Sometimes you're reading random tweets and end up in an unexpected place. I was doing just that and ended up reading tweets from a folklorist. A folklorist whose blog I read several pages of and recommended Did You Hear about the Girl Who....? by Marianne H. Whatley and Elissa R. Henken, which I just finished reading. And while I don't think it's perfect, I have found myself referencing it a few times this week while talking with coworkers.
In this book, the authors (one a folklorist, one a sex educator) share folklore they collected about sexuality. This ranges from urban legends to jokes, and topics from menstruation to anal sex. I recognized some of the stories, but largely felt uncomfortable reading them because they were offensive. That was mostly the jokes. The purpose of the book is to encourage sexuality educators to think about the different jokes and urban legends we hear seriously and think about what the message is. It might be that medical professionals are not giving specific enough directions for birth control, it might be that puberty education for people with uteruses focuses too much on menstruation as solely negative. While I think it would be great if there could be an updated version, some of the references (e.g., spermicidal jelly) are a little old I'm thinking, it really got me thinking. I've definitely heard young people and adults reference folklore and addressed them as I've heard them, and I've never thought as much about overall trends in the jokes and urban legends I've heard. And based on the conversations I've had this past week, it looks like it will inform my thinking moving forward.