Amplify Issues - Choosing not to have sex

Lone Star Update: Sex Ed in Texas

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:44:00 -0500

Garrett Mize is the Youth Advocacy Coordinator at the Texas Freedom Network and heads up the Texas Student Leadership Council, a part of Advocates for Youth's Cultural Advocacy and Mobilization Initiative.

In just the past few months, comprehensive sex ed has made huge strides in Texas. With the announcement of Texas Freedom Network’s latest report, our Houston Leadership Development Institute and World AIDS Day there is plenty of good news to go around.

Texas Freedom Network Education Fund Report

TFNEF’s latest report on sex ed in Texas is much different than our original 2009 report Just Say Don’t Know. In the first report, we asked each public school district in Texas to tell us what type of sex ed they taught. Of the 1,031 independent school districts in Texas, 990 responded. We found that 94 percent of school districts taught abstinence-only, 3.6 percent taught abstinence-plus and 2.3 percent taught nothing at all. The numbers were startling to say the least.

Our newest report, Sex Education in Texas Public Schools: Progress in the Lone Star State, found that abstinence-only is now taught in 74.6 percent of school districts, and abstinence-plus is taught in 25.4 percent of school districts. This major improvement in the quality of sex ed taught in Texas is thanks in large part to grassroots activists who have served on a local School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) and to organizations like the Texas Freedom Network and Advocates for Youth. While abstinence-only remains the clear majority, it is losing its grip in Texas. The latest report’s findings were featured in The Dallas Morning News.

University of Houston Leadership Development Institute

Recently, the Texas Freedom Network Student Chapter at UH hosted its first-ever Leadership Development Institute. This grassroots training focused on civic engagement and skills to organize students on campus to support comprehensive sex ed in a non-partisan manner during the election cycle. With 50 people in attendance, this training was a popular Saturday event.

James Lee, president of the TFN student chapter at UH, organized the event and introduced the presenters, which included Dr. Susan Tortolero, director of the Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research at the University of Texas Health Science Center; Meryl Cohen, vice president of Education at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast; Resha Thomas, campaign coordinator for the Texas Organizing Project; and Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network.

I’m expecting a lot of great work to come out of this student chapter next semester!

World AIDS Day 2011

Despite the fact that it was finals week, our youth activists managed to put on great events to highlight World AIDS Day on their campuses. In particular, Mackenzie Massey, president of the TFN student chapter at UT, organized the entire World AIDS Day fair at her school. She created a coalition of 13 student organizations, led by the TFN student chapter, to put on this day of action. The coalition had free HIV testing, a T-shirt awareness campaign with 250 t-shirts, an expert discussion panel, a student organization tabling fair, a banner signing campaign and a petition signing effort to support comprehensive sex ed in Texas. Mackenzie worked closely with Ana Laura Rivera, another fantastic Advocates for Youth activist, to put this event on.

Their efforts were featured in numerous media outlets, including Spanish-language Univision, The Daily Texan, Austin NPR affiliate KUT 90.5 FM and other student news sources. Other youth activists also took action by tabling on their campuses to mark World AIDS Day, including Spencer Allers at UT San Antonio and April Flores at UT Brownsville.

There has been a lot of progress in Texas this past semester, but we still have a lot of work to do. We have much to look forward to in 2012!

A Turning Tide in Texas

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:45:00 -0500

There is a turning tide in Texas and it’s in the direction of comprehensive sex ed according to The Texas Tribune, a leading news source covering state politics.
Of course, this significant improvement in sex ed policies across the state didn’t happen by accident. These changes are the product of a concerted effort by the Texas Freedom Network, Advocates for Youth and many other dedicated groups and individuals.

Folks like Susan Tortolero, the director of the University of Texas' Prevention Research Center in Houston, have even created comprehensive sex ed curriculum that is being adopted and implemented in some of the most unlikely of places. Better sex ed is beginning to be found in the suburbs of Houston and as far west as Midland, a typically conservative area. According to Tortolero:

“It’s like we’re beyond this argument of abstinence, abstinence plus. Districts want something that works.”

While many people still believe that talking about contraception gives children permission to have sex, or even encourages them to do so, Tortolero says research shows that teaching them about condoms and birth control actually delays sexual initiation.

“The more you know about your body, how to make better decisions and choices, the better decisions that adolescents make,” she said, adding, “The more we demystify it, the more we talk about it, the better.”

The Texas Freedom Network’s School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) initiative has been a significant part of this growing success. TFN is working with local activists across the state who serve on SHACs to advocate for comprehensive sex ed at the district level. As a result, sex education has been dramatically improved for 250,000 public school students in Texas. A number of our Texas CAMI youth participants are also serving on their SHACs and making a difference in places like Brownsville, Houston, Austin and El Paso.

