Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Why are 20 something's so clueless about sex?

Created by: Jillian

A new survey by Self Magazine and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy found some startling results about 20-somethings knowledge of sex, birth control, and various other contraceptive methods.

The survey questions why, "in an era of plentiful information and less stigma about using birth control", American women in their 20's keep getting pregnant even though they don't want to.

Hmmm...we may be in an era of plentiful information, but that doesn't mean it's the information young women and men need to make informed decisions about having sex and protecting themselves from disease and unintended pregnancy.

Some startling results from the survey:
50% cannot name when in her monthly cycle a woman is most likely to get pregnant.
64% of women do not know emergency contraception is now sold without a prescription.

Us 20-somethings are part of a generation that did not receive sex education...maybe that has something to do with it??

And yet, we continue to fund abstinence only education...

Monday, March 30, 2009

Sexual Predator or Product of a Sexualized Society?

Created by: Jillian

A 14-year-old New Jersey girl has been accused of child pornography after posting naked photos of herself on myspace.

The Attorney General of New Jersey and the police cannot recall another such case in the state's history. Really? That's crazy seeing as MySpace has only been around for less that 5 years! (Sarcasm intended)

Thankfully, Maureen Kanka, the mother of Megan, for whom Megan's law was named after, is the voice of reason on this topic, stating that “This shouldn’t fall under Megan’s Law in any way, shape or form. She [14-year-old NJ girl] should have an intervention and counseling, because the only person she exploited was herself.”

Rather than questioning what charges youth who post naked photos should receive, we should be asking why youth are posting naked photos in the first place?

Could it have anything to do with that fact that our youth are living in a highly sexualized society that refuses to discuss or teach them anything about their sexuality? Hmmm.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Abortion & Pregnancy Counseling on TV

Created by: Jillian

The U.K. is proposing to allow abortion and pregnancy counseling advertising on TV. The proposal would also require that services who don't offer abortion as an option make that clear in their advertising.

Wonderful news! Way to be U.K!

The proposed changes would impose a new "social responsibility" rule for television and radio, ensuring that ads are "legal, decent, honest and truthful". The U.K. has the worst teen pregnancy rate in Western Europe, but not as bad as the US.

And here in the US, we don't even have a standard approach to teaching youth comprehensive sex education.

I think that if we are going to permit highly sexualized television shows, like The Bachelor, Double Shot of Love, 90210, and the like to be on TV during hours when children and teens are obviously watching, why wouldn't we offer socially responsible advertising?

What do you think?