sexandsensibilities.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ms. Anna Oposa
Project Manager, ART-H Mandala Contest
+63917-851-0209
sas.art.h@gmail.com

USING ART AND CONTRACEPTIVES TO TEACH SEXUAL HEALTH

(Quezon City, Philippines—September 9, 2011) Sex and Sensibilities (SAS), in partnership with DKT Reproductive Health (Frenzy Condoms and Filipinay), will be holding a mandala art making contest using contraceptives on September 26-28 at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. A cash prize of up to P15,000 is at stake for groups with a winning mandala design.

The word “mandala” is Sanskrit for both “circle” and “center.” Mandalas are a good way to communicate sexual health, because mandalas are seen as a model for the organizational structure of life itself. Mandalas are also reflections of the spiritual self because they offer a unique and powerful way to self-discovery and healing through the use of imagery, symbolism, color and balance.

About 100 UP students are expected to participate in the ART-H contest. On Monday, September 26, registered groups will attend the ART-H primer: a sexual health workshop and mandala art making orientation in Palma Hall.

During the contest on Tuesday and Wednesday, the participants will create mandalas using Frenzy condoms and birth control pills to be provided by DKT-Reproductive Health. They are expected to create designs linked to the related key issues: reproductive health, maternal health, women’s sexual health rights, and informed choice.

The mandalas will be evaluated based on a panel of judges and the number of most “Likes” on the Sex and Sensibilities Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pages/SexandSensibilitiescom). All artworks will also be displayed in front of the office of the College of Social Science and Philosophy Student Council, located at the West Wing of Palma Hall, for a week.

“By using art, students will get to touch, feel, and interact with condoms and birth control pills. We want to create an environment that will allow young people to ask questions about their sexual health and openly discuss sexuality issues. We see this as a concrete step in fostering a healthy and responsible attitude towards sex among young adults,” says Ms. Ana Santos, founder of SAS. “We highly encourage the participants to attend the workshop as a primer to the contest because the story has to be complete–it is not enough that you’ve touched or felt condoms or know about birth control pills. You need to know how to use them properly and responsibly,” she adds.

DKT Reproductive Health, manufacturer of Frenzy condoms and Filipinay line of contraceptive pills, has always been a staunch supporter of SAS in actively promotion positive sexuality and informed choice.

This project is supported by the UP-Diliman based network, RH AGENDA (Reproductive Health and Gender Advocates Movement).

Students must join in groups of 4-10 members, and must indicate time slot for the ART-H primer: 10AM-12PM or 12-2PM. The participants will then be divided in two groups for the contest on Tuesday, September 27, and Wednesday, September 28 from 11:30AM-1PM at the Palma Hall lobby. The group that lands first place will win P15,000, 2nd P12,000, and 3rd P10,000 in cash.

To inquire and/or register, students may email sas.art.h@gmail.com, or contact +63917-851-0209 or +63917-836-0345 from September 1-22, 2011.

For the complete mechanics and details, please visit www.sexandsensibilities.com and follow @dash_of_sas on Twitter.

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Sex and Sensibilities.com (SAS) is a non-profit website committed to improving the level of understanding of sexual reproductive health rights among Filipinos through the dissemination of accurate, practical and factual information on STI/HIV prevention and population and development in governance. SAS open to all, and is represented in other online media outlets, including popular social media networks Facebook and Twitter.

        

DKT Reproductive Health and Filipinay in partnership with Sex and Sensibilities would like to invite all UP-Diliman students to join the contest and win up to PhP15,000 in cash!

This is supported by the UP RH AGENDA (Reproductive Health and Gender Advocates Movement).

MECHANICS:

1. All enrolled UP students will be eligible to join the contest. They
must form a group of 4-10 students to create a mandala using pills and
condoms. Materials will be provided. Please register by emailing
sas.art.h@gmail.com, or contacting +63917-851-0209 or +63917-836-0345
from September 1-22, 2011.

2. Groups must indicate which time slot they prefer for the ART-H
Primer on Monday, September 26, 2011 at PH 400: a) 10AM to 12PM or b)
12PM-2PM.

The ART-H Primer consists of a sexual health and mandala art workshop.
Registered groups MUST attend the ART-H Primer.

3. Groups will be divided into two for the contest proper: Batch 1
(Groups 1-5) will create mandalas on Tuesday, September 27, and Batch
2 (Groups 6-10) will decorate it on Wednesday, September 28 at the
Palma Hall Lobby from 11:30AM to 1:00PM).

Based on their learning from the ART-H Primer, student groups will
relate their mandala designs to issues on sexual health rights,
women’s health, and informed choice.

4. Mandalas will be displayed in front of the CSSP Student Council
Office for a week and will be evaluated by a panel of judges. An
online component will also be done where designs will be uploaded on
the Sex and Sensibilities Facebook page
(www.facebook.com/pages/SexandSensibilitiescom) and generate
the most number of “likes” by Wednesday, October 5.*

Criteria:

30%
Number of participants per group who attend the
ART-H Primer on Monday, September 26

35%
Number of “Likes” in the entry as posted on
Sex and Sensibilities FB page

35%
Judges’ Evaluation

PRIZES:

First Prize:
P15,000

Second Prize:
P12,000

Third Prize:
P10,000

*All artwork produced by contestants will remain the property of SexandSensibilities.com and DKT Reproductive Health.

        

We just rounded up the best answers to the intimately SASsy questions:

Whether it’s your clothes or your pubic hair – what makes you want take it all off safely?

What is the oral contraceptive pill that helps give you smooth, clear skin?

