What is sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and why is it important?

The Department of Health defines SRHR as:

“Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to a person’s sexuality and sexual relationships. To be sexually healthy, people need to be able to have pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence. They need to have access to sexual health information and services. For people to have and keep their sexual health, their sexual rights must be respected, protected and fulfilled. All people have these rights.”

As YWL, we want to interrogate this further by exploring the lived experiences of people who have firsthand experience of accessing these rights.

But we need your help. That is why we have decided to create a zine called My First Time. It is not often that young wom?n, non-binary and transgender people are given the opportunity to speak about SRHR issues openly without stigmatisation. We are treated with disgust when we talk about our periods in public, and are called ‘sluts’ and ‘whores’ when we speak about sex, pleasure, and even just the desire to access different contraceptive methods. Although these issues are not new and are being battled by a number of feminist organisations across the world, we assert that change begins in our immediate communities, and that every single one of us has our own story to tell. bell hooks states that:

When our lived experience of theorizing is fundamentally linked to processes of self-recovery, of collective liberation, no gap exists between theory and practice. Indeed, what such experience makes more evident is the bond between the two - that ultimately reciprocal process wherein one enables the other.

This viewpoint encompasses our direction for this zine - that the telling of our lived experiences can have a significant impact on the change we are able to make in the world.

And that’s where you come in: we want your previously unpublished short stories, personal essays, poetry, photography, illustrations, paintings, videos, sound bites, and more that speak to SRHR in ways that are creative, innovative, and true to your story. SRHR includes, but is not limited to:

• Sex and pleasure

• Sexual violence and trauma

• Mental health

• Access to sexual and reproductive health services

• Contraception

• Abortion

• Sex work

• Queerness

• HIV/AIDS

• Teen pregnancy

We invite anyone and everyone to contribute their work to this exciting project!

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• Where will your work be published: The zine will be available for free online for anyone to access in our e-zine, as well as in a single print run. We are also planning to have an exhibit showcasing the work that went into the creation of this zine, and hope to have further collaboration with you to bring this event to life.

• Compensation: YWL is a non-profit student organisation and action research project that aims to create safer spaces for wom?n and queer students to engage in questions of sexuality, sexual boundaries, and violence through SRHR peer education initiatives. Since this is the case, we do not have the funding to financially compensate contributors for their work. Despite this, we will showcase your work in a public exhibition and host a writing workshop for you to work on your submission.

• Republishing: The right to republish will remain with you.

Here’s the lowdown:

Please note that any work that does not follow these guidelines may not be considered for publication.

• Submissions are open from 28 August - 25 September, and will be processed by the YWL editorial team.

• All submissions must be emailed to myfirsttimezine@gmail.com, with your name and submission type in the subject line, eg. General Leia Organa, Poetry

• Please include a short bio of yourself, around 50 words

• All submissions must speak to SRHR in some way

Now for the specifics:

Short stories and personal essays

1. 500-2000 words

2. Must include a title and your name

3. Must be submitted in a word document

Poetry

1. No word count

2. We will accept up to four poems at a time

3. Each poem not more than two pages

4. Each poem must be submitted in a separate word document with the title of the poem and your name

Photography, illustration, painting, and other visual art

1. High resolution images only (min. 700 px)

2. We will accept up to 5 images at a time

3. Attach images to email or send a link to Google Drive/Dropbox/WeTransfer files

4. Please include a 100 word explanation linking the work to the topic of SRHR

Video

1. Max. 5 minutes

2. Attach video to email or send a link to Google Drive/Dropbox/WeTransfer files. Alternatively, upload it to YouTube as ‘unpublished’ and share it with us.

Sound bites

1. Max. 5 minutes

2. Attach sound bite to email or send a link to Google Drive/Dropbox/WeTransfer files

Remember, all submissions must be emailed to myfirsttimezine@gmail.com, with your name and submission type in the subject line, eg. General Leia Organa, Poetry

We look forward to receiving your submission!