In recent years, the young people of America have been taking on the fight for equality and truth. So much more, people are breaking out of shells and standing up for what they believe in. I think that the beauty of the internet inspires this. We have YouTubers and free thinkers everywhere, bringing new ideas to the table daily.
A few years ago, I started watching Laci Green, a feminist YouTuber, religiously. I fell in love with how she put controversial topics into perspective, how she was positive, and more. Along with a few videos on MTV Braless, she has made videos about the sex education system in America in a few of her videos.
It was a video named "A IS FOR ABSTINENCE" that made me realize how screwed up the education system truly is. Virginia is one of the 27 abstinence based states (Green, 2013). However, a total of 37 states includes abstinence education (Guttmacher.org). At my middle school, we (me and other girls) were told that if we had sex before marriage, it was like we're presenting ourselves as a chewed piece of gum for our husbands. In high school, I was informed by my own health teacher that she had to fight to even teach us a little about birth control. Even so, she still couldn't mention condoms or teach the right way to put them on. When discussing a lot of things, it was made to sound like women were at fault. We had one of those "sex circle" things in the idea that if you had sex with someone, you had sex with every person they had been with. Movies were shown depicting women entirely at fault for getting pregnant (um... what?).
According to Guttmacher.org, 88% of schools allow parents to keep their kids from sexual education information. At the middle school level, only 10% taught children to use a condom as a part of required instruction. 13 states teach medically accurate education. 13 also require discussions of sexual orientation, but four of which require that only negative information is presented.
Via Guttmacher
Pamela Kohler was a study lead author at the University of Washington. "'There was no evidence to suggest that abstinence-only education decreased the likelihood of ever having sex or getting pregnant,' she [Kohler] said in a prepared statement." Don Operario also mentioned the value of comprehensive sex education and the "ineffectiveness" of an abstinence-only approach (WashingtonPost.com).
My world, personally, was opened up about sex education after watching nearly all of Green's videos. I'm also able to have an open dialogue with my mother, and I require good communication for anyone I think about starting a relationship with. I've also gone to the Museum of Sex in New York City, New York, and I feel like it's an experience everyone should have.
The fact is, people are going to do it. Parents and school systems should at least make sure that when it does happen, it is safe and consensual.
American Teens' Sources of Sexual Health Education. (2016, April 12). Retrieved August 08, 2016, from https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/facts-americ...
Green, L. (2013, January 18). A IS FOR ABSTINENCE. Retrieved August 08, 2016, from
Sex Ed Can Help Prevent Teen Pregnancy. (2008, March 24). Retrieved August 08, 2016, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic...
