Safe sex is great sex, better wear a latex cuz you don't want that late text... that I think I'm late text.
Lil Wayne
I understand that Lil Wayne might not be the best person to get sex advice from, but it might help younger generations to start practice sex safely. Recently, an article, (No) Condom Culture: Why Teens Aren't Practicing Safe Sex, published in Time's Health and Family section discussed the safety of young people having sex. Some of the stats and comments were kind of a shock. Katy Steinmetz, author of the article, starts of stating that in the 90's things were done better including talking about sex.
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) said the amount of students using condoms hit it's high point of 60% 10 years ago and has slowed since then and it's going down in some demographics. According to the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada around half of those sexually active in college aren't using condoms. Other sources are saying that after the first time teens are inconsistent with their condom usage.
Another issue is sex education because it was more of a big deal with older generations, but in the last year the Guttmacher Institute has said that there are nearly 90% of high schools are talking to students about abstinence and STD's, but less than 60% are talking about contraception methods. Which could explain the reason for the fact that half of the new STD infections are occurring in young people. Americans between 15 and 24 are contracting gonorrhea and chlamydia four times faster than the general population.
In the 90's America was in the midst of the AIDS epidemic which caused condom usage to rise. The 90's had "poster children" for HIV/AIDS such as Ryan White and Magic Johnson in the media and now we have people making songs encouraging sex being played quite consistently. Teenagers of today didn't grow up when all that was going on. Laura Kann, an expert in youth risk behaviors at the CDC, said, "They young people of today know HIV is a manageable, chronic disease,"... "It's not something that can kill you in their eyes. So that leads, most likely, to an attitude that it's not something that they have to protect themselves from."
The CDC has also found that some schools are no longer pushing the safe-sex lessons that were once in place. In places like Alabama, Alaska and Florida, fewer public school are teaching how to get a hold of condoms and the importance of the. However, there have been setbacks because of the recession, but in places that have money to provide free condoms, health departments haven't seen safe sex increase.
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) said the amount of students using condoms hit it's high point of 60% 10 years ago and has slowed since then and it's going down in some demographics. According to the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada around half of those sexually active in college aren't using condoms. Other sources are saying that after the first time teens are inconsistent with their condom usage.
Another issue is sex education because it was more of a big deal with older generations, but in the last year the Guttmacher Institute has said that there are nearly 90% of high schools are talking to students about abstinence and STD's, but less than 60% are talking about contraception methods. Which could explain the reason for the fact that half of the new STD infections are occurring in young people. Americans between 15 and 24 are contracting gonorrhea and chlamydia four times faster than the general population.
In the 90's America was in the midst of the AIDS epidemic which caused condom usage to rise. The 90's had "poster children" for HIV/AIDS such as Ryan White and Magic Johnson in the media and now we have people making songs encouraging sex being played quite consistently. Teenagers of today didn't grow up when all that was going on. Laura Kann, an expert in youth risk behaviors at the CDC, said, "They young people of today know HIV is a manageable, chronic disease,"... "It's not something that can kill you in their eyes. So that leads, most likely, to an attitude that it's not something that they have to protect themselves from."
The CDC has also found that some schools are no longer pushing the safe-sex lessons that were once in place. In places like Alabama, Alaska and Florida, fewer public school are teaching how to get a hold of condoms and the importance of the. However, there have been setbacks because of the recession, but in places that have money to provide free condoms, health departments haven't seen safe sex increase.
My opinion is that if the CDC, community leaders, schools, and parents are having such concerns how and why is it that they can't come up with a way to get the point across that their are problems can come from sex. Yes, I understand that as kids, teenagers and young adults, we are going to do our own thing. But, I also feel that from personal experience and shows like 16 and Pregnant that parents are becoming younger and younger. Adults, not all but some, need to stop worried about being our friends and focus on being the adults in our lives by giving us some instruction on how to protect ourselves.
We need to find the resources to put programs in place that majority of parents, schools and community leaders with the help of the CDC. Promote them and make the best use of them. It may not be what everyone wants but it really comes down to what image do you want your family, school, community, etc to portray from the outside.
Baby, it's a fact, that once it's gone you'll never get it back/Hold on, to your innocence, use your common sense
Lyfe Jennings
I think the issue is that today there seems to be a lot more pressure for teens to have sex. And that's what causes groups, who talk to teenagers about sex, to stress abstinence and safe sex falls by the waist side. It's sad, but it is indeed the truth. And with these songs you speak of they hear what the artists are saying, and since they look up to them they think "Yeah I was told it was bad, but 2 Chainz does it so why can't I?"
ReplyDeleteIf we follow the structure of the 90s,then we could see some rise in the numbers again. Or go with gym teacher from Mean Girls and teach them if they have sex, they die. A bit dark but whats the worst that can happen?
I really think so many girls are okay with having unsafe sex, because they are use to the thought of being a teen mom. MTV and other shows have shown so many shows on teen moms it is almost becoming unique to make it to 20 without getting pregnant. I graduated high school with 13 girls that either had a kid in high school or were pregnant on graduation day. It is definitely not just girls though. I just find it mind blowing how they can risk so much by having unsafe sex.
ReplyDeleteI really feel like a major part of the problem is the social stigma of getting and using birth control. People are afraid to buy condoms, they don't want to be caught buying condoms by friends or family members. Honestly, I feel that if you're embarrassed to buy condoms you have no right doing any act that requires you to use condoms. Younger girls are also afraid to use oral contraceptives because they don't want to be judged or slut shamed by their peers, even if they aren't on the pill for sex. My biggest problem with sex education is that many schools teach abstinence only sex education. At my high school, we did not learn about the different types of contraceptives available and how to use them. We did not learn that Plan B is an option if a condom breaks or if you have sex without protection and are afraid. Instead, it was abstinence only or your future spouse will think you are a whore because you're used goods. By educating our younger peers on the importance of being safe when having sex and to take the initiative to protect yourself, we can change how they view sex.
ReplyDeleteIt is becoming a problem and back in my highschool, the administration was considering putting condoms in the nurses office to allow students to practice safe sex. The argument against it was that this would promote having sex which absolutely boggles my mind, just because you have the opportunity to get condoms doesn't mean you're going to have sex. It seems that more and more teenagers are practicing in pre-marital sex and while I don't think you can stop it, but you need to educate them to practice safe sex, so nobody keeps getting that late text.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have as big of a problem with at my high school, meaning to my knowledge there aren't any that have kids. But, there are a few that I went to middle school with that have kids. I think you all have valid points and it makes me wonder why adults don't ask us, the people in these groups they write and talk about, how they can approach younger generations on tough topics such as sex.
ReplyDelete