Even the editorial board of The Houston Chronicle has caught on to this recent success to reform sex ed policy in Texas and recommends that the state continue to move in this direction.

There remain obstacles at the statewide level, despite this grassroots success. The Dallas Observer reports that Texas has declined to apply for Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) funding for the second year in a row. With the 3rd highest rate of teen births, and the 2nd highest percentage of repeat teen births, Texas sorely needs this federal funding for evidence-based programs.

Our expanded network of Texas Freedom Network Student Chapters, led by our CAMI youth members, has been an integral part of this movement for comprehensive sex ed. Some of the things they have accomplished so far include:

•Getting hundreds of Education Works petition signatures at petitions drives
•Hosting "Let’s Talk About Sex" film screenings on their campuses
•Tabling at various health fairs to grow membership and raise awareness
• Successfully lobbying Student Government Association at the University of Houston to pass a resolution in support of equal domestic partner benefits for faculty and staff
• Presenting as the only youth presenter on engaging young people in sex ed advocacy at the Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy 2nd Annual Conference

And they have much more planned for the rest of the semester! I’ll update you again on the progress happening in Texas near the end of the year.

Weekly Round-Up: 9/4-9/10

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 21:53:00 -0500

Each week, I’ll be posting a list of the most news-worthy and/or inspirational, informative, well-written, thought-provoking, and/or unique posts of the week. While every post and every contributor is valuable to our community, these are the blogs that I feel are must-reads.

September 4- September 10

Stats this week: 7 posts by 7 writers

Transwoman Takes on TSA Over Termination And Wins- by Jordan

Inside this post:

...Ms. Yang will receive a five-figure award on top of 5 months back pay and TSA agents will be receiving mandatory sensitivity training. With this comes the realization that Ms. Yang is a trailblazer who, through her hardship, was able to make life a bit easier for all those that come after...

Revisiting Abstinence In Media- by Media_Justice

Inside this post:

Pushing Daises is one of those rare shows that is not only entertaining with a strong, funny and intelligent script, but also mixes magical realism into the plot. One additional element to this show that I really adore is the representation of abstinence as well as the create ways characters find to express their love and attraction to one another.

Advocates’ Trina Scott on CNN!- by Amplify_Staff

Inside this post:

Watch Advocates for Youth’s Program Manager for the Young Women of Color Initiative, Trina Scott, talk on CNN about sexuality among young black women and men.

Thank you to everyone who posted a blog this week! You are part of what makes this community great!

~ Samantha
Community Editor

----------------------------------
My post this week:
Yet Another Study Shows Fetal Pain is a Hoax

To College Freshmen...

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:36:00 -0500

As students are returning to school, I thought I’d put together a list of tips/advice for college freshmen adjusting to a new stage of life. Starting college is intimidating, but once you get in the swing of things it will feel as natural and as fun as you hoped during the summer before you realized it was time to say goodbye to your friends and family. Here are a few pieces of advice to help smooth your transition.

1) Everyone is as nervous as you are, even the people who came to school already knowing more than two people. You are capable of passing your classes and you will make friends. It’s a new routine, and it does take some effort, but you’ll be fine. I promise.

2) A great way to attempt to make new friends is to invite people places. If you’re going for a walk around campus or exploring the town, if you’re going to the library to study or over to the dining hall for lunch, if you want to get some coffee or plan on going for a swim at the rec center, if you’re going to a party or a cook-out in the park, if your favorite show is on on Sunday nights or a movie just came out that you really want to see- invite someone to join you. Invite your roommate, your neighbor, the person you pass in the hallway on your way out, the person chilling in the lounge, whoever you sit next to in class, the guy or girl who joins your table in the dining hall- just find someone and ask them. One way to find someone you have common interests with is to pay attention during ice-breakers. RAs and teachers of 101 classes are particularly fond of these, so be sure to make a mental note of the people who say things about themselves that you think are cool too and talk to them about it later or invite them to join you in doing that thing or going to that place. Like I said, it takes effort, and you won’t get along with every person you share an interest with, but your new friends are out there, wishing someone would ask them to play racquetball or talk about the latest episode of True Blood or Pretty Little Liars.

3) Join a club. There will be flyers all over the place, sidewalks covered in chalk, and people handing out leaflets about club meetings and special events. If anything catches your interest- go. Go even if you can’t find anyone to go with you because once you get there you will find people who share that interest anyway. Look for versions of clubs you were a member of in high school or clubs you wish your high school had or keep your eyes open for clubs or activities that are new to you but look interesting. If you’re interested at all- go. It’ll probably be fun and you’ll meet a whole new group of people.

