Published: March 1, 1995

Learning To Say No

"What does this say about women?'' asks April Spencer, one of the instructors. "The message is that to get what she wants, she has to use sex. And that message is false.''

"When you see these types of ads, you get the idea that a woman is more of a woman if she's having sex,'' chimes in Naomi Pettaway, one of the other leaders. "But I do not have to have sex to feel good about myself as a woman.''

Demiris Gates, a male instructor, uses other slides and examples from class literature to expose the messages society projects about men and sex--and to offer up strategies...