anyway, while we pave the way for our already-maybe-increasing teen pregs rate to toss that 'maybe' by the wayside, britain proposed legislation last week to make sex education compulsory [every time I read that, a little part of my brain has an orgasm]. not only that, but they're making multiple age-appropriate curricula for kids as young as 11, and on through high school. see, britain has a pretty high teen pregs rate, kind of like another country I could mention. the only difference is that instead of basing their $50 million a year federally funded program on fear, shame, and misinformation, britain has taken a different tactic: they did some research, found that teen pregs was up, chlamydia was up, and [surprise!] kids want to know about sex. so what are they planning to do about it? ignore it and continue to cram dogma down the throats of their youth?
no.
"we must have consensus that good sex and relationships education is essential if we want our young people to live free of disease, have reduced pregnancy and abortion rates, and experience fulfilled sexual lives as adults."
imagine that.
like everyone else ever, I will also point you to violet blue's post at RH reality check on the five things the next president needs to do about sex ed. it is sheer brilliance.
in other news, the guttmacher institute recently released a fact sheet on young men's sexual and reproductive health. it looks at a variety of factors from 1991 to 2007. surprise surprise! the downward trend in high school boys' sexual experience that we'd had going [57% in 1991 to 49% in 2001] is no more [50% in 2007]. could this have anything to do with how badly we're failing them on sex ed? there's no longer a gender disparity in the receipt of sex ed, but there's been a sharp decline in the percentage of students who receive information about contraceptives and proper condom methods. even talk about HIV/AIDS is showing a slight decrease. what the fuck is wrong with these people? and we're showing quite a racial disparity in our already-shoddy birth control instruction - 33% of blacks and 45% of hispanic young men receive it, compared to 66% of white males.
boo.
and finally, from the purity files, two quotes from a couple of stories I kept unread in my google reader for 10 days just so I could make everyone else lose their appetite. time magazine ran a glowing review of a purity ball last week, and the author lovingly recounted this charming anecdote:
"They gave her a charm for her bracelet--a lock in the shape of a heart. Her father has the key. 'On my wedding day, he'll give it to my husband,' she explains. 'It's a symbol of my father giving up the covering of my heart, protecting me, since it means my husband is now the protector. He becomes like the shield to my heart, to love me as I'm supposed to be loved.'"
gross. and this quote care of Janice Turner, who teaches "power of purity" classes in Alabama [thanks, feministing]:
"girls give in to sex not because they want sex - it's like a hug. if they can get that from their fathers, they won't need it from a boyfriend."
you love it.
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