4) Ask your RA. They are there to help you. Whether you’re not getting along with your roommate, you need a recommendation of a good local café, you need to find the writing center, or you just miss your family- the RA is there to help. Don’t think that just because you’re away from home you’re all on your own now. There are still people to go to.

5) Locate the health center and look into what services they offer. This is a great, inexpensive resource whether you need some antibiotics for the flue or if you have a more serious infection. Many universities also offer students basic vision and dental check-ups as well as gynecological exams and birth control prescriptions. Depending on policy, the health center may also offer condoms at little or no cost. Even if you don’t plan on having sex, why pass up free condoms?
[More]

New resources for youth in Appalachia

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:44:00 -0500

I’m extremely excited to be able to share some of WV FREE’s (a reproductive justice organization in West Virginia) new youth resources on Amplify’s blog. With so much misinformation, outright lies and superstitions surrounding sexuality and safe sex, WV FREE has decided to devote our new mini-site www.wvfree.org/getaplan entirely to reproductive health & options for teens in West Virginia.

On our “Get a Plan” page you’ll find accurate information about safe sex, contraceptive effectiveness, and a full-range of pregnancy options.

The next page, “Know Your Rights, Know the Facts” outlines the legal system for minors seeking an abortion. Because of the high number of Crisis Pregnancy Centers in West Virginia (clinics that masquerade as a center for women’s health and are usually run by extreme anti-choice groups) we felt it was necessary to provide a place for young people to find out all their legal options when faced with a difficult decision about a pregnancy.

As one young man shouted out during the last “Emergency Contraception” training I taught—“Knowledge is power.” Which is why our last page, “Be the Change” is designed to provide West Virginia youth with information about how to advocate for themselves and their peers at the state and national level.

I hope even if you’re not from the great Mountain State you’ll check out our new resources on our www.wvfree.org/getaplan website, including our fabulous YouTube videos starring…a loveable “horny” rhino! Check it out here--http://youtu.be/e0-odYncW8w and let us know what you think.

Let’s start with education. Let’s end with empowerment.

ESTABLISH GENDER EQUALITY, WOMEN HUMAN RIGHTS AND GOOD GOVERNANCE:

Wed, 25 May 2011 06:44:00 -0500

ESTABLISH GENDER EQUALITY, WOMEN HUMAN RIGHTS AND GOOD GOVERNANCE:

Bangladesh consists in the most traditional background that gender discrimination is common feature, less job opportunity; economic dependency and abuse of women’s right and illicit trafficking of girls and women are major reasons leading to increase discrimination against women. Women are disproportional infected with HIV/AIDS for biological, social and economical reasons. Adolescent’s girls are much more oppressed. The low social status women in many poor countries encourage gender discrimination, domestic and sexual violence and psychological abuse. In Bangladesh, women constitute almost half the total population (48.5%), 85% of them live in the rural areas and are usually kept apart from men other than their family. Here the men dominate women in both rural and urban areas, regardless of their class identity. Gender awareness and women’s legal right activities under Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallyan Foundation are initiated with the objectives of increasing social awareness on gender related issues and to extend the legal supports to its target beneficiaries to establish women's legal rights for eliminating all types of discrimination against women. The economic, gender discrimination, social and physical right imbalance between men and women contribute to the luck of safety in sexual relationships and the difficulty for many women in negotiating safer sex. The right differentiates between men and women. Compounded by age differences, subordination in education, employment, social and legal status makes women more vulnerable to any infections. Women who have limited access to financial resources are more likely to become economically dependent on men, relegated to the subsistence sectors or forces into commercial sex works.

The objective of this project is to establish gender equality, women human rights and local level good governance involving local people. They were imparted series orientation and training to work on the 6 issues: Increase Birth Registration, Increase Marriage Registration, Protect Early Marriage, Protect Violence against Women, Reduce Family Violence, Increase Women Participation in decision making process. All these activities contributed to women empowerment and protection family violence and violence against women as a whole.

Good governance is necessary to keep balance in gender equality, rights, health and nutrition etc. if it is possible to scale all women and men with same consideration then it must be possible to eradicate the gender discrimination from our society. Imbalance attitude towards women must lower their latin skill to bloom. So it is necessary to have good governess in every sector. We have to look and keep consideration on women legal rights; they should not be deprived from the advantages that come out from our society, country and from the world. So we should maintain good governess to keep balance status of a nation.

The Robbery of Equal Rights by Texas' Extreme Right

Thu, 05 May 2011 15:01:00 -0500

In an attempt to force feed conservative religious ideology back to Texas’ college students and deny those in need of safe spaces provided by Gender and Sexuality Centers, State Representative Wayne Christian proposed an amendment to the state budget regarding cuts to spending: If funding is given to a gender and sexuality center at a state university, an equal amount of funding must be given toward a “Traditional Family Values Center.”

