Learning about sexuality is part of growing up.

Girl's Best Friend Foundation (GBF) knows that there is a lot of information available about how to talk to girls and young women about sex. Much of what is available is helpful and positive. Much of it is not. Our resource guide represents the homework we've done to help your organization provide girls with comprehensive information about sexuality and sex education that's empowering, sex-positive and thoughtful.

Girls' programs and organizations play an essential role in providing up-to-date and unbiased information about sexuality and sexual health—AND combating ignorance, misinformation, sexism, racism, heterosexism and ableism. GBF believes such information should be readily available to you and the girls and young women empowered by your work. To that end, we developed the resource guide.

We know that girls will look for this information on their own, so why not provide them with good resources that talk about sex in a positive way?

Our resources will help you jumpstart discussion and think about fun ways to get girls the information they need and want. Sex-positive information helps girls:

• Understand their bodies
• Respect themselves
• Make their own informed decisions
• Resist stereotypes
• Be in control of their bodies

Comprehensive sexuality and sex ed includes all girls, including Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LBTQ) young women, pregnant and parenting teens, and girls with disabilities. Instruction and information are about every aspect of sex—from making reproductive choices, to health and pleasure. Effective girls' programming pays attention to how racism and stereotypes affect girls and is culturally sensitive.

The resources we've collected will help you create or update your organization's sexuality and sex education program, giving girls and young women a strong foundation for a healthy sexual identity. We hope that you find them useful.

Let's work together to give girls what they need to grow into strong, independent women. If you know about a resource that we should include in our guide, please contact GBF and let us know.

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Resources were collected and reviewed by Sarah Cohodes, an intern with the Foundation during Summer 2003. We thank Sarah for her great work, creativity and commitment.

To read Sarah's thoughtful essay about the importance of this work, click here.

Throughout the resource guide, Sarah's favorite tools and tips are marked with an * asterisk.