In this exciting episode, we’re having the sex talk you wish you got from your parents.

 Do you remember Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret? Well, today it’s me, host Michele Goodwin, asking the questions and inviting you to join us as we talk about sex, periods, non-binary healthcare, maternal health—and what don’t we know or ignore about our own bodies.  
 
Today we ask: What do you wish you learned from your parents, in school, or even now?  And when it comes to reproductive and sexual health as policy issues, what’s on the docket and on the ballot in 2021? Whose rights are at stake? 
 
Very special guests tackle these questions and more:

• Kelly Davis, a maternal health policy expert and vice president for global birth equity and innovation at the National Birth Equity Collaborative, an organization devoted to Black maternal and infant health. She is a public health professional and has worked in the past with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to launch programs for maternal health, HIV prevention, food access and more.  
• Dr. Fatu Forna, a maternal health consultant, obstetrician-gynecologist and epidemiologist. She has worked with the World Health Organization as their lead for reproductive and maternal health in Sierra Leone, and with the CDC as a medical epidemiologist. She is also the founder of the Mama-Pikin Foundation, which works to fight Sierra Leone’s high maternal mortality rates.  
• Mary Emily O’Hara, an LGBTQ media and policy expert and rapid response manager at GLAAD. They are also an award-winning journalist specializing in LGBTQ+ issues, and have written for Teen Vogue, Vice, Rolling Stone, The Advocate, Al Jazeera and more. 
•  Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, an advocate for menstrual equity and the founder of Period Equity, a legal organization devoted to achieving menstrual equity through advocacy and policy change. She is also a lawyer with expertise in nonprofit leadership and development, and is currently a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law. In addition to being a regular contributor to Ms., her writing has been published in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Time magazine, Harper’s Bazaar and more. She is also the author of the book Periods Gone Public: Taking a Stand for Menstrual Equity.  

Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.

Tips, suggestions, pitches? Get in touch with us at ontheissues@msmagazine.com.

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