Here's a video of Rep. Christian demonstrating his unfamiliarity with some of the complexities that his legislation pertains to:

In the video he claims that gender and sexuality centers "teach alternative sexual behaviors."

Due to the lack of need for "family value centers" — considering that the entirety of most campuses serve as a safe space for heterosexual, male students who are not questioning their own identities — this amendment basically attempts to revoke current state funding for gender and sexuality centers on Texas university campuses.

So, what does that mean for students?

It means, those who find solace and counseling within these centers will lose the one space within an entire campus that serves and assists lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, queer/questioning and female students when they feel threatened — emotionally and physically. These spaces save lives.

In an environment where LGBTQ students continually turn to suicide and self-harm in the face of repeated homophobic bullying and bigotry, it is vital that gender and sexuality centers find the funding they need in order to provide support to students.

The most upsetting part? This amendment was originally drafted by a recent graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Tony McDonald, who is the current senior vice chairman of the Young Conservatives of Texas. To think that the young people of our state and nation continue to practice and promote such deep ignorance is simply frightening. About coming up with the idea to propose these centers, McDonald said, "It is giving leftists a taste of their own medicine, seeing their money go toward something they don't support."

To take action against this bill, please sign the following petitions:

Tell Texas not to divert funds from LGBTQ education.

Protect funding for Gender and sexuality Centers and do not fund "traditional family values centers."

So I Had A Talk With My Youth The Other Day &&.......

Wed, 04 May 2011 14:10:00 -0500

Project SAFE, or Project Reach Youth, is the name of the non-prof I work with through Americorps, & it is a *dope* program. Almost like mini-interns, these kids are becoming peer educators about comprehensive sexual education, utilizing the arts as a medium through which to express their views on the matter, learn and in turn educate others about safe sex. They have a dope site, Project SAFE, check it out!!


So during one of our group sessions, we start asking about questions they'd want to use to post for the Facebook Question tab. We end up getting some great questions, but the convo surrounding these questions was really awesome, and some real points came into play.

For example, the whole teen pregnancy issue. Of course, majority of the time, it tends to be the case that these pregnancies are unplanned, but what about those who, @ least for the most part, think or say they want a child: will teens having babies ever have a positive image? My youth felt, that, well, maybe in fact it could be an option for some, but definitely not all. And needless to say, they were aware (or as aware as anyone w/o children can be about being a parent) of the trials and tribulations of early motherhood, and this wasn't about the extreme cases of 10-yr olds having babies, nor the headliners who make a pact amongst a group of themselves to bring pregnancy fads to a town near you, but of young womyn who they felt could make the decision of sound mind to have a child. Nonetheless, they were also VERY aware of the fact that they themselves were NOT ready to be parents. *oh the smart darlings*


Something else: teen stereotypes. "Not all teens want to have sex. I don't!" One of the girls exclaimed this when we mentioned teen sex. Of course, another youth was like "And even if I do have sex, that doesn't mean everyone I know is doing it, or that I was peer pressured into it. I made the decision for myself, end of story." I tell you, I was grinning ear to ear. I LOVE that they are so free to express themselves, and at the same time, really have great arguments.


Another topic that came up was porn, and the normalization that seems to be happening with it. Not in those exact words of course, but that was the general idea. A lot of them seemed to express that they didn't necessarily believe that porn was a 101-type program when it comes to sex, which was such a relief. They also really liked this one website, Make Love Not Porn. It basically breaks down a lot of the stigmas associated with porn, like "All womyn like getting sprayed with ejaculate in the face." Not to say that some people don't like that (not yuckin' the yum), but porn definitely can enfore false ideas of sex, especially if that's your one option when it comes to finding out about sex.

All in all, the convo really boosted my spirits as to the level of consciousness these youth have these days. They really ARE on their game. They really get it. Don't despair America, our youth are on the rise. We just got to keep helping them get there when the goin' gets tough.

Peace &&Love all you safe-sex loving youth advocates!!!

Stop the Apathy! Tell Them Something!

Mon, 02 May 2011 14:26:00 -0500

If you’ve spent any time trying to keep up with politics lately, I’m sure you can agree that deciphering through the media’s biases is a difficult feat. It’s not any easier for politicians. They have their personal beliefs and their parties, but they also have you, their constituents.

Like many of our legislators, my political knowledge is specialized. I can only give my educated opinion on a handful of topics.

We have this huge campus next door to the State House. Why aren’t eager students flooding the steps to make their opinions heard? We all have specialties. Inform your politicians about what you believe is important for our state.

