A provocative new study presented by the American Sociological Association finds that not all teenage sexual activity leads to worse performance in school.

“It's not so much whether a teen has sex that determines academic success, the researchers say, but the type of sexual relationship they're engaged in. Teens in serious relationships may find social and emotional support in their sex partners, reducing their anxiety and stress levels in life and in school.”

(via AP)

Shocker: a young person’s school performance is not dependent on whether or not that they have sex. This seems to contradict the narrative that right wing, abstinence-only proponents paint: that if we allow teens to think about sex or to have sex, we will be giving rise to a morally depraved and destructive generation of sex crazed young people. News flash: this is simply ridiculous. And more importantly, this philosophy that guides abstinence-only sex education is destructive to young people.

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A recent Gallup Poll asked Americans about the morality of 16 different behaviors and social policies. The poll asked about things like cheating, suicide, gay marriage, cloning, the death penalty, and other similar moral issues. Americans generally come to consensus on 12 of the 16 items, but four stood out as the most controversial: doctor-assisted suicide, gay and lesbian relations, abortion, and having a baby outside of marriage.

When I first looked at the results of this poll, the results seemed fairly obvious and straightforward. Suicide and cheating are wrong; abortion and gay marriage are controversial, no big deal. Here is where things get interesting. Below is the table of percentage that agree the behavior is moral, affiliated to political party:



(via Gallup)

This data sheds some clarifying light on what I see as a big problem in this country: Our dysfunctional, backwards attitude about sexuality and sexual health. Only 51% of Democrats find abortion morally acceptable, which is a strikingly low number, and an even lower 26% of Republicans find abortion morally acceptable. What is more morally acceptable than abortion according to republicans? The death penalty, divorce, medical testing on animals, and even doctor assisted suicide!

While I wish we lived in a world where abortions weren’t necessary, sadly too many young people become pregnant before they are ready to be parents. Choosing to have an abortion is a difficult and brave decision; it is admirable to choose to wait to have a child until one is ready. We clearly have a long way to go if certain segments of our population view doctor assisted suicide and the death penalty as more acceptable than abortion, and only 38% of the country views abortion as morally acceptable.

One positive note: for the first time ever in this annual poll, “gay and lesbian relations” crossed the 50% threshold, with 52% saying this behavior is morally acceptable, and 43% finding homosexual relations morally wrong. There was a 26-point difference between Democrats and Republicans with 61% of Democrats viewing homosexual relations as morally acceptable, and only 35% of Republicans sharing that view.

Take a look at the poll results for yourself, and I think you will see how far we have to go until we view sexuality as a healthy and normal part of life, and until we judge gay and lesbian relationships to be just as morally acceptable as heterosexual relationships.

I am a person who grew up with the saying that all that is needed for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing"
-Anne Rice

Today, Rice followed through on that statement as she publicly left the Catholic Church over frustration with their social agenda, particularly their stance on gay rights.

Anne Rice, author of Interview With The Vampire, has had an interesting relationship with religion in her life. She was raised Catholic, but renounced the church when she was 18. She became an atheist and wrote novels with a markedly anti-christian tone. But in 1998 she made headlines by converting to Catholicism writing exclusively Christian-themed novels, like Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt.

Due to the Church's active stance against gay marriage, Rice could not in good conscience stay a member of the church. Today she posted to her Facebook: “It's simply impossible for me to 'belong' to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.” And today