ONE® Condoms partnered with our long time friend Prevention Meets Fashion (PMF) to host another amazing condom fashion show! Prevention Meets Fashion, Inc offers a variety of programs and services to address a lack of sexual and reproductive health education, promote the unique needs of queer and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, and to create safe(r) affirming spaces for all gender identities.
We worked with Nhakia Outland, the Found and Executive director of Prevention Meets Fashion to talk about this year's fashion show theme, her inspiration, and a few words of wisdom.
Tell us about this year's Project Condom Fashion Show! What was the event atmosphere like?
This year's theme was " The Call for Comprehensive Sex(uality) Education (CSE)." We were hoping through this theme that we can begin to break down misconceptions about CSE and have a dialogue through fashion about how we can recognize the positive impacts of CSE because without CSE, children, youth and adults regardless of gender identity face higher risks of STIs, unintended pregnancy, violence such as sexual assault, gender-based violence, teen dating violence, intimate partner violence and other issues. The atmosphere of our Condom Fashion Show this year was fun and interactive. There were moments where people sat down to listen to important information on comprehensive sex education (CSE) from PMF and the other organizations that joined us. There were also moments where people could talk to the organizations at their tables to learn more resources, network, and for the children in attendance to have an interactive story time, coloring time and discussion with our social work intern on consent and boundaries. Overall, we believe that we created a fun, safer and affirming environment to learn about CSE and begin to break down the hesitation about teaching CSE.
What inspires/motivates you to continue to host fashion shows and promote sexual health and wellness?
Seeing the excitement and joy of learning and unlearning from everyone around us is inspirational. From the community designers and artists, to the models, as well as those attending, everyone seemed excited about the condom creations and messages behind the creation. The positive and non-threatening energy allows for conversations around topics, such as sexual health and education that have been stigmatized. Also, we love witnessing the learning and unlearning that happens individually and together as a community.
Tell us more about Prevention Meets Fashion and how it's grown over the years.
Prevention Meets Fashion has grown from a local sexual health initiative to a grass-roots sexual health non-profit organization with seven programs and additional services. While we still struggle with obtaining funding, support from businesses such as Global Protection Corp and ONE® Condoms are appreciated and keeps our programming accessible. Also, for the past 7 years, we have consistently been able to engage groups of all ages, genders, gender identities, sexual orientations and other backgrounds around the various sexual health topics, including but not limited to condom education.
Do you have any words of wisdom/advice to offer?
Be open to learning, be curious and always ask questions! This can apply to way more, but in terms of sexual health, this is how we can move past the stigma and discrimination. Be the person who asks questions about why certain topics aren’t talked about in your ecosystem. Be the person to start a conversation and begin learning.