I’ve taken an interest in reforming state policies that have an impact on sexual health statistics in the state. I see that the state spends $180,000,000 a year on unintended pregnancies. South Carolina is also an “HIV Hot Spot.” I inform legislators that investing in prevention programs result in saving 17 times what they invest! Currently, South Carolina allows schools to teach unscientifically founded information with regards to sex education and to give false information about contraceptives. So, I advocate for reforming the education system to teach scientifically based facts, educate about contraceptives, and to inform students how to obtain contraceptives. I follow an organization that organizes the public interests. I get an email from TellThemSC.org (nonprofit/nonpartisan) once a month that keeps me up to date with changing legislation.

I challenge you to become specialized in one aspect of your community’s policies. Do something and get someone to help you out.

Cross-Posted from The Buzz

The Pro-Lifetionary

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 12:19:00 -0500

I'm not sure if the word 'pre-abortive' is legit, or if it's just another attempt to coin an expression that will stick in people's heads and make them think that birth control is bad. One thing I am concerned with however, is the perception of the pro-choice faction by others. We have been made out to be devils and baby killers simply because we advocate for women's reproductive rights; the freedom to make choices instead of having choices made on their behalf. I cannot stress enough, the fact that being pro-life does not mean that one is pro-abortion. There's no such thing as being pro-abortion. We pro-lifers are pro-choice and pro-child. To me, being pro-life means that a woman is given the freedom to choose what she wants to do with her body. Being pro-life on the other hand, offers only one choice. Basically, the decision has already been made even before the woman became pregnant. And so I think that the main issue that the pro-choice faction has with individuals who work against them, is the fact that anyone would be so arrogant as to think that they knew what would work best for anyone but themselves. I mean, could you just imagine being told what to do at every step in your life?

I received the following message the other day, from a woman who had received my event invitation to sigh the petition for no-cost birth control.

I am of the view that birth control/pill is a pre-abortive act, but more importantly young women feel indebted to their sexual partners in such processes, and people get mislead into believing in a magical immunity from STD's and HIV. Anything medically that stops procreation is a death sentence! Do not kill your womb because of a guy. Time to get smart!

I asked her a lot of questions including if condoms and IUDs were 'pre-abortive' as well. Following her logic, all family planning methods are bad because they prevent procreation. I think that it is easy to forget that single women are not the only ones who need birth control. If a married woman already has 2 children and she feels the need to take a break and organise her life, should she just stop having sex? Birth control is not misleading in any way. I told her that my job as a youth advocate and peer educator is to help youth make better choices about their sexual and reproductive health and that I doubted that there was anyone who was of the opinion that birth control would automatically shield them from HIV and other STDs. As for getting birth control because of a man, that's simply responsibility. There is no guarantee that condoms work 100% and that a woman's sexual partner will always be the one to make sure that his partner is protected. People will do what they will in the end no matter what she or anyone else thinks. My answer is not to point fingers at people for choosing to prevent pregnancies but to make sure that when they have sex, they are protected. If you are pro-life, that is, anti-abortion, would you rather a woman prevented a pregnancy or would you rather she become pregnant and then seek an abortion?

She followed with a message implying that I was only advocating for birth control because I was an Advocates employee. There was other stuff about how birth control has been proven to cause cancers in women and how I should be teaching women to keep themselves until marriage. Been there, done that right? We all know about the history of abstinence-only education don't we? And then she proceeded to make the worst comment that she could ever have; especially since it was me and not some other person that it was directed at. If you read a previous post where I said that quoting the bible to me where issues of social, sexual and reproductive justice were concerned was like quoting Twilight to me, then you might have an idea of where I stand on being attacked with bible verses and old testament morals.

For future reference, it is both ridiculous and irrelevant to suggest that women should abstain from sex simply because it is the christian thing to do. No one is going to live by rules dictated by a religion that they do not believe in. If you choose to live by the bible, then I guess that's between you and your God yeah? Choosing to apply your personal beliefs to society as a whole, and expecting people to follow through, is just dictating. Thinking that you are better than the next person because you hold certain beliefs is hardly christian is it? The difference between those for reproductive justice, and those against it is the thirst for power. It's really simple. Just think about it. Those for reproductive justice are not pushing anyone in one particular direction but for the chance for one to choose for oneself. If that isn't treating your neighbor as yourself then I don't know what it is. Those against reproductive justice on the other hand, sit high up on their home-made pedestals, with their noses in the air, fighting for a society that works just the way that they want it to.This, is selfishness at its best.

Which would you rather have, equal choices across the board? Or forced conformity based on religious beliefs?

WE HAVE SEX!! American youth on ideological attacks on Planned Parenthood!! woot woot

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:48:00 -0500

OK, so has anyone peeped this dope youtube-ness from American youth?? I mean, it's beautiful, really, and such an exemplary use of freedom of speech and knockin' down the walls of verbal taboo.

