks to abolish this taboo and open up a

discussion about the good, the bad, and the ugly of sexual intercourse and all the things that

come with it.

Killerandasweetthang.com has a certain aesthetic to it that definitely appeals to a younger

audience. The site is very tumblr-esque, with sexy and grainy pictures accenting each piece of

writing. When a user hovers their mouse over an article title, a picture pops up to compliment the

topic of the piece, sometimes explicit in nature. The sites ploy to use sexier pictures seems to be

in an attempt to normalize sex; a step in the direction of eradicating the taboo around the

discussion of intercourse. The sites playful and youthful aesthetic contributes to this eradication

by presenting the information in such a way that makes the younger audience feel comfortable.

The modern approach to the sites design is a lot less scary than going on a medical website or

Google to learn about the symptoms of a STD or birth control. The normalization of sex is

essential in order to increase sexual education, and this website does a great job in attempting to

do so; through its aesthetic, presentation of information, and informal diction.

Society still considers sex to be a taboo topic in many ways, but it is something that all

humans do to reproduce, and is extremely natural. Society has built up sex to be such a private,

explicit topic that young girls may not feel normal for becoming curious early on; when in

reality, it is extremely normal. The subject of the site is rather hyper-sexualized in appearance,

but the content of the articles are purely informational and anecdotal. Some of the content could

be considered thought pieces, based more on the authors opinions on certain situations, topics,

and issues surrounding sex. Other articles are purely informational pieces targeted at educating

the audience on things such as STDs, masturbation, and how to lead a healthy sex life. Although

these pieces are very informative, they are written in a colloquial language that feels as though
the reader is talking to more of a best friend than a medical professional; which adds to the

appeal of the site to younger audiences. One article, titled Chronicles of Receiving and

Unsolicited Nude is written in a minute-by-minute interval style; chronicling the stages of

emotions that come with receiving an unwanted naked picture from a guy. This is a reality that

many teenage girls face in the modern age of technology, and the article caters to its specific

audience by using slang terms such as dick pic to maintain that level of common ground and

understanding. Other colloquial terms that can be found on the site include sexting, bae,

side chick, and ghosting. To ghost someone is to end a personal relationship with them

with no explanation or conversation, and is a perfect example of how these authors establish their

audience by using colloquialisms such as this. These slang terms remind the reader that the

author is just like them and that they have been through this too, adding the appeal of a site such

as this.

Eileen Kelly, along with the other contributors to the site, use their lack of professional

ethos to appeal to those who seek information on these sensitive topics from an equal rather than

an authority. The topics of these pieces are certainly geared more towards women of the younger

age group, with some pieces touching on the medias portrayal of womens bodies and others

with tips to maintain feminine hygiene. In a society where boys are praised for having sex and

young girls are judged harshly for their sexual decisions, this website is needed more than ever;

especially for the young girls that are sheltered from any type of sexual education. This site

offers a wide array of topics, each one useful and interesting to a young woman with any degree

of sexual knowledge or experience; although most useful to those with little.

The way in which this site presents itself is new, fresh, and exciting. Young girls may be

able to get some of the information found on this site from other sources, like a Planned
Parenthood website, but the way in which killerandasweetthang.com presents the information is

much more casual and cool; the perfect mixture for their targeted audience. The site is split into

five sections; sex, love, social media, identity, and health. Under each section the user can find

articles that pertain to that specific topic. This is a great way to organize the information that is

available, and allows users to easily access the topics that they seek the most information on. Say

a young girl who just got a boyfriend was looking for information on love, she would be able to

surpass all the other information on sex and health that she may not find useful to her in her

current situation. The website also features a tab for guidebooks, which are little print-out

pamphlets, each with their own informational topic. One guidebook is called A Guide to a

Healthy Vagina, and is meant for girls to print out and fold up to be used as a handy

informational source. This site is open to anyone who is comfortable and willing to discuss

sexual matters, but the sexually charged pictures and titles may turn off those who dont

necessarily feel comfortable expressing their sexuality.

