Censorship and Culturally Specific Sex Ed with Rayka Kumru

Listen to "Censorship and Culturally Specific Sex Ed with Rayka Kumru" on Spreaker.

In this episode, Hannah is joined by Rayka Kumru, who is a digital sexual health expert. Rayka discusses the types of censorship that exist around sexuality and the double standards around them. She and Hannah talk about what culturally appropriate sex ed means, and the differences that Rayka has seen in LGBT pride celebrations in Turkey and places like the US. Finally, Hannah and Rayka discuss periods, and the concept of virginity.

Read the episode transcript here!

SHOW NOTES

What we chat about…

The UNESCO Switched On conference about digital sex ed
Rayka’s talk at the Switched On conference and her research around the double standards of social media and brands when advertising sex products
Different types of censorship
Topics Rayka won’t talk about when delivering sex education in Turkish
Self-censorship
How does Rayka describe what she does? What are the different facets of her work?
How did Rayka get into her line of work?
What kinds of brands and organisations does Rayka work with? What do they want to know within sexual health and what are they trying to do?
What can we learn from both the in-person side of sexual health education and the brand side?
How academic research reaches general awareness
The role of influencers in spreading new research and information
How should brands navigate promoting their products in cultures that don’t necessarily share their brand values?
People seeing through brands supporting social movements just for the publicity
Brands having double standards when it comes to supporting LGBT Pride month but not following through on that support for the rest of the year
What are the LGBT rights laws in Turkey?
The differences between LGBT pride events in Turkey and in North America
The cultural context around periods and menstruation in Turkey
What advice would Rayka give to someone wanting to become a sex educator?