Ever wish you could give your friends something that could save their lives? Now you can! Apply today to receive a box of 500 Trojan brand condoms to distribute this Fall.

Teach your friends about safer sex and become a part of a network of over 1,000 youth activists advocating for sexually healthy campuses.

Also, click the play button below to listen to Sarah Audelo (Advocates for Youth's Senior Domestic Policy Manager) and Julia Reticker-Flynn (Advocates' Youth Activist Network Coordinator) discuss the importance of the GACC on 94.9 CHRW Radio, a radio station serving the University of Western Ontario and surrounding area. Thanks to Ashley Bushfield for inviting us on her radio program!

(Timestamps: Julia begins speaking at the 1:54" mark; Sarah starts speaking at the 3:12" mark.)

While I was in college, I was involved in sexual health issues internationally: HIV/AIDS, family planning, child marriage, etc.  After graduating I moved to the Texas-Mexico border to teach high school. Who would have guessed I’d have to continue those fights while trying to push my kids for academic success?

My first year teaching I had 9 parents in my classroom.  I taught at a 9th and 10th grade only campus.  When I did some digging to learn what kind of sex education my students received, I was shocked to learn it was damn near nothing.  Health was a semester-long required elective that my students could take at any point during high school. Students were taught directly from the textbook and when I looked up information on sexual health I found a ton of information on abstinence but NOTHING for students who were thinking of becoming or already sexually active.  You could learn how HIV was transmitted and how it effects the body, but not how to prevent it. One of the methods to prevent pregnancy was to “get enough sleep” so students could make good choices. 

There was, however, another elective my 9th and 10th graders could take.  It was on parenting.

But that’s the crazy part. My community was great at supporting our teen mothers…as they should be...but prevention was not a priority. If they became pregnant, we told them about WIC. Once they delivered, our young mothers were home-schooled until they could return to school full time. Once they were ready to return, the district would either pay for daycare or even give grandparents a monthly stipend to help care for the baby.  Mothers were offered the opportunity to enroll in an alternative school so they could finish their diplomas quicker. This system wasn’t perfect, but much better than anything I had seen before.

But back to the education, or rather, lack of.

Every week I’d have girls coming to my classroom, asking to go to the nurse so they could go home because they “stained” their pants.  They weren’t taught enough about their menstrual cycle, so they weren’t sure when to expect their period and come prepared with either a pads or tampons. Sometimes they had irregular periods, but their parents didn’t know about the pill to regulate periods, couldn’t afford it, or didn’t want their daughters on it.  There wasn’t a teen clinic nearby, and transportation was incredibly difficult because the area I taught in was both rural and poor. There was little to no public transportation.

My second year teaching I had a hard time locating one of my girls. The year had just started and she was nowhere to be found. I started asking around and someone told me she had put on a ton of weight. A couple days later I found her walking to class crying. She had just found out she was pregnant….6 months pregnant.  After a long hug and a cry, my roommate (a fellow teacher) and I sat her down, and we talked it out. She was scared and didn’t know what to do. She just thought she had been putting on weight. While this may seem shocking, when no one busts myths about “not being able to get pregnant on the first try” or you have irregular periods or you don’t learn what your body does when you become pregnant, this is what can happen.

But it doesn’t stop here. Throughout my years teaching, I had to correct myths such as: HIV is transmitted through toilets and tears, drinking sprite before sex prevents pregnancy and more.  I had students “dating” men in their mid-to-late twenties. Others were in unhealthy relationships and it took massive coordination with their friends, other teachers and administrators to keep them at a distance. I had girls who wanted to access family planning services, but were undocumented and unsure where to go for help.

But it’s not all bad news. And this is why I have so much faith in young Latinas.

The young woman who found out she was pregnant at 6 months took advantage of the help she was offered and graduated that Spring, two years ahead of her peers.  She buckled down and called me when she didn’t understand her homework.  After graduating, she went back to school to receive vocational training. She broke it off with her abusive boyfriend and most importantly, she’s an amazing mother.