The social media tab is a great place for young women to go when they feel the

pressures of the online world weighing on them. In this section articles like Fuck Community

Guidelines and Why Doesnt My Vagina Look Like a Pornstars? can be found. It is

discernable from these titles that the language that is used on this site is unlike most other

professional blogs. The sharp, blunt titles are used to grab attention, but also serve in the mission

to normalize sex and the words and phrases that are associated with it. These articles utilize logos

and pathos to get their message across. For example, in the article titled Why Doesnt My

Vagina Look Like A Pornstars?, the author uses logos to explain the reasoning and history

behind the modern idea of what a vagina is supposed to look like. The author makes the reader

aware of the fact that many of these women in the adult industry get multiple cosmetic and
surgical procedures to get their vulvas to look the way they do. The article goes on to appeal to

pathos by prompting action from young girls to not allow the media to make them insecure; all

the while assuring them that they are normal and beautiful in a way that reminds the reader of a

conversation they would have with their sister or best friend.

Some thoughts about this new form of sexual education are highlighted by Jane D Brown

and Sarah N Keller in their 2009 research article titled Sex, Sexuality, Sexting, and Sex Ed:

Adolescents and the Media. The authors find that the internet provides a relatively safe space

for teens to explore and define themselves as sexual beings, and it allows those who have

historically been told not to express any sexual desire, especially young girls, an opportunity to

gain information and learn about things they were told to never talk about (Brown & Keller, 13).

Killerandasweetthang.com is geared towards these young girls in the hopes that they will feel

accepted and normal when curious about sex. Articles like Am I Ready to Have Sex? and Sex

Ed Importance highlight the normality of seeking more information on sexual intercourse. It is

important in this situation to make the readers realize that this site is in place for a reason, and

that the information is important. It is too often in our society that adolescents are discouraged

from learning or even talking about sex because parents are afraid they will become active.

Killerandasweetthang is offering up the opportunity to learn about these things even before

engaging in sex, which could be much more safe and beneficial in the long run for all parties

involved.

Although Brown and Keller highlight some of the positives of using new media to learn

about sex and health, their research also provides major concerns that should be taken into

account. One of these concerns is that teens who turn to the internet for answers may turn away

from real people in their lives (Brown & Keller, 13). This concern directly coincides with the
claims Sherry Turkle makes in her TEDTalk titled Connected, but alone?. Turkle discusses the

issue of vanishing intimacy that has come with our technological advances. She talks about how

these machines offer us companionship, causing us to deny each other our full attention

(Turkle, 2012)*. This is a valuable argument, that making this information available online will

only decrease the communication about it even more between peers and elders in our society. But

to consider this a real concern, one must look at the context of the situation in which this blog

came about. The 21st century is all about being online, and many people look for connection

through digital media rather than in the real world. In this case, maybe it is for the better that if

adolescents arent getting this information from someone in their lives, it is available online

when they need it, rather than not available at all. We must also consider the historical context of

sex education, which is essential in this argument. The topic of sex has always been hushed and

labeled naughty by society, back when sexual intercourse was expected to be saved for

marriage. Today, though, our society is much more open about sexuality, but the educational

aspect of sex is still not up to par. If the sexual education in schools was improved and

conversations about sex between parents and children were more widely encouraged and

comfortable, then adolescents going online for sexual advice may pose more of a concern.

In a society in which a large amount of conversation occurs digitally through texting and

social media, it is important that topics such as sexual education are integrated into the online

sphere. Killerandasweethang.com manages to present information on sexual topics in a modern,

aesthetically-pleasing way that encourages adolescents to engage in the site and all the useful

information it has to offer. This new form of sexual education is opening up the topic to more

people that may not have ever received education on sexual health. Many schools preach

abstinence when addressing the topic of sex, which leads to the growing need for websites such
as this. Overall, the main goal of this site is to create a safe space for adolescents to access

information on sex, love, and health easily and safely. Killerandasweethang.com is making

strides towards abolishing the taboo surrounding sex, and managing to be fun, fresh, and

relatable while doing it.

Works Cited

Brown, Jane D., and Sarah N. Keller. "Sex, Sexuality, Sexting, and SexEd: Adolescents and the
Media." Researchgate.net. N.p., Jan. 2009. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.
<https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jane_Brown6/publication/234656991_Sex_Sexuality_Sext
ing_and_SexEd_Adolescents_and_the_Media/links/555518f808ae6fd2d821bced.pdf>.

Turkle, Sherry . "Connected, but alone?" TEDTalk. Feb. 2012. Television.

"Killerandasweetthang." Killerandasweetthang. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.

<https://killerandasweetthang.com/>.