A New Form of Sex Ed

Promoting a safe space to educate people on sexual health

By Michela Flood

When clicking onto the @ Sarcasticsexed Instagram account, viewers will be pulled in by the unique and aesthetically pleasing sexual education page, containing a plethora of valuable information. The account, which was first posted back in April 2020, has just over one thousand followers and spreads knowledge to support a healthy and substantial life on the basis of sex. Created with the intention of providing information for the youth of Syracuse NY, @sarcasticsexed is dedicated to being a comfortable environment to talk about topics typically regarded as taboo.

Kareliz Ortiz Camacho has been working with Planned Parenthood as a peer health advocate for five years. More recently, Camacho has worked on the marketing of the @sarcasticsexed account, and how to enlarge its viewership.

The people who work on @sarcasticsexed have an incredible passion for community outreach. Prior to the pandemic, Camacho felt this immense need to reach out to more people, and she believed that creating an Instagram account like @sarcasticsexed would be the perfect way to do just that.

“The name sarcastic-sexed, and this idea of using sarcasm to approach these vast topics through usage of memes to increase viewership from youth has always been the intention” Camacho said.

Camacho explained that the account’s colorful and eye-catching feed is purposeful. She said the posts are curated to make young Instagram users interested in scrolling through the account.

@sarcasticsexed is supposed to be comforting to viewers, and offer them a safe space to be their curious selves. Camacho explained that through the direct messages feature on Instagram, she and her fellow account runners are able to provide followers with an outlet to ask questions, and receive accurate sexual health information that does not require in-person clinical visits.

Back in September 2016, Camacho moved to Syracuse from Puerto Rico. She explained that, upon reflection, she realized that the only acknowledgement of sexual wellness was about periods in elementary school. She said that this lack of access to education on sexual health increased her passion for creating awareness on the topic. Because of this passion, the account was created to reach all people by posting in multiple languages.

“It does not matter if you only speak English or Spanish, you can access the information,” Camacho said.

The account is diverse in the age range it caters to. Although the account’s bio says “for youth by youth,” anyone can obtain and benefit from the information provided. Camacho said that even her mom has been an active viewer on the account.

Her point: promoting healthy sexual education should not only focus on one age group.

“Not gearing towards one niche of people allows people to know that while one post may not include me, another will,” Camacho said. “Everything can be accessed by all genders, identities, and ages.”

Sara Rose is a peer health advocate for Planned Parenthood, but she also assists in running the @sarcasticsexed Instagram account. Rose is extremely passionate about sex education, and believes that an individual’s relationship with sex is important to the way that we view and incorporate it into our lives.

Rose says that the account takes what she calls a “big sister” approach, giving people a safe space to ask questions and get answers. The account values connection, letting people know different information through different lenses and experiences through stories in each post.

“To me, @sarcasticsexed is a way to help educate youth,” Rose said.

Rose believes that if people are already going to be mindlessly scrolling on Instagram, they might as well gain useful insight and information. She said that the Instagram account is a less pressured approach that makes the information much more tangible to viewers.

Both Camacho and Rose have a huge passion for the @saracsticsexed account. To support the account, simply go to the page and learn new and valuable pieces of information on the basis of sex.

“What I have learned is you have to have an open mind,” Camacho said. “Your schedule or background is not the same as anyone else. Everyone is different, has different backgrounds, and has an open mind.”