WE HAVE SEX I HAVE SEX I USE BIRTH CONTROL I DON'T HAVE SEX BUT PLAN TO..

This video was made by a group of students @ Wesleyan University in CT, & this is what they had to say about it:

"In order to 'balance the budget,' the House of Representatives recently announced the intention to strip all federal funding to Planned Parenthood. This is unacceptable. It's time to face reality: many young people have sex, and need to know how to stay safe and healthy. Even those who have chosen to wait still need to know how to be safe and healthy when begin their sexual activity. This extreme ideological measure threatens our youth's ability to choose their own future.

In many parts of America, Planned Parenthood is the only place young people can go to learn about safe sex, access contraceptives, or have a simple question about "down there" answered.

With all the rhetoric centering on 'government waste,' Congress's refusal to close multi-billion dollar corporate tax loopholes and instead eliminate essential, multi-million dollar sexual health programs is beyond hypocritical.

We are starting a student movement to make sure elected leaders know: Americans have sex, and we stand with Planned Parenthood."

Mmmm WORD!! OK now, I know you want to see this video, so here it is:

This one is for THEM, but hey, it's also for us. We are still in this. Stay strong, and persistent, and LOUD!! <3 <3

Crystal

Youth Continue to Speak Out

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 23:59:00 -0500

I recently found this video through my network on Facebook, made by students at Wesleyan University utilizing their voice for issues that they find important

With budget cuts coming at every level it is SO important that you speak out to the issues that are important to you and access to sexuality education is extremely important. I have sex. My friends have sex. My sisters and my friends plan to have sex. I have been tested. I, just like every other person deserves a place to ask questions and get truthful answers about my body.

Planned Parenthood educates communities through public outreach and sexual education in schools. They provide a space for people to attain resources and services regardless of age, race, orientation, gender identity, sex, class. They give access to STD and pregnancy tests. They also can be someone to listen and give advice with your health and your sexual relationship.

Especially in honor of International Women’s Day we should be appreciative on how birth control as changed our roles as women in today’s society. How regardless of your personal choices or believes that it is important option for women and girls today. I have a right to access information about my body and have the resources to make safe decisions about what I do with my body.

Just food for thought.

"Sex. Love and All the Above"- an article by OU student Jenna Blakley

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 18:43:00 -0500

Check out this article from Ohio University's Journalism student Jenna Blakley about sex, abstinence and media influence on sex...and leave some comments!

