“Let’s talk about sex.”
Salt N’ Pepa should be America’s national sex education representatives. Listening to one of their songs is as informative as any of the government sponsored, abstinence-only sex education programs that are so popular these days.
Actually, more than two-thirds of these government programs present misleading or inaccurate information about abortion, contraception, genetics and STDs according to a report released by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) in 2004. So some teenagers may have no choice but to rely on their iPod for their sex education.
The Waxman report listed some of the biggest lies and exaggerations, some of which I find almost humorous. For example, did you know that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can be spread via sweat and tears? Neither did I, because it is not true.
The fact that the Bush administration continually funds these programs is questionable. The fact that abstinence-only programs receive over $150 million in federal funding per year to propagate these untruths is unsettling. The fact that information like this may be the only thing an adolescent hears about sex is abhorrent.
A survey sponsored by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government finds that only 7 percent of Americans say sex education should not be taught in schools. Fifteen percent of people think that students should be taught using abstinence-only programs. While the promoters of abstinence have the right intentions in mind, it is becoming increasingly hard to justify such programs in the wake of multiple surveys that have shown that approximately half of high schoolers have engaged in sexual intercourse. They have shown at the same time that young couples are much less likely to use contraception correctly.
America’s youth need a broader education. The “No, no. Sex is bad. Listen to mommy.” statement just does not have the same effect on teenagers as the “No, no. Fire is bad. Listen to mommy.” reprimand had on 3-year-olds.
One alternative to the abstinence-only programs is commonly referred to as “abstinence-plus.” These programs emphasize that the best way to avoid complications from sexual intercourse is to avoid it. At the same time it is a theory tempered with reality and thus promotes the use of contraceptives for the teens that choose not to abstain. Not surprisingly, a plurality (46 percent) of participants in the NPR survey chose this as the program they want their children to undergo.
The final option on the survey was concerning programs teaching “that abstinence is not the most important thing, and that sex ed should focus on teaching teens how to make responsible decisions about sex.” Thirty-six percent of responses fell into this category. I am not a math major, but I think that those numbers total to make a large majority that want contraception options included in any lecture that their children are given concerning sexual intercourse.
Interestingly enough, the recent increases in government funding for abstinence-only programs are justified by the concept of parity (i.e. if sex ed based on using contraception receives X amount of money, then sex ed based on abstinence should receive X amount of money). Knowing that, reread the numbers in the preceding paragraph and think about that. Where is the greatest disparity? Here’s a hint: 82 percent is larger than 50 percent.
Ultimately teenagers make their own decisions in these matters regardless of what the government or their parents think. Shouldn’t society at least arm them with enough information to at least make an informed and well thought-out decision?
Salt N’ Pepa hit the nail on the head with this, “Let’s talk about all the good things. And the bad things that may be. Let’s talk about sex.”