Scarleteen was founded in December 1998 by Heather Corinna, a nonbinary author, activist, and “Internet publisher with a focus on progressive, affirming sexuality.”
Scarleteen advertises itself as “the largest resource online wholly dedicated to providing truly comprehensive and highly inclusive sex and relationships education, information, and support that centers around young people.” Most visitors to the website, specifically those who are spoken to directly by the website’s staff, are 15-30 years old, but they provide direct services to kids as young as 13.
It started off as a website called Scarlet Letters, which offered sex education via articles, artwork, still photos, and poetry. Scarleteen arose from a desire to treat teens and young adults as “smart, capable, thinking, feeling, decision-making human beings” with a real, more updated version of sex ed. Direct services include SMS text services, live chat (currently disabled), “moderated” message boards, and a direct line to ask a question or seek advice.
They have message board discussions among Scarleteen members, staff, and volunteers that are actively monitored and moderated, creating a “safe space…to talk about sex, relationships, bodies, culture, and more.”
Plenty of discussions focus on positive topics, such as sexual health (for adults) and handling abuse, assault, and other trauma, with advice on coping strategies or seeking genuinely helpful therapy services. However, Scarleteen also contains highly explicit topics that are inappropriate for minors to view.
For instance, a 15-year-old girl with a 20-year-old boyfriend shared explicit details of her sexual experiences with the grown man. She told the [adult] Scarleteen readers about how he might leave her if she did not comply with him sexually. The author notes that what they are doing is illegal in most places and suggests researching legality.
Predators are potentially using Scarleteen to exploit minors into having pedophilic adult-child conversations. If possible & they think they can get away with it, predators on the site could use opportunities such as this to take advantage of a highly vulnerable minor.
Another important note: The original post was titled “TEEN SEXUALLY ATTRACTED TO PEDOPHILES” but the moderators of the site changed the word “pedophiles” to “predatory adults.” While these two are technically the same, why did they feel it was necessary to have that specific P-word removed? Perhaps they felt sympathy for such individuals and wanted to use a politically correct alternative instead of the word they truly deserve to be called. You decide.
A 14-year-old girl posted that she sometimes daydreams about being a man, and she was immediately directed to “Trans Summer School!” (more about this later in the article). Girls and boys are being groomed during these conversations into disassociating from their birth sex and adopting a trans identity, all under the banner of “acceptance and inclusion.”
While the website is not exclusively for minors and plenty of posts are made by individuals over 18, children should never be posting such explicit information or discussing these topics online with adult strangers, regardless of intent.
"There's nothing illegal about being younger and exploring different kinds of sex. Younger people have the same rights to be sexual in ways considered by some to be kinky as they do with other kinds of sex.”
The concern with Scarleteen is the ease with which adults can converse with minors about sexual or gender identity-related topics. These message boards are said to be “monitored and moderated,” but there appear to be zero filters on allowed topics (except for prohibiting inciting or threatening violence, harassment, sharing unsolicited images, misuse of the platform such as using it as a dating service, and harmful or illegal activities like sexual exploitation or drugs). Yet, members post very specific and explicit content about their bodies, interests, and experiences.
This can easily become a breeding ground for grooming of minors, whether for sexual purposes or brainwashing them into transitioning; it’s sketchy at best. There is potential grooming in the comments, and it is unclear how much is monitored or if members can send direct messages. Since “gender identity” is a complex topic, minors struggling with such issues should ONLY seek advice and guidance from reputable, unbiased clinical professionals. To Scarleteen’s credit, they have the same sentiment & acknowledge the limitations of the website. They state the information provided is intended for “educational purposes” & it should NEVER be a substitute for professional medical advice or care. Even so, the type of content permitted on these message boards still goes far beyond what the younger users of the website should have access to.
Book List: Scarleteen's “Good Sex-Positive Books For Teens”
S.E.X.: The All-You-Need-to-Know Sexuality Guide to Get You Through Your Teens and Twenties (Heather Corinna, 2016); written by the founder of Scarleteen
“Considered by many to be the sex and relationships book for young people…its 2nd edition covers everything from STIs to sexual orientation, body image to birth control, masturbation to media to misogyny, the anatomy of the clitoris to considering cohabitation." The book is written in gender-neutral style, and it endorses pornography consumption.
