Meeting with Claire Vimont, creator of the Sexploration games

It is with her energetic personality and a lot of commitment that Claire Vimont tackled the subject of sex education. This graphic designer from Nantes is behind the Sexploration games, real best-sellers at Topla.

Just a quick reminder, according to Ifop, nearly one in two teenagers ( 45% ) believe that the pornographic videos they have seen during their life have contributed to learning about their sexuality . So we decided to meet Claire to come back with her on this social issue for our teenagers and see how she created this great prevention tool that is Sexploration .

What initially motivated the creation of these five games? ?

Claire Vimont: It came from an observation (in my personal life with my partners, my family or my friends) that there was a big lack of information on questions of sexuality. I realized that I was very well informed about STIs (sexually transmitted infections), contraception, sexual orientations and gender identities… And in the end, I asked myself why it was up to me to do this teaching and why I was more informed than others on this topic. By doing research, I realized that there were too few tools and budgets dedicated to sexuality education in France. So the idea with these games was to have a fun medium that could be used to free up speech and that gives reliable information. Young people talk a lot about sexuality but they often discover it through pornography, friends' comments or the internet and a lot of nonsense circulates because of this.

How did you develop the game? What professionals did you surround yourself with?

First, I went to see what existed, in particular in a regional center of the IREPS (Regional Authority for Education and Health Promotion). They had a games library-library with lots of prevention tools and a whole section on sex education. I noted what I wanted to improve in terms of graphics and also so that everyone feels included regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, origins, or age.

Then, I met an association that does prevention in Nantes, "SIS animation", and I asked them to explain to me how they proceeded. They took the time to show me their tools and I was able to see how it was done in the field. I then made prototypes that I had tested by this association. Then I began my collaboration with Topla: we tested the games with young people from middle and high school. We had everything reviewed by the family planning center and by doctors too.

What did the rereading of these health professionals bring?

Details! They told me, for example, about other contraceptive methods that I hadn't thought of. It brought scientific knowledge and knowledge that complemented my own. I had done research, but having health professionals who live this on a daily basis and who have done dedicated studies really allowed us to refine the answers, correct any errors and choose the right vocabulary words.

Who are the audiences and age groups for which Sexploration games are aimed?

There are 5 games: four card games that are for ages 12 and up and the board game is for ages 14 and up. These games can be used by young people among themselves because there are rule sheets that allow them to play independently. They can also be used by parents with their children or by health professionals, teachers, school nurses, facilitators, sex therapists, associations that do prevention... all professionals who are in contact with young audiences.

When testing Sexploration with teenagers, did you realize that they knew more about sexuality than one might imagine, or vice versa?

A bit of both! They are very informed and very raw about certain things and sometimes not at all. For example, all their friends will talk about pornography and suddenly, they are able to evoke really hard core sexual practices and then on the other hand, they will not be aware at all of STIs or they will have totally neophyte questions like "Can you get pregnant if you give a blowjob?". Other times, they just don't have the basics of how the human body works. There is still work to be done. Let's say that they talk about it a lot but not always with the right information.

Currently, what is still taboo about sex education in France?

Everything! I play Sexploration a lot in the evening, with my friends who are between 25 and 35 years old. There are people who don't know what feminism is, others who don't know their anatomy or LGBTQ+ issues, because society doesn't make it a subject. We don't talk about it between friends or family, because it's taboo. Otherwise we would know all this. There are even people who told me "Your games are cool. But sexuality has to be discovered by yourself". It's like everything, it's learned! To avoid making mistakes that we would regret.

It's a bit of a shame that it's not just a topic of conversation. Many people think that we shouldn't talk about it to young people because they're too young, that it'll give them ideas. As if they were beings who don't know how to control their libido. It still bothers a lot of people. Whereas if we look at the figures from the WHO ( World Health Organization ), the more we talk about sexuality to teens and pre-teens, the less risky behavior they have and the more it delays early pregnancies, for example. It's extremely important, even for living together and respect between people.

School nurses were the first to order the game when it came out. How do they actually use it?

It is often the school nurses who take charge of organizing the 3 annual sex education sessions in middle and high schools , which are supposed to be mandatory. Sometimes, they organize half-days or full days to talk about it throughout the middle or high school.

It can be when associations come to do prevention or also when young people ask them questions and they are a little embarrassed. It is a communication support to talk more easily about these themes.

The games can be freely accessible in documentation and information centers. The school nurse can also organize sex education sessions with other teachers, by offering these tools to SVT teachers and other teachers can use them just as much to talk about sexism, for example.

For those who want to use it as a family, how do you recommend bringing the game to the table? And how can we lift the veil of shyness?

To put the game on the table, the idea is really not to force the young people because that would be counterproductive. We don't always want to play or discuss this subject with our parents. You can propose the game by saying: "Here, I'm giving you this game. You can play it with your friends or alone. And if you want to play it with me, come see me and we'll play a game". It's important to give the young person the choice.

Shyness will go away with the game. That's what I've noticed: we're too focused on winning the game to be shy. For example, for the board game C'est pas tabou! , when you start the timer, you have one minute to guess words and you don't worry about anything else. You just want to win. You may then use vocabulary that you wouldn't have used without the time pressure. And that's precisely the idea, that the game mechanics unlock speech.

You are an illustrator. What did you want to bring to this game in terms of design?

I tried to go against the SVT manual and the medical schema. Even if it changes a little, there is an approach to sex education that is still alarmist, probably because of AIDS. We talk a lot about STIs, the risks of pregnancy, sexual violence. It is oppressive to start talking about sexuality with young people by only talking about negative things. And the fact of having something colorful was to say that basically sexuality is pleasure. It is a way to get closer. It is fun.

In terms of body representation, I made sure not to only make thin, white, able-bodied characters. Often when you're in middle school or high school, you're very self-conscious. You're in the middle of puberty. Also, realizing that all bodies are OK, beautiful, and desirable is very important!

In terms of the illustrations, I wanted to create a "hand-drawn" effect, not to have a very clean and clear diagram like you might have in a biology textbook, but to have something more organic, more human.

Note from the Topla team: For all those who will be in the Nantes region on October 27, 2021, you will be able to meet Claire Vimont at the Educational Game Show , organized by the Canopé network.

To discover the entire Sexploration range, it's right here

Can you – The game of privileges and OK not OK – The role-playing game of consent are now available in international versions (available in French, English, German and Spanish). The other 3 games are currently being printed and will be available for pre-order soon.