We're excited to announce the upcoming premiere of the film LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX, which was produced in collaboration with Advocates for Youth! 

LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX presents an innovative and empowering new vision for shifting our culture's approach to young people and sexual health in the United States. More details after the jump.

Have a minute to spare? Help us push Congress to support the Repealing Ineffective and Incomplete Abstinence-Only Program Funding Act of 2011, a measure that was just introduced. Here's the email that we sent out yesterday:

by Nicole Cheetham, Director, International Division

Amidst what is a disturbingly and increasingly acrimonious political environment for reproductive health and rights, it was a pleasure to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of International Women’s Day at the United States State Department today. For any budding historians, it’s interesting to note that International Women’s Day was first observed in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland following a decision agreed upon in Denmark at the second International Conference of Working Women held in 1910. At this meeting, a woman named Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) proposed that there should be a celebration of women on the same day every year—a Women’s Day—to push for women’s demands around the world. The suggestion was approved unanimously with over 100 women from 17 countries represented from unions, socialist parties, and working women's clubs. 

A trail-blazer herself, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hosted today’s commemorative event with special guest First Lady Michelle Obama in order to present the 2011 International Women of Courage Awards. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer and other U.S. and foreign dignitaries also participated. 

by Sarah Audelo, Senior Manager, Domestic Policy

This week, Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health will be holding a hearing entitled, “Setting Fiscal Priorities in Healthcare Funding.” At first glance, you may be thinking, “Oooh! Congress is finally getting it right! A hearing on how congressionally mandated studies show Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage programs DO NOT work! Let’s really talk about fiscal responsibility! Success!” 

But then you’d wake up, because you’re clearly dreaming.

While Congress IS holding a hearing entitled, “Setting Fiscal Priorities in Healthcare Funding,” Republicans are focusing on bills they consider duplicative, which in this case includes state funding for comprehensive sex education in the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP).

by Samantha, Amplify Community Editor

You’ve probably heard the exciting news that on Wednesday the Obama administration announced that Section 3 of DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, is unconstitutional, and the Justice Department will no longer be defending it in court. If you learned about this through a friend or overheard it on the radio or on TV, or if you read an article or two on it to try to learn some more details, don’t feel bad if some things were a little confusing. In my research for this blog, I had a lot of “But what does that mean?!” moments. I didn’t understand why someone wasn’t explaining the full story of what’s happening now in language that’s easy to understand, so I decided I would go ahead and write what I wanted to read. It took seven pages of notes to make sense of it all, but I think I have a good enough understanding now of what it all means to be able to explain (at least mostly) everything. And trust me, it’s still exciting. :-) 

First of all: What is DOMA?
DOMA is the Defense of Marriage Act, passed 15 years ago in 1996 under President Clinton.

What happened last Wednesday?
President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder (the head of the Department of Justice) decided that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional and that the Justice Department will no longer defend Section 3 in court. 

Editor's Note: This post was originally published on RH Reality Check.

By Amanda Marcotte

When it comes to the world of feminist writer/activists, I definitely fall on the “writer” side of the line. Most of my life is researching, conducting interviews, pitching pieces, and, of course, staring at my computer, trying to think of a verb that's dynamic but not pretentious. I love giving speeches, but they're usually of the 20-60 minute long variety meant to educate, analyze and entertain (and there's always a Q&A), and I'm always on a roster with journalists and academics. So how was it that Saturday afternoon, I found myself standing outside with feet growing numb in the cold amongst actors, musicians, organizers and oodles of politicians, trying to think of what I could say in 120 seconds that would be meaningful to the crowd of thousands of people waving signs and periodically erupting into chants?

by Elizabeth Merck, Manager, Individual Giving

Hey everyone! Through February 28th (midnight tonight!), Advocates for Youth will be giving away limited edition Great American Condom Campaign tote bags to donors who contribute $25 or more online through Advocates' website. 

You can see the bag and donate by visiting this link: bit.ly/fVBott

The GACC is a youth-led grassroots movement aimed at making the U.S. a sexually healthy nation. Each year, Advocates provides one million Trojan Brand condoms to students who serve as "SafeSites" on college and university campuses across the country. As SafeSites, these students distribute condoms to their peers, educate them about sexual and reproductive health issues, and organize to improve policies that affect young people's health and well-being.

Your contribution will be used to help young people prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, especially HIV.

Remember — donate before midnight tonight!