Sex, love, and all of the above
Posted by Jenna Blakely in Journalism pieces on February 5, 2011
It may be an awkward conversation with your parents, a shiny new promise ring if you’re a girl, or a lesson from your health teacher drilling “sex is bad!” into your not-quite-fully-developed teenage brain; depending on which high school you attend. Yes I am talking about abstinence, and yes it’s 2011.
TV shows have evolved from prohibiting couples to sleep in the same bed, as in I Love Lucy, to heavily emphasizing getting drunk and engaging in meaningless sex, as in The Jersey Shore. Simultaneously, abstinence has lost popularity. Even though our society seems to pick on virgins and send out raunchy messages through the media, abstinence has managed to retain high social value in the opinions of many sexually active college students today. Even if it may be a dying trend, it’s certainly not dead.
Unlike some couples today who choose more casual paths of dating, Brandon Sackett, 20, and Ashley Brandenburg, 22, share a deep connection, a radiating love; the kind that most of us are in search for. Brandon knows without hesitation that her favorite color is yellow and her favorite food is ice cream, and Ashley knows that his favorite color is green and that he absolutely loves General Tso’s Chicken from Yang’s Gourmet House. Ironically enough, after separate interviews with each of them, when asked the question, “What attracts you to one another?” They both had the exact same answer and said it was the other’s ability to be so “loving and compassionate.”
“I knew I wanted to marry her around the second year of dating. I knew this girl was the perfect package and can remember thinking there is no one else that could even compare to Ashley. I called it my ‘Ashley Filter’,” said Sackett.
Brandon proposing to Ashley at family Christmas gathering
Now, after five years of dating, Brandon felt ready to take it to the next level. Around Thanksgiving, without Ashley knowing, he asked her parents out to breakfast and asked them for permission to marry her.
It all started nearly five years ago, when they met through Perrysburg High School’s 2006 spring musical, Beauty and the Beast. He walked her to her car after rehearsal where he had placed flowers in the passenger seat without her knowing. He proceeded to ask her to be his girlfriend, and now, on December 18^th, 2010, at his family Christmas party, he was ready to ask for her love again. Except this time, he got down on one knee with a beautiful ring and said, “Will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?” With instant tears of joy, Ashley said yes!
What makes this couple stand out from the rest is not only their apparent, glowing love for each other, or their impressive four year commitment at such a young age, or even the long-distance they have endured due to their individual schooling, but rather, the fact that they are abstinent. They have promised to wait to have sex until their wedding night, which is set for April 20, 2013; their seven year anniversary. Brandenburg said, “I feel like it will just make the marriage that much stronger and more special. The first time that you experience sex with your husband or wife will be so sacred, and you will both know that they are the only other person that you have shared that feeling with.”
Madeline Schmidt, an Ohio Advocate member of Bowling Green State University studying Communication Health, said that 90 percent of people are sexually active today without necessarily being married, a fact she learned while in training for the advocate group. Ohio Advocate specifically promotes “comprehensive sex education” in high schools, especially those that teach only abstinence. While she believes abstinence is the safest option and should still be stressed in schools, Ohio Advocate works to ensure that sex education in high schools doesn’t stop with abstinence, but fully educates students in all there is to know about sexual health and birth control. Schmidt says, “I think it’s great if people decide to wait until marriage to have sex, after all it is the safest option. It takes a lot of willpower to do that in today’s society and I give them props.”
For Brandon and Ashley, while it has been a hard decision, they do not regret it. Brandenburg believes sex plays an important role in any relationship, and when people have sex purely for pleasure it can blur the line between love and infatuation.
“I feel like sex is meant to be shared with one person only. It is the coming together of two people who have promised to love and take care of each other till the end of their days. I believe that sex is supposed to be pleasurable, but that’s not its only purpose. Sex can give people the feeling that they are in love when maybe that is not really the case,” said Brandenburg.
Schmidt agrees with the idea that casual sex can sometimes create confusion, however she also believes sexual freedom can be a positive thing as long as the people engaging in it are being safe. “When it comes to relationships though,” she said, “people can take sex for granted and abuse it. If you have sex too soon, how do you build a relationship from that?” She has seen a lot of “friends-with-benefits” situations fail, because one person always seems to develop an emotional attachment. That’s because sex, no matter how cold and robotic the media portrays it, inevitably creates emotions for most individuals.
Bret Isner, 22, an Ohio State University Food Science major believes that the media has been a driving force in portraying sex too casually. “Social media has ruined sex by taking out the emotional aspect of it and then people view that and internalize it as normal,” he said. Liz King, Ohio University Communications major seconds that and said, “I think it’s respectable to wait until marriage, but a lot of people don’t do it because of how heavily casual sex is stressed in today’s culture.”
Besides the raunchier TV shows like MTV’s Jersey Shore, the riskier music like Akon’s “Sexy Bitch,” or the less-traditional romance flicks like No Strings Attached starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman, Madeline points out that the media is clearly a factor, but it’s not the only one. Religion is a factor as well.
“Religion typically stresses abstinence, and today it seems a lot less people go to church,” Schmidt said, and indeed, that seems to be the case. Two sociologists, Kirk Hadaway and P.L. Marler conducted two studies, one in 1993 and the other in 1996, that looked at the relationship between people who say they attend church regularly versus the amount that actually do attend regularly. After taking attendance and then interviewing the church-goers, what they found was that in both studies about half of the people who reported attending church actually attended. Out of 40 percent of self-reported Protestant church-goers for example, the study found that only 20 percent actually attended.
Brandenburg agrees that religion has been a huge influence in her relationship with Brandon, and she refers to their relationship as one centered around God. They both grew up Catholic, but as she said, “we didn’t really feel like we made a connection with God from the teachings that we learned,” so they began to attend a non-denominational church, Cedar Creek, and fell in love with it. With that said, religion is not the main reason behind why they are taking a vow of abstinence, rather it was a personal decision based on their view of sex and love as two powerful entities that tie together, unlike the media which often separates love from sex.
This separation of love from sex has arguably contributed to America’s infamous divorce rate. “I think that people in our society don’t take marriage seriously anymore. People get married all the time for reasons other than love, such as kids or infatuation,” Brandenburg said, “Marriage is no longer seen as the covenant that it is meant to be.”
Sackett agrees that today’s casual sex culture correlates with divorce, but he believes it contributes to other factors as well, such as an increase in teen parenting and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and AIDS.
“I feel that sex has been downplayed in today’s society causing people to lose their virginity at such a young age,” Sackett said, “…the increase in single parenting as seen in shows like “Teen Mom,” just shows me that sex is seen as no big deal anymore. What 16 year old is mature enough to raise a child?”
Brandon Sackett and Ashley Brandenburg
Although Brandon and Ashley are one of the rare couples today engaging in this tradition, it appears that the general consensus of sexually active college students and young adults today admire and respect the tradition. Not only that, but many recognize the dangerous influence the media has on society by portraying sex as purely for pleasure. As Schmidt said, “Future generations may experience problems at the rate the media is abusing and over-amplifying sex.”
Whether it be STD’s, unplanned pregnancies, or the distorting of true love, sex before marriage definitely has its consequences. For Brandon and Ashley, they don’t have to worry about any of those consequences. As Sackett said:
“In the end it will be truly worth it. It’s a decision I know I will never regret making.”

