College students started a sex ed channel to teach young men boundaries and consent — it's the positive masculinity we need

Sex education has often been taught through outdated curricula and awkward lectures or skipped altogether. So, when the time comes to apply what we’ve learned or missed, it can leave a lot of people unsure of how to communicate, respect boundaries, or even ask the right questions. A group of students at Colby College in Maine saw that gap and decided to do something about it. What started as a school project is now a viral TikTok account titled Sex Ed for Guys (@sexedforguys), where they use humor and simplicity to talk about everything, from consent and boundaries to respect and emotional maturity.

In one of their most popular videos, the group plays a rapid-fire game called "That’s What’s Up / What’s Up With That," where they describe various scenarios and classify them as good or bad. For instance, one man in the video talks about "setting boundaries with your partner" and says, "That’s what’s up." They continue, "Backflips. That's what's up! Using racial and homophobic slurs. What's up with that? 2013 Florida Gulf Coast March of Madness run. That's what's up. Kidney stones. What's up with that? Night vision goggles. That's what's up."

Another standout video shows the group doing a "Respecting Women Workout," which is a series with several parts. Each exercise move is paired with a basic principle of respect, like listening, communicating clearly, and not pressuring a partner. It’s a clever way to mix everyday humor with serious lessons, and it’s landing especially well with younger viewers. The account is rooted in a research project led by Colby professor Adam Howard, who studies privilege in elite boys’ schools, as per Rolling Stone. His findings showed that sex ed in these environments is often underdeveloped or nonexistent. Collaborating with student researchers, Howard asked how they might best share what they had learned. "They said TikTok," Howard says. That laid the groundwork for the TikTok project.

Christopher Maichin, 20, a junior at Colby, said, "I think the greatest part of it is that they are getting an education without even knowing it. They’re watching a funny video, but they’re learning about consent. As they scroll, maybe Sex Ed for Guys will pop up, and it’ll start having them think a little bit differently." Another junior, Ava Shapiro, who joined the team this semester, added, "Part of the reason why we try to make the videos funny is that sex ed doesn’t have to be serious. It doesn’t have to be a taboo topic, and it can be entertaining, fun, and useful."

And their approach is working. Howard says, "The videos are providing really valuable information in really accessible ways." Comments on the videos show how much the content is resonating. @annieebergee wrote, "This is what I mean when I say I like my men in shape! This is the shape." @morgan_madness_ said, "These are the men we’ve been needing!" while @_notsolitlinda added, "As a public health professional, this is good content." Even viewers outside the core audience are embracing the message. @abbybcarter2000 said, "I feel like this is like the parenting technique of how to sneak vegetables into your kids’ food." @neutsie noted, "The fact that I would actually work out if I had a group of friends who would make these with me while we were there."

You can follow Sex Ed for Guys (@sexedforguys) on TikTok for more content on sex education.