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Speaking with Lawyer, Advocate and Sex, Etc. Alumna Elizabeth Gyori
Sex, Etc. wouldn’t be Sex, Etc. without the teen writers who create clear, accessible content geared toward other teens. Many of these teen staff members continue pursuing advocacy in their professional lives. I recently got the opportunity to speak with Elizabeth Gyori, a 2008-09 teen staffer who is now a lawyer. Currently a legal fellow for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), she will soon be joining an organization called Disability Rights Advocates as an attorney.
Elizabeth shared with me that she remembers Sex, Etc. as a place where she combined her passion for advocacy with the ability to communicate with others through writing. Today, she remains committed to social justice issues. Elizabeth’s ongoing advocacy is evidence that the skills picked up at Sex, Etc. can last way beyond your teen years. Our teen staff alumni are doing amazing things!
Sex, Etc.: What is your career focus and what interested you about this?
Elizabeth: I am a public interest attorney, meaning I use my lawyering skills to bring litigation and advocate for policies to serve the public and advance social justice. I have been able to work on a diverse array of issues during my career thus far, including housing justice, free speech, privacy, criminal justice reform and racial justice.
When I was in middle school, I first became politicized about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11. I became an anti-war activist, attending rallies and protests in NJ, NYC and D.C. During this time, I also became interested in many different social justice issues ranging from free speech to LGBTQ+ rights to environmental justice. I saw that lawyers could play an active role in fighting for change, using the law as a tool. I knew that I wanted to pursue a career that would allow me to make a difference and influence social change.
Sex, Etc.: Can you tell me about your current position with the ACLU? What has the experience been like and what do you hope to pursue in the future professionally?
Elizabeth: I am currently a Brennan Fellow in the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. The Project focuses on legal issues relating to the First and Fourth Amendments, which respectively protect freedom of speech and the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.
My experience at the ACLU has been amazing. I’ve really enjoyed the diversity and complexity of issues that I get to work on. It may not seem like it up front, but First and Fourth Amendment rights touch on many different substantive issue areas and social justice movements, whether directly or indirectly. It has been really fun and challenging (in a good way) to think through the positions we want to take in cases and how they might affect areas beyond free speech and privacy, such as racial justice, gender equity and immigration. Also, the law itself is grappling with how to deal with new types of speech and advances in technology.
In the future, I hope to be doing work similar to what I am doing now—litigating cases and working for positive social change!
I strongly believe that teens deserve honest and comprehensive sex education so that they can be prepared for all the new experiences that they will have as they go through puberty and become adults.
Sex, Etc.: Why did you join Sex, Etc.?
Elizabeth: I strongly believed (and still believe) that teens deserve honest and comprehensive sex education so that they can be prepared for all the new experiences that they will have as they go through puberty and become adults. I saw first-hand as a high school student that schools were not providing this education, often resorting to scare tactics, incomplete lesson plans and/or abstinence-only or abstinence-first education to try to push teens away from having sex. But this approach didn’t stop my peers from having sex or undergoing changes that come hand-in-hand with puberty. It just left them more ill-equipped to make fully informed choices. I wanted to play a role in solving this problem and show what honest, accurate and comprehensive sex education could be. I also loved the idea that teens could inform their peers about these topics in a serious but relatable way.
Sex, Etc.: Do you remember a specific topic you discussed/wrote about that impacted you?
Elizabeth: I wrote an article about pornography and how its depictions of sex and body types were both wildly inaccurate and harmful for teens to view as an ideal. The story actually begins with a personal anecdote about viewing porn for the first time and how shocked I was at what I saw (large breasts, skinny waists, round butts, etc.).
Due to what I was seeing and hearing among my peers, I felt that it was important to put porn in perspective for teens so that they could understand that it didn’t reflect reality or healthy sexual relationships. Writing the article was also helpful for me personally to deconstruct porn and to learn how to distinguish between fantasy and reality.
Sex, Etc.: Were you always interested in advocacy? How did Sex, Etc. inspire or contribute to that?
Elizabeth: Sex, Etc. allowed me to combine advocacy with writing and reporting and showed me what it meant to “speak truth to power.” In other words, at Sex, Etc., I explored how reporting and writing about the truth could in and of itself be a form of advocacy for transparency and accurate information. I was also thankful to be given the opportunity to engage in advocacy with politicians, the press and other advocates for comprehensive and accurate sex education for teens. I was lucky enough to speak before elected officials in NJ and go on live television in NYC, thanks to Sex, Etc. These experiences showed me that I could be an articulate and poised public speaker in high-stress situations.
Sex, Etc.: How do you feel being on the teen staff prepared you for college, work and the “real world?”
Elizabeth: Years after my time on staff, I still turn to the skills I learned and refined at Sex, Etc. in my work, whether that is interviewing a client, drafting a brief or writing an advocacy blog post. Further, the opportunities afforded to me as a writer for Sex, Etc. staff gave me confidence to use my public speaking and advocacy skills throughout college, law school and in the workplace. In fact, prior to 2020, the only time that I had spoken before a legislative body was as a Sex, Etc. staff writer. I put those skills to good work when I testified three times before legislative bodies while an attorney working on the privatization of public housing between 2020 and 2022.
Sex, Etc.: Why do you think teens should be included in conversations about sex ed?
Elizabeth: Teens are the most directly impacted by their sex education in schools. Only they can tell us what sexual health questions keep them up at night, what rumors about sexual health are making their way through the grapevine, and what sexual activity they are inclined to try. By including teens, we can, first and foremost, make puberty and sex all the less scary, empowering them to make the decisions that are best for themselves. We can also gain valuable insights into what concerns teens, what information may be the most necessary and how teens can best receive this critical information.
Sex, Etc.: Do you want to add anything else about your experiences with Sex, Etc.?
Elizabeth: I just want to thank all the editorial staff as well as the writers who have been brave enough to write for Sex, Etc. over the years. This is such a wonderful resource for students and formative experience for writers. I’m so glad to see it thriving years later!
