Frankly Podcast - Sex Advice for Teens

Frankly Podcast - Sex Advice For Teens

Project 2020-12-08 11:01:33 +1300

WHAT IS FRANKLY?

Frankly is a recently founded Social Enterprise that is dedicated to revolutionising sex education for teenagers in Aotearoa.

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH A PODCAST? 

The Frankly Podcast will answer sex and life questions submitted by New Zealand teenagers (aged 13-19) with the support of clinical specialists from Family Planning NZ and others. Each episode will have a theme and a qualified specialist that matches that theme.

Host, Geni McCallum will facilitate discussion into questions with the guest specialist in an open, no-bullshit and scientifically supported manner. The series will be casual but to-the-point and ultimately entertaining to listen to (think Dan Savage’s extremely popular Lovecast but for NZ teenagers).

WHY DO A PODCAST (VS. YOUTUBE ETC.)?

We know teenagers are getting their information from the internet, with American teenagers using entertainment screen media for an average of seven hours and 22 minutes each day in 2019 (Commonsense Media). We don’t have specific stats for kiwi teens but NZ Roy Morgan has stated that “The increasing popularity of downloading podcasts, which can be to one’s mobile phone, computer or tablet, is being driven by younger New Zealanders.” We can safely assume that teenagers are engaging with podcasts at an ever-increasing rate.

Podcasts are also beneficial for people who want to access information more discretely than watching a YouTube video. Our branding will also reflect this understanding and aim to provide accurate information, as entertainment media.

The demand is there for content specifically made for NZ teenagers, that can reach a diverse range of cultural, socioeconomic and geographically located teenagers.

WHY IS FRANKLY UNIQUE?

We will honour the values of Tiriti O Waitangi and aim to utilise multi-cultural, diverse perspectives and guests. Frankly will create a wide and inclusive community, where young people feel comfortable to ask questions anonymously and get accurate information.

WHAT HAS FAMILY PLANNING NZ GOT TO DO WITH THIS?

We're extremely excited that Family Planning NZ has agreed to provide free ongoing support with promotion and specialist guest advice but doesn't have the funds to help financially. This will allow us to access their already very large audience, helping us get the message to a wider demographic.

DON'T SCHOOLS ALREADY DO SEX EDUCATION?

Do me a favour, think back to your sex education in your teens. Was it helpful? Did you listen? Did you bunk the classes because you and your friends thought it was lame? Did your parents tell you anything? What kind of information did you get from your friends? Where did you get your sex education from?

I hope it was a marvellous experience but I'm willing to wager that it wasn't even close. 

My sex education consisted of the following (I'm currently 35 to give you an idea of the times);

- At a young age, my Mum gave me a copy of the 'Where Did I Come From' sex and puberty education picture book written in the '70s. Don't get me wrong, I loved it and spent many hours fascinated by the cartoons of naked parents in a bath. 

- My Mum says she talked to me about sex but I honestly have no recollection of it (no shade on her, it was the early 90's and she is and was one of my favourite human beings). 

- In 3rd Form (Year 9) the Head Girl and Boy came into our Social Studies class to 'talk about sex' to us. What actually happened is that my teacher left the room, the Head Boy went out to the field and played rugby and the Head Girl nervously sat down, asked us if we had any questions and no-one said anything. Clearly relieved she sat down for the rest of the hour and we all began chatting amongst ourselves about the 'stupid boys' and various celebrity crushes. 

- In 4th Form, we were given sex education classes in P.E for a few lessons. I and many others chose to bunk said lessons because the idea of our male P.E teacher talking to us about sex was completely mortifying. 

- The Internet wasn't a plethora of knowledge yet so 99% of my sex education came from 'Gerald The Giraffe' from Life Education and my completely clueless friends.

- We knew about condoms from movies and many of my friends and I went on The Pill because our GPs decided that having a heavy and painful period wasn't something they should test or investigate, it could just be fixed with taking a hormone every day until we reached menopause. 

- The end. Seriously. 😳 

I wish I could say it had improved entirely but it just hasn't. Overall we seem to still have no idea how to communicate sex education effectively to our teenagers and we keep making the mistake of not asking them what they want to know about. Many kids are still bunking sex education classes or just not engaging with them at all. It's not good enough. 

Whilst places like Family Planning NZ are doing their best to run programmes, we all have a role to play in helping young people get the information they need.

WHY DO YOU WANT MY MONEY?

We need funds to get this project off the ground and onto podcast platforms ASAP - we're aiming for the NZ Summer holidays when teenagers have more time to engage in sex and hopefully our podcast.

Funds will go towards:

- High-quality sound equipment (so it doesn't sound like arse in your headphones)

- Website, Social Media and Podcast platform setup and management

- Digital and physical marketing campaigns (so we reach as many NZ teens as possible)

- Business costs (admin etc.)

- Production costs (guests, time etc.)

- Music rights

WHO IS INVOLVED?

So far it's lil' ole me, Geni McCallum. I'm a Marketing Consultant & Content Creator with over 10 years of experience working for companies like Ethique, Science Alive, Family Times Magazine and more.

You might have even seen some of the science education lessons (Science Snippets) I taught across libraries every weekday for 2 years or my guest spots on WhatNOW as a science educator. You may have even come to the March for Science that I organised in Christchurch or the Big Science Day that I marketed (we had 24,000 attend). Or you might have invested in Ethique via their record-breaking Pledge Me campaign that I set up and marketed ($500,000 in less than 24 hours!). 

These days I'm working on finishing my BA in Psychology, working for purpose-led clients all over NZ and starting a social enterprise called Frankly. 

I can personally recommend watching the Netflix series' 'Sex Education' and 'Big Mouth' with your teenager and opening up an honest conversation about sex and relationships with them.

But it can't all come from your parents, it has to be well-informed, interesting and varied. No subject too weird or gross on the table. That's what the Frankly Podcast will be. 

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?

- If you have the means then please pledge today, even $5 adds up quickly

- Share this link to your friends and family on social media: https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/6706-the-frankly-podcast-sex-advice-for-nz-teenagers 

- Talk to friends and family about Frankly and maybe have a look at our website on www.franklypodcast.co.nz

- We're open for questions already so you can also tell the teenagers in your life to check out our website as well. 

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