Cat Calls: Can I get yo' number!?

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 14:07:00 -0500

"Eh yo sweethart you are sooo cute"

"Eh, eh, eh, where's your boyfriend at?"

"O my gosh, you are so beautiful, did anyone ever tell you that?"

"Hey Baby"

"Excuse me baby"

"I just have a question, how do you keep your shape so tight?" and and "Are you married?", "you got a boyfrieendd?"

Excuse the bad grammar but I guess this is a typical day in life OF A WOMAN. I don't mean to stereotype, judge, or generalize- so let's say this can be the day in life on a Friday night of a beautiful somebody-minding their own business-crossing the street-or going to the store. These cat calls are getting out of control! Why can't we just put on our clothes, tie our hair up and run out to the store without someone constantly getting in our faces and telling us things that we already know! Yes, I have a boyfriend, No, I am not single, Yes, you are getting on my nerves, and No, I don't give my number out!

Don't get me wrong friends, having someone approach you respectfully and not like a hooligan is/can be very flattering -- but when it comes to an all out embarrassment on the street and a full out 10 minutes conversation you're trying to shut down, avoid, or end as you're trying to walk away is uncalled for- As you can see from my cited examples from above.

See, a cat call can be classified as whatever you like- it can be the arm grab (which I HATE), it can be insulting banter on the street, but for the sake of academia, I will give you a definition. According to the urban dictionary, a cat call is defined as "When a guy gives the whistle or yells at babydoll for the purpose of getting attention and in hopes of a future hookup. This is usually done out of the window of a car. Typically a Pontiac Firebird, or Camaro. 99.9% a hookup never arises and it's just the thrill that keeps these going".[More]

The Girl Who Cried Wolf? The Details of the Rape Accusations Against Julian Assange

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 20:45:00 -0500

Love him or hate him, Julian Assange is in prison not for leaking classified information, but for alleged rape. The details of his case are bizarre and vary widely between different news reports. The case exposes issues of consent in sexual encounters, which is a very important issue to have in the public consciousness, and the case aslo runs the risk of making if harder for victims to get justice in the future if he turns out to be innocent.

So what really happened? While we just don’t know all the exact details, NPR did a very good job of piecing together the facts. (Entire news story audio here.)

NPR: [the women] describe separate encounters with Julian Assange at a seminar in Stockholm. Were these encounters, as you understand them, things that started out consensually and then took a different turn?
Mr. MARK HOSENBALL (Reporter, Reuters): That's exactly the way I understand things. One of these women was a press officer for his tour of Sweden and was hosting him at her apartment. One thing turned to another and they ended up, as it were, in bed and had consensual sex, as I understand it, with him using a condom. But then at some point the condom broke. And this became a point of contention later on.
Another woman is a woman who allegedly essentially stalked him, became fascinated by watching him on television. Hooked up with him a few days after the first encounter. Took him to her apartment, had sex with him with a condom consensually, but then allegedly he had sex with her the next morning perhaps while she was still asleep, if that's believable, without a condom, leading her to become very concerned later on that he should be tested for sexually transmitted diseases.
She tried to get hold of him, but he had turned off his phone because he was paranoid that people were tracking him through his phone. She eventually got in touch with the first woman who she had not known previously. They compared notes and they ended up trying to track him down ferociously because they wanted him to have medical tests.
BLOCK: The women did eventually go to the police. Did they press charges? Did they go and say, this man, Julian Assange, raped me?
Mr. HOSENBALL: No. As understand it, they just sort of told their stories to police and didn't want him to be prosecuted.

So, is this rape charge politically motivated? Maybe. Swedish prosecutors only took up the case months after it was reported, after Wikileaks' release of 250,000 classified government cables. My concern is this. Saying you were raped when you weren’t has serious negative implications for future rape victims. I live in Durham, NC, remember the nightmare Duke Lacrosse case very well. It became apparent that the woman who said she was assaulted made the whole thing up, and the charges were dropped. However, ever since then rape charges - especially those made by women of color or women of lower socio-economic status - simply aren’t taken as seriously in the local community. At a time when rape on college campuses is shockingly and devastatingly high, we need to think seriously about anything that makes it harder for victims to get justice. I have the concern that holding Julian Assange in prison without bail when there is very little evidence to support that he is guilty could make it harder in the future for rape victims to be taken seriously.

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