Sex Ed for the Stroller Set: How to Have Honest Conversations with Young Children (Karen Rayne & Laura Hancock, 2023), advertised toward parents of children 6 YEARS OLD & UNDER
Pussypedia: A Comprehensive Guide, foreword by Heather Corinna (Maria Conejo & Zoe Mendelson, 2021)
Yes I’m Flagging: Queer Flagging 101: How to Use the Hanky Code (Archie Bongiovanni, 2020)
"F*ckMe! is a flight of super-helpful fancy that can help you -- or your intimate companions, your platonic friends, your students, the people who come into your clinic, your younger brother, your favorite cousin, and maybe even your parents -- identify the basics of what you really want and need if and when you want to have sex with a partner, and give you a foundation for clear, candid, and meaningful sexual communication. It's meant for people who are seriously thinking about or already engaging in sex with partners (for our younger users, or anyone who just isn't at this yet but who does want some help figuring out sexual readiness, this is probably a better fit)." (Hyperlink sends you to a Scarleteen article titled, “Ready or Not? The Scarleteen Sex Readiness Checklist”)
A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns (Archie Bongiovanni & Tristan Jimerson, 2018)
Enjoy Sex: (How, When and If You Want To): A Practical and Inclusive Guide (Justin Hancock & Meg-John Barker, 2017)
"With the authors' engaging and thoughtful style, the book…looks at how to understand and care for yourself, delves into ideas of pleasure for different bodies, ages and tastes, explores relationships, and tackles the tricky topics of communication and consent."
Scarleteen Article:
This serves as a gender ideology guide on a site geared toward sexual and gender identity education for young people. This article explicitly states it is not meant to determine if readers are trans (“there’s no one right way to be trans…”), but aims to help explore the diversity of trans identity and one's relationship with gender. It clandestinely plants seeds of potential gender confusion, possibly leading minors to seek “gender-affirming care.” Although the site includes 18+ members, it is, to repeat, easily accessible and advertised for young people as young as 13. It includes links to similar articles such as "So I Think I Might Be Trans: Now What?", "Gender Expression Gear Guide", "The Magic of Hormones!", and "The Wide World of Surgical Transition.”
Scarleteen Article:
This article discusses statistics on teenage girls with adult sexual partners, pregnancy rates, power dynamics between younger and older partners, and how to balance these. It suggests that age differences can work with certain steps. A quote from the article states: “An older partner will most likely be more experienced than you; it’s important that you discuss this difference in both age and sexual experience frequently and frankly.” Another quote emphasizes that adults are responsible for their actions to avoid legal consequences, followed by “there is no reason for them to decide to engage in behavior that could result in a rape conviction.” In an advice post about a 13 year old girl pregnant with her 18 year old boyfriend’s baby, they stated “It’s possible that some of why he did that was because of your age…” They seem to know EXACTLY why he did what he did, while at the same time promoting that this kind of relationship can work.
Scarleteen has officially earned themselves a spot on the Gays Against Groomers RADAR Watchlist. We will be checking in soon.
References:
About Scarleteen. Scarleteen. https://www.scarleteen.com/about
All About S.E.X.: The Scarleteen Book! (2016). Scarleteen. https://www.scarleteen.com/read/books/all-about-sex-scarleteen-book
Barker, M., & Hancock, J. (2017). Enjoy Sex (How, When and If You Want To): A Practical and Inclusive Guide. Icon Books.
Bongiovanni, A. (2020). Yes I’m Flagging: Queer Flagging 101: How to Use the Hanky Code to Signal the Sex You Want to Have.
Bongiovanni, A., & Jimerson, T. (2018). A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns. Limerence Press. Books / Publications. (2024). Scarleteen. https://www.scarleteen.com/read/books#pussypedia-comprehensive-guide-foreword-heather-corinna
Good sex-positive books for teens. Scarleteen. https://boards.scarleteen.com/viewtopic.php?t=11552
Sex Ed for the Stroller Set: How to Have Honest Conversations With Young Children. [PDF]. https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:80ec7bd2-5342-4dbc-a5c6-1504d6573336
Heather Corinna. (n.d.). Simon & Schuster. https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Heather-Corinna/161857020
Heather Corinna [website] https://heathercorinna.com/
Mendelson, Z. (2021). Pussypedia: A Comprehensive Guide. Hachette UK.
Scarleteen Timeline. Scarleteen. https://www.scarleteen.com/about/announcements/scarleteen-timeline
S.E.X : the all-you-need-to-know sexuality guide to get you through your teens and twenties : Corinna, Heather : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (2016). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/sexallyouneedtok0000cori_n7f5/page/n9/mode/2up
Welcome to Trans Summer School! Scarleteen. https://www.scarleteen.com/read/identity/trans-summer-school/welcome-trans-summer-school
Well, F*ck Me! It’s a Scarleteen Zine! (2019). Scarleteen. https://www.scarleteen.com/read/books/well-fck-me-its-scarleteen-zine
What’s Age Got to Do With It? Scarleteen. https://www.scarleteen.com/read/relationships/whats-age-got-do-it