This Jewish Teen Answered Her Sex Ed Homework Like A Boss
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Anne Cohen May 6, 2015
14 is an awkward age. Nothing looks right, nothing feels right and that bedazzled crop top you think is the most stylish thing in your closet will make you gasp in horror five years down the line.
But somewhere in all that teenage angst, there is hope for humanity.
Exhibit A: 21-year-old Jordan Fridman from Montreal posted this image last week. It shows her 14-year-old sister Mariah’s answers to her sex ed homework, with the caption: “Two years ago today, my then 14 year old sister got suspended for submitting these answers for her sex-ed class. I’m so proud of her.”
The instructions for the assignment were as follows: Read through these partner objections to condom use and then the possible responses below. Record the letter (or letters) of appropriate responses to these objections on the line beside each objection. If you have time, list a few objections and/or responses of your own (on the back of this sheet).
But instead of following the rules, Mariah decided to tell it like it is.
The post has been viewed almost 2.5 million times. According to Buzzfeed, Fridman has gotten a lot of positive feedback from people who agree with her sister’s views on sexual education (and also a couple of creepy guys who want to date the now-16-year-old).
Mariah’s Facebook page points out that she never actually got suspended (alongside comments like “YOU’RE BECOMING VIRAL”). But still girl, take a bow.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