One of my favorite moments teaching was at the end of my two years (when I knew I couldn’t get in trouble).  After a field trip, my girls and I had “girl talk” on the bus ride home.  Ooh the questions!  We talked about boyfriends, healthy relationships and consent, and of course, safer sex. Some of them were lucky enough to have supportive parents who took them to get birth control. Some had decided to wait to have sex until they were married. One in particular bought tic tacs to see if she could be responsible enough to be on the pill.  This was her way of trying it out. Awesome.

Even today, they continue to ask me questions.  Right before I went back for another graduation in June, I received a text asking where to get birth control. After a brief exchange, we decided I’d go with her to the doctor so she could get on the pill. I was so proud of her because she and her partner communicated and decided they weren’t ready to have a child yet. And while he was happy to take her to the clinic, I was honored to be asked instead.

In November during the healthcare reform fiasco, our member of Congress who is incredibly anti-choice, Henry Cuellar, was heard to side with Rep. Bart Stupak and his horrible abortion amendment. After an afternoon of lobbying on the Hill with other reproductive justice advocates, I got home and noticed quite a few of my girls who had recently graduated were on Facebook and Google chat.  To be honest, we hadn’t discussed abortion before, but I took a chance and asked if they were pro-choice.  All four that I saw online said yes and you know what? They took action to and contacted Cuellar. He still took an anti-choice vote, but now there are more pro-choice voices in his district calling him out.

So you see why I love my girls? And why I love being Latina? We are mad complicated and there are a ton of issues our communities confront everyday, but we’re not stupid. When given an education, a chance, and sometimes just a hug or someone to talk to...amazing things can happen.


This blog is part of the Latina Week of Action for Reproductive Justice! 

Our Youth Activist Network Coordinator Julia just sent out the following email...we hope you'll send in an application today!

We have just opened applications for the fall semester GACC! Click here to learn more and apply.

The Great American Condom Campaign is a youth-led grassroots movement to make the U.S. a sexually healthy nation. Each year, GACC members give out 1,000,000 Trojan Brand condoms on college campuses across the United States, educate their peers about sexual health, and organize to improve the policies that affect young people.

This campaign is a great way to engage your peers and work together to help keep your communities healthy and safe. But don't take my word for it! Check out what some of our past participants have done and said about the campaign.

- Drew University: "We finished giving out all of our condoms in TWO weeks!"
- UNC-Chapel Hill: "Trojan's lil' helpers"

Do you want to be a part of this campaign? Click here to apply for your box of 500 condoms and join youth activists from around the country as they advocate to make their schools and communities more sexually healthy.

Thanks!
Julia

Claire Buffie is Miss New York 2010. She is a staunch and outspoken advocate for LGBT equality — on her website, she calls the gay rights movement the "civil rights movement of our generation."

Below Claire shares her thoughts on the recent Proposition 8 decision. We hope that you'll post a comment supporting her advocacy at missny2010.blogspot.com.

OVERTURNED. EQUALITY WINS.

The highly anticipated announcement yesterday about Proposition 8 definitely came as something to celebrate! In this historic decision, the federal court ruled Proposition 8 — California’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples — to be unconstitutional. Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, declared that the amendment to the California Constitution adopted in November 2008 violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process. "Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite sex couples are superior to same-sex couples."

We already have social stigmas to eliminate; we don't need the law enabling inequality and discrimination. Judge Walker added, "Proposition 8 places the force of law behind stigmas against gays and lesbians, including: gays and lesbians do not have intimate relationships similar to heterosexual couples; gays and lesbians are not as good as heterosexuals; and gay and lesbian relationships do not deserve the full recognition of society."

Love prevailed, and equality won yesterday. But the fight is far from over. Yesterday's vote overturned an amendment that took away rights that had already been granted — and should already be naturally equal — and reinstated marriage equality, specifically for the 18,000 people who married under California's legal same-sex marriage laws. We still need to move forward to legalize gay marriage in the state of New York...and Illinois...and Colorado...and and and. But in order to do that, we have to reflect on what marriage is and what it is not. Marriage is the state sanctioning of two people as a single unit. Marriage doesn't have to be achieved through the white dress, black suit, flowers, cake and first dance tradition in a church. You are married by the state; you are recognized and blessed by the church, if you so choose.