Check out if you’re one of the winners who will receive a FREE Brazilian Wax Gift Certificate from The Strip and a compact of paper hand soap from Filipinay.

A big SAS-felt congratulations to:

1. Gina Gavino

A clean girl is a happy girl. I want to take off my pubic hair safely because it gives me a liberating feeling. It is just like having confidence after a manicure, a facial or an afternoon jog. I have not tried Brazilian waxing before but now I am willing to give that area a little care and love.

Althea is the oral contraceptive bill brand that helps give me smooth, clear skin.

2. Katz Garcia

They say that the hair is the riches ornament of women but how untrue on other parts of the body where it so dutifully abounds, taking it off safely means getting the maximum benefits of waxing, Go for a holiday on a beach without having to worry about body hair showing up for the meantime!

Althea is the oral contraceptive bill brand that helps give me smooth, clear skin.

3. Ryu Amakusa

At first i did not know what brazilian waxing is all about, since I’m a guy, but having a forest-haired body really makes me want to (not permanenetly remove) take away some and minimise it. Well, though generally, they perceive it as manly, but i think i will look good with less of those. Im quite obsessive compulsive with cleanliness, so it takes me all the hard work and time to ensure it is okay as always. I really hope to get chance of trying this for a change.

I don’t use contraceptives because Im not married yet!=P But of course, oral contraceptives won’t work with me right? It should be for my partner. =)

Nevertheless, my support for the Reproductive Health Bill is incomparable and I believe that every women should have a right to a responsible choice. After all, it’s their body, and as partners, we ought to give them the respect and freedom.

4. Nin

I want to take it all off safely to feel clean and confident both inside and out.
Althea is the oral contraceptive bill brand that helps give me smooth, clear skin.

5. Teeyah

A smooth and sunbathing-friendly bikini-line never fails to make me go on a trip to the Brazilian specialists.

Althea is the oral contraceptive bill brand that helps give me smooth, clear skin.

6. Vee

I want it all bare down there before I head to the beach for some fun in the sun!

Diane is the oral contraceptive bill brand that helps give me smooth, clear skin.

7. hoof hunter

I love the feeling of being clean down there. so my routine hygiene involves trimming of the bush and bikini line waxing. I haven’t tried brazilian yet, though. gotta muster enough courage for that.

I don’t use any contraceptives because my husband and myself are still trying to conceive. so we fire away!

8. sunshine 

For a worry-free beach lounging, sans the “peek-a-boos”

Newly wed here, babies first =)

–

If you are one of the lucky winners in this list, email us your name and correct mailing address at sexandsensibilities@gmail.com. Your Gift Certificate for a FREE Brazilian Wax from  The Strip and special paper hand soap from Filipinay will be delivered right to your doorstep!

        

The Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011, more commonly referred to as the RH Bill, has been the subject of much discussion both on the floor of the Congress session hall and at dinner tables across the nation. At family reunions and office coffee breaks, in groups of clerics and activists, amongst rich and poor alike, every Filipino has an opinion. 

But the sector most concerned, most affected by the issue of reproductive health, be it the RH Bill or simply the chance at maternal and child care, is the youth. It is the teenage mother, who at 16 is giving birth to her second child. It is the boy on the cusp of manhood, looking to prove his masculinity. It is the high school student, whispering to her barkada half-truths about condoms and pills and gonorrhea. It is the child, not even ten years old, who hears his parents having sex in the shanty he shares with five other siblings.

What do they have to say about reproductive health? Do they have anything to say? Do they want to say anything? Mulat Pinoy wants to know. 

The “We Are Right Here. We Are RH.” video contest was launched on July 11, World Population Day. The contest seeks to give young people a say in the matter that affects them most. Young Filipinos aged 25 and below are invited to submit amateur videos between 90 seconds and 8 minutes in length, showing how they feel about the over 3.6 million teenage pregnancies in the Philippines, about condoms and contraceptives, about sex education, about visiting a gynecologist, about premarital sex, about virginity. The deadline for entries is September 30, 2011.

“We Are Right Here. We Are RH.” is presented by Mulat Pinoy, in cooperation with the Philippine Center for Population and Development, the Probe Media Foundation, Inc., Forum for Family Planning and Development, the Likhaan Center for Women’s Health, the Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development, and the Philippine NGO Council on Population, Health and Welfare, Inc.

For more information, please visit http://www.mulatpinoy.ph/wearerh or send an email to wearerh@mulatpinoy.ph.

        

Rain or shine, your nether regions should always be smooth and fine, tell us what you love about getting a brazilian wax and get a chance to win one (1) of ten (10) free Brazilian wax gift certificates to be given away from The Strip.

Mechanics:

Tell us two things:

1.) Whether it’s your clothes or your pubic hair – what makes you want take it all off safely?

Example: “A night of worry-free safe sex is a sure-fire way to get me to take off all my clothes.”

2.) What is the oral contraceptive pill that helps give you smooth, clear skin?

Example: ___ is the oral contraceptive bill brand that helps give me smooth, clear skin.

• Post your answer, which will serve as your official entry, as a comment to this blog post.
• You don’t have to give us your real name, but you do have to give a functioning email address so we can notify you in case your entry wins.
• You can enter more than once, just as long as your answers are different for each entry.
• Entries that are deemed profane or vulgar will not be accepted.
• Promo is from June 27 to July 25, 2011. Winners will be announced on August 4 via email.
• Prizes will be couriered to the winners’ mailing address.

NOTE:  Certain OB-GYNEs  are of the opinion that the presence of pubic hair can also prevent the spread of bacteria in the genitalia. However, even with or without hair in the genital region, proper hygiene is of prime importance.