Letters to the Editor: talkin’ bout sex education
Tuesday, December 14th, 2010i’ve been pretty quiet around here lately. I got myself a part-time job at a cafe, and I’ve been trying this thing called reading books. It’s nice. I get to snuggle up with the kitties and not strain my eyes with a computer or ipad or phone screen. But, as I am an “extreme feminist” as one of my dear friends likes to say, an issue has brought me back to haddadadad. Which is a good thing. Caring is good.
I occasionally read the blog The American Virgin, and lately they have been focusing on Abstinence Only Sexual Education, which is a fun way that tries to scare kids into not having sex, either by mentioning STIs, AIDS, pregnancy, and the like. Other fun topics they seem to fit in is how girls shouldn’t give their opinions to boys because the boys are more interested in girls they feel they are helping. Right. As I have been in a relationship where I felt that way, I can tell you it’s one of the scariest ways to go about your business. Not only does your life get dictated by what that person wants to do, but if/when you have any inklings of doing something different, you beat yourself up over not doing exactly what your significant other wants and making him upset or moody or, worst of all, not want to spend time with you.
Not exactly what I consider healthy.
What I hope for in sexual education: giving kids the chance to choose whether they want to engage in sexual relationship or abstain. Give them the knowledge of protecting themselves from sexually transmitted diseases and infections and pregnancy. While contraceptives are not not 100% effective, they sure cut down on the chances of being infected or getting pregnant. Teen Moms would become less of a reality show and more of a warning. Abortions wouldn’t happen as much. Kids wouldn’t be cast out of their homes for getting pregnant before being married. Kids who aren’t legal adults wouldn’t get trapped in relationships with people they don’t want to be in a relationship anymore because kids change their minds.
Currently, not all schools let kids know about condoms. My school’s health class said it was an option and quickly went over the subject. That was ten years ago, though. Who knows what it is like now. Hopefully better!
The entry about scare tactics ended with a link to Amplify Your Voice’s setup for a prewritten email voicing for a repeal of these types of classes to send out to every state’s political representatives. It even finds your reps for you with your zip code. I added a little more words to mine and rearranged a paragraph or two to make it a little more interesting and less scary, and I will provide it here if you like less starch in your opinion emails:
subject: “Co-Sponsor the Repealing Ineffective and Incomplete Abstinence-Only Program Funding Act of 2010″
Dear Representative / Senator:
As your constituent, I ask that you co-sponsor the Repealing Ineffective and Incomplete Abstinence-Only Program Funding Act of 2010 (HR 6283/S3878) — a bill that would eliminate Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage program funding.
After spending more than $1.5 billion on ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, it is time for Congress to stop funding these failed programs once and for all. Study after study has shown that these programs have no impact on teen behavior and censor critical information about condoms and birth control.
These types of “teaching aides” use scare tactics on girls to make them believe boys will not want them if they have too many ideas of there own. Seriously. This video talks about it in representation with computer-animated characters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmwJvgKTTjw&feature=player_embedded . Essentially, it’s telling half the population, soon to be voters, to not voice any opinion for fear of rejection. I could have sworn that the point of voting was to stand by what you believe to be the best policies. How will that happen if people aren’t voting?
The American public overwhelmingly rejects teaching young people abstinence-only-until-marriage education. Numerous studies have shown that more than 80 percent of voters want young people to receive a comprehensive approach to sex education that includes teaching about both abstinence AND contraception. I feel adding the layer of contraception, pardon the pun, will help give a better, more complete sex education in our public schools, greatly reducing teenage pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections and diseases.
It’s time for Congress to stop promoting ignorance in the era of AIDS and take a stand for public health and the rights of young people.
If you to are interested in making this sort of education process modified, please fill out your own form at this link. It takes about three minutes.
And because I am so XTREME:
NWS
Talking bears share Abstinence lessons, Part 2:If girls have ideas, they will scare boys away and end up alone. the american virgin
amplify your voice
End Funding for Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding amplify your voice