As expected, an appeal has already been made by the opposition. Although I'm hopeful for the future, one thing is certain: People are talking. Voices are being heard. Our laws our changing. We are on the road towards equality.

 Ernesto Dominguez got it right when he wrote: 

We may not understand the impact of our words, but it is clear that these words push folk away…

He goes on to write that when we use hate speech to degrade those who are HIV positive, we add to the social stigma that comes along with having HIV. And as a result?  People don’t get tested. They think that going to get tested means that they “sleep around”, or that they’re “slutty”.

The other day I was going to get tested at Planned Parenthood, and my friend texted me before I left: “Y are you getting tested? ****ing around? Lol.”

More...

The words of "Not on my watch" were heard all across the King Center in Atlanta, GA. This was particularly because Alveda King and Priests for Life were here well heres a picture of the staff:

For the African Americans page please look at this page http://www.priestsforlife.org/africanamerican

Heres a step by step account of that day prepared by Sister Song a Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective:

A Frontline Report on Pro-Lifers in Atlanta

Competing photos and accounts of the so-called Pro-Life Freedom Ride arriving here in Atlanta today will probably abound over the next several days, but here’s a fresh report from the frontlines written about an hour after the events were over.

The activists who showed up for SisterSong, SPARK & SisterLove assembled in front of the King Center at approximately 2:30 pm. We were met by Park Police and a woman representing the Center who said because our permit had been denied to assemble, we could not use any part of the Center itself if we wanted to display signs, chant, or do any kind of "protesting activities." In fact, access to the interior of the grounds in which the tombs of Dr. & Mrs. King rest in the middle of a beautiful reflecting pool was blocked by barricades allegedly for "maintenance", which is not normally the case. It looks like she was aware that we were coming and ordered the Park Service to block access to the reflecting pool. We were told we could walk around the back of the pool, if we wished, and only if we did not use our signs, bullhorn, or pass out any literature.

She did offer, however, an amphitheatre directly across the street (with shade and seating) that is part of the MLK Park and Visitors’ Center which we could use as we wished. But, she warned us, we could not cross back over the street when the anti’s came at 4:00 or she "would have to call authorities." Presumably, she meant we would be arrested. She also asked us to carefully stay on our side of the street and promised that she would keep the anti’s on their side because the King Center obviously did not want any direct confrontations between the two groups. She even warned us not to send photographers across the street or they would be "detained" as well.

More...

 

Spirituality encompasses how you understand yourself and the world around you. Regardless of religious beliefs each person has a desire to feel good about themselves and to connect with another person. Expressing one's sexuality can be a very spiritual experience and when you have questions about your sexual health it is important that you be able to include the spiritual aspect. 

Advocates for Youth has complied a list of organizations that also partner in encouraging youth to bring their whole self to the discussion about sexual and reproductive health. This discussion involves both how to get involved as an activist but also where you can go for support with your own sexual health questions. Feel free to check out the Religion and Spirituality page.

Once again everyone get excited! My good friend Ana Garcia aka “Rokafella”



There is going to be a New York City screening of the film “All the Ladies Say” on Wednesday July 28th, 2010 from 7:30-10:00pm at Dance New Amsterdam 53 Chambers 2nd flr (between Chambers St & Reade St), New York, NY. “All the Ladies Say” is a film project that has been developing since 2005 under the direction of Rokafella and Kwikstep produced by Full Circle Productions is getting closer to its final stages of production.

Edited by Melissa Ulto and Corinne Manabat in addition to sound engineering by Oja Sound Twista, this film has been a true collaborative effort to show respect for Hip-hop's female masters.

"All the Ladies Say" features female break-dancers and poppers from the US and International scene. Lady Champ, Aiko, Vendetta, Severe and Baby Love are profiled to highlight the lifestyle of women who participate and carve out a niche for themselves in a challenging dance genre. Beta, Violet and Peach also make cameo's to share their unique perspectives on the challenges and triumphs their urban dance journey.

Q and A will immediately follow the screening; performance of live music and dance will round out the evening so bring comfortable shoes ;) !

Vital Information:
- When: Wednesday July 28th, 2010
- 7:30-10:00pm
- Price: $10 entry ticket fee
- Merchandise and music for sale will help to provide funding for continued expenses of film.
- Where: Dance New Amsterdam 53 Chambers 2nd flr (between Chambers St & Reade St), New York, NY

Directions:
- Take 4,5, or 6 train to Brooklyn Bridge City Hall station and walk west on Chambers to building number 53
- Take N or R trains to City hall station cross Chambers street walk past Duane Reade and Modells to building number 53.
- Take A, C, E train to chambers walk to Chambers then walk east past Broadway past Duane Reade and Modells to building number 53

First I want to say hey to everyone. I know I have been out for a minute but now that I am done with undergrad and have the summer off til medical school, I will try to holla at ya'll every now and then.

I want to write about this annoying ad for a product called Latisse that has been really bothering me. Props to Jill for writing about this before in her peice Taking A Stand from last year. Home girl is ahead of the game.

I have to say that I am still wrapping my mind around how I feel about Latisse and the condition of “Hypertrichosis” (lack or undergrowth of eyelashes). I understand that there is a legitimate purpose for human eyelashes beyond cosmetics and that this purpose needs to be protected. Especially after conditions such as cancer and the ensuing chemotherapy that can cause hair loss. However, I am concerned that we are also going through another round of medicalization of common problem for the gain of the medical establishment and/or the pharmaceutical industry.

The additional fact that this drug seems especially geared towards women is also disturbing and disappointing because it seems like it is playing into the ridiculous beauty standards expected of women in our society and the extreme lengths we sometimes go through to reach those standards. If you have not heard my feminist and sensitive sociological interpretation of news and events, be prepared because I tend to be quite skeptical. In my opinion, of the drug developers and researchers had meant for this to be a purely therapeutic drug why this type of advertisement?

It is not to say that I think it is unethical for their to be a cosmetic that helps grow eyelashes (read: women’s eyelashes) if that is what women want. I do think however, that there should be a careful balancing act so that it does not pathologize women who have eyelashes that are not as bushy and long as Brooke Shields (after all, homegirl is a PROFESSIONAL MODEL). I also think that there should be no diagnosing of the normal human condition and appearance as abnormal or “hypertrichosis” and thus needing this expensive, $120/month treatment. Instead, I want honest dialogue that says, “Hey women we created this drug and we want to sell it. there is nothing wrong with you but if you want thicker eyelashes - here you go.” I think people would also be less willing to buy this “wonder drug” if they know that a) scientists still do not know exactly how it works b) there is quite a risk of adverse side effects in up to 4% of users and c) this sexy drug is actually a glaucoma treatment.

Not to mention that the therpeutic effect of this drug for some conditions that cause hypertrichosis as indicated in this article by the National Institutes of Health: 

"...It seems that prostaglandin or prostamide analogs are only effective in promoting eyelash regrowth in patients with a mild form of eyelash alopecia areata.

Eyelashes regrowth in other causes of hypotrichiasis

Prostaglandin analogs, not prostamide, have been studied in animal model of hair injury associated with radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) analog was shown to have a significant degree of protection against radiation- induced or doxorubicin-induced alopecia in mice.54–56 This protective effect has yet to be studied in human undergoing radiation therapy or chemotherapy..."

I do not think that we as physicians should have any other role to play in what is clearly just another Botox like medication. Let them get it if they want it, but please do not masquerade as trying to treat any sort of “problem” because we all know what the real problem is here and those problems with American gender roles, consumerism and the medical establishment’s eagerness to tango with all of that.