Andrea Barrica is In Bed with Eva


Andrea Barrica, founder and CEO at O.school, a judgment-free, medically accurate online resource for sexual wellness
Pronouns: she/her/they/them


 Cripping Up Sex With Eva 

So my first question is: Tell us a little about your self (name pronouns and what you do)


Andrea Barrica

Great! My name is Andrea Barrica, my pronouns are she/her and they/them. I'm the founder of O.school, a judgment-free and medically accurate resource for sexual wellness education online


Cripping Up Sex With Eva

That’s awesome you started O.School, what was your sex education like growing up?


Andrea Barrica

I grew up in a pretty conservative religious home, so it was pretty abstinence only -- basically "don't have sex until you get married" and nothing else. In public school, I got basic anatomy and information on STIs/pregnancy. It left me with a lot of shame and questions


Especially since I knew early on that I was attracted to women and that in my religion/community, that was not okay.


Cripping Up Sex With Eva 

That sounds pretty frustrating, but unfortunately not that uncommon.


What was the driving force to start O.School?


Andrea Barrica

There were many forces! One was definitely my personal experiences trying to find information online, but also I had been building products and companies online for years (accounting software, presentation software, and then venture capital investing) and saw a huge gap in sextech or other related spaces that I cared about. I began exploring what I felt was missing and that led me to start building O.school, though it took many forms in the beginning.


Cripping Up Sex With Eva

Yeah, online sex education is accessible to everyone who has internet, so that's an awesome vehicle to get sex-positive education out there! Tell me what O.school does and what services they provide.


Andrea Barrica

We think a lot about how people find information online, how they search on Google and other search engines, how they discover what they need. We publish medically accurate articles about topics that we find people are searching about and we try to understand how people interact educational content online


People can find videos, quizzes, and articles.


Cripping Up Sex With Eva 

Cool! That's important you tailor what you release to what your audience is looking for. Why do you think sex-positive sex education is important?


Andrea Barrica

So much of sex education that is federally funded in schools is abstinence-only until marriage or not required by law to be medically accurate, so providing high quality accurate information online is really important!


We should be relying on our public health institutions and our communities and those with lived experiences to tell us about sexuality, not just religious institutions.


Cripping Up Sex With Eva

Exactly! In your research before starting O.school, did you ever come across any information regarding sexuality and disability?


If not why do you think that is?


Andrea Barrica 

Actually, your book "Queers on Wheels" was one of the first things I read on the topic before starting O.school


Cripping Up Sex With Eva 

Aww! That's so cool!


I was on O.school for about a year or so and as you know sex and disability is not commonly talked about. Did you get any feedback or flack for having someone (and eventually three other people) with a disability talking about sex? Alternatively, did anyone express excitement around have people with disabilities on O.School talking about sex?


Andrea Barrica 

Yes, many people expressed a lot of excitement. Our NowThis video which was shared 25K+ times to over 7 million people had many comments about our feature of people with a disability talking openly about sex


There were some people who were surprised or didn't know how to react, but in general, I think people from all types of backgrounds can connect over how they were left out, so I was glad to see that reaction


Cripping Up Sex With Eva

That's amazing and also it just shows how needed places like O.School are!


Where do you want to see sex education go in general?


Andrea Barrica

I would love to see comprehensive sex education become ubiquitous -- already we see this on Tiktok and many other platforms, but I really hope that sex positive sex ed becomes as mainstream as talking about yoga or meditation or healthy eating.


It's a valid part of health but it's not currently treated that way, and I think Gen Z and many other progressive generations are beginning to change this


Cripping Up Sex With Eva

I agree, there is still a lot of shame about talking about sex openly and yes, over my 15+ years of doing sex and disability education, I have seen a slight movement towards a more progressive way of thinking about these things. But still, we have such a long way to go.


Where would you like to see sex education for People with Disabilities go?


Andrea Barrica

Such a long way, indeed!


Andrea Barrica

I have personally learned so much from you and other educators who champion sex education for People with Disabilities -- I hope for a few things 1) that People with Disabilities are given full agency over themselves and their ability not just to access sex education from those with their lived experiences but to express themselves sexually, that 2) sexual health organizations work to increase representation and gather more voices from People with Disabilities as sex educators and important stakeholders in the movement, and that 3) culture as a whole shifts to acknowledging and celebrating People with Disabilities as potential sexual beings -- all things I, O.school, and many other organizations still have a lot of work to do as well


Cripping Up Sex With Eva

I so agree, well said.


Where would you like to see O.school go in the future?


Andrea Barrica

We're a work in progress. I have been humbled and fascinated by "sexual wellness" as a space for almost four years now. O.school can provide a part of the puzzle -- specifically education, content, insights -- and in the future we hope to be a trusted resource in more forms, languages, across more topics, and helping more people.


Cripping Up Sex With Eva

That's amazing. Well that was our last question, thanks so much for chatting with me and for all the work you do at O.School, is there anything else you would like our readers to know?


Andrea Barrica 

I'm hoping everyone is taking care of themselves during these times! Thank you so much for having me, Eva. You've always had an impact on me in our journey, and I appreciate you inviting me on to chat.


Cripping Up Sex With Eva

Awesome! Thanks again Andrea it was wonderful talking with you, I hope you have a great rest of your day!


Andrea Barrica

You too, Eva!



Follow: @odotschool @andreabarrica

Website: https://www.o.school/

Email: a@o.school

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