So, I found this video, on my grandmother's Facebook page of all places: We Have Sex. It's a video of Methodist college students, basically, creating PSA in favor of standing with Planned Parenthood and standing up for Title X funding from the US government. After watching this video, I began to think about how relevant it was in relation to our 16&Pregnant class. Often times, more times than not, the topic of teenagers having sex is a bit of a taboo subject matter. Older generations don't like to think that teenagers have sex, but they do. Sometimes teens have sex because it feels good, because they love someone, or because they want to feel loved.The education of teenagers as sexual beings is extremely important to the progress of their emotional and physical development. When education programs shift toward an abistance only teaching method and students have Bristol Palin to look up to as a role model, the unanswered questions and overall ignorance toward teen's sexuality could be dangerously detrimental. If funding for Title X and ogranizations like Planned Parenthood are cut, students with abstinence-only education are left to fend for themselves in a world they are not equipped to handle properly.
Young people have sex. It's essential that we educate and provide options to keep them safe, healthy, and happy.
-Andrea W.
This video was very interesting for a couple reasons; first off, it was made by faith based organization. Second, the video never mentions abortions or any of the stands on it. And third, the most obvious is that it really stresses the fact that every teenager is having sex, plans on having sex or knows someone having sex. This argument obviously points to many different political discrepancies so it can be a touchy subject. I think this is a very important issue for young women as well as for their new-born children. However, I don't feel like I have enough knowledge about the topic to really make an educated opinion. For example, I'm not sure where the budget cut money is going. This would be my number one concern. This is a very important issue, however there are a lot of other social problems as well, where is our money really going?
ReplyDeleteSarah D
I really enjoyed the video because it showed that teens are definitley having sex or know someone that is, they are taking birth control, and also getting tested for STIs. All of these things that teens are doing are very adult choices therefore they should be educated about these adult choices. Also, the article had a good point that abstinence-only programs could decrease the pregnancy rate and reduce teen sex, but only if they educate teens about sex, pregnancy, and STIs positivley and truthfully. Non of that "if you have sex you will die" crap is gonna cut it or "if you have sex your bad".
ReplyDeleteKristen M
I think that people cutting the funding to title X are in for a big surprise if it does get cut. Their goal is to reduce the cost to the state. However, I suspect if funding is cut, the state will end up paying more for actual pregnancies that could have been prevented. Having a baby is way more expensive than birth control. The extra welfare of only a few people could pay for hundreds of condoms.
ReplyDeleteTaylor Z.
I love this article! Being a person of a strong religious background it is almost taboo to think that teenagers and unmarried people especially women are sexual beings. And since they aren't thought of as sexual beings no one thinks that they need to be educated on the facts or that they use the resources around the,m. I think this is a great protest and its something young(er) people can do to stand up for issues that directly effect them.
ReplyDeleteAlice M.