In This Issue:
Stop family detention: Submit a public comment now + How often can you take the morning-after pill? + Sexual assault isn't an issue that only cis women face

Learn more about Xicanisma and Cassandra's social media activism: What I Wish I Knew Before Becoming An Activist.

What's Chisme? Check out this video featuring Queer Xicano Chisme.

Nope! The number of times you take Plan B, or any other brand of emergency contraception (aka the morning-after pill), won't affect how well it prevents pregnancy. The morning-after pill works just as well the first time you take it as it will the fourth or even 40th time. The most important thing is to make sure you take Plan B as soon as possible after unprotected sex, ideally within the first three days. That's because the sooner you take it, the better it works.

It's totally safe to take the morning-after pill more than once, whenever you need to. But there's a reason it's known as "emergency contraception." The morning-after pill isn't as good at preventing pregnancy as other non-emergency types of birth control (like the IUD, implant, shot, ring, patch, or pill). It can also be more expensive than other types of birth control. So if you find yourself having to rely on it often, talk with your nurse or doctor (like the ones at your local Planned Parenthood health center) about more convenient and effective ways to prevent pregnancy.

— Kendall at Planned Parenthood

Is the morning-after pill right for you? Take the quiz.

"I was 12 the first time it happened. A boy I knew asked if I would let him use my phone to call his parents. I didn't hesitate to invite him in, even though I was home alone. We were the same age. I'd known him for years."

Read Jack's full story on Tumblr. This story contains depictions of sexual violence and victim-blaming.

It's time to stop talking about sexual assault as though it's an issue that only cis women face. Half of all transgender people will experience sexual violence, and often more than once. And the rates of sexual assault are even higher for trans people of color. "Nearly every one of these survivors has also faced substantial barriers in accessing the safety and healing services they need and deserve," wrote Michael Munson, co-founder and executive director of FORGE, a national transgender anti-violence organization.

For years, I thought I was alone. That loneliness held me back from being able to live as my authentic self, let alone my best life — which is why I feel it's so important to open up now. I think about how I felt in the past. The isolation and longing for someone to just see me. To know that I wasn't wrong. I needed to see, hear, and truly know that I mattered. Then I think about how there are many other people who are out there feeling this way. It's time to start recognizing and creating visibility for trans survivors of sexual assault.
Jack Knoxville, Planned Parenthood Digital Organizer
  Jack Knoxville is a very OUTspoken multiracial advocate who grew up homeless and became the first trans guy to run for office in Tennessee. In 2016, he launched Trans Empowerment Project, a nonprofit focused on providing resources for the trans community. He loves Planned Parenthood because it provided him with access to hormone therapy when no one else would. His work is focused on using the interwebs to organize young people and marginalized folks to improve reproductive health care access and outcomes.

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Read More:

+ Transgender Sexual Violence Survivors Are Slipping Through the System

+ Making Space for Trans People in the #MeToo Movement

+ For LGBTQ Youth, #MeToo Is Not a Heteronormative Issue

Survivors of sexual assault deserve compassionate, affordable reproductive health care and accurate, nonjudgmental sexual health information, including access to emergency contraception, STD testing, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and abortion. Staff at Planned Parenthood health centers are here to help.

It's been a difficult month — we could all use a video of cats being cute. Watch now.

  Abigail McElroy PA
  When Abigail was a sophomore in high school, staff from the Amnion Pregnancy Center, a crisis pregnancy center, presented to her health class using shame and scare tactics to promote abstinence as the only option for young people. Abigail took action and spoke out about the visit at a monthly school board meeting. "Amnion's absurd claim that premarital sex makes people less able to form meaningful relationships poses real harm to all students, especially those who have been victims of sexual assault...By allowing Amnion to present year after year, my school supported a group that put its religious beliefs above our right to complete information."

Abigail ultimately got Amnion banned from presenting in health classes at her school — but she's not stopping there. She's now organizing to remove Amnion and similar crisis pregnancy centers from public high schools across the state by encouraging other students to speak at their school board meetings and by leading a letter-writing campaign to the Pennsylvania legislature. Read more.

Missed our previous issue on crisis pregnancy centers? You can read TBH online.

What we're reading:

+ 10 Latinx Icons You Didn't Learn About in School

+ Reluctant Hugs: Why You Shouldn't Force Kids to Show Physical Affection

+ When We Say #SexEdSavesLives, We're Talking About Our Own

+ Unlearning Toxic Masculinity Can Be Difficult. Here Are a Few Role Models Who Can Help.

+ 9 Books to Read If You're Mad As Hell at the Patriarchy

Who are you bringing to vote?
Planned Parenthood Federation of America is partnering with MTV's +1 the Vote Campaign for the upcoming midterm elections! To get started, register to vote and check whether your friends and family members are registered to vote — and then follow up with them to make sure they commit to voting on November 6. Even if you're not eligible to vote in this election, you can still make a difference by motivating the people around you. Check it out.

TBH (To Be Honest) is a monthly newsletter dedicated to learning about our bodies, talking about sex and relationships, and challenging health inequity and injustice. Send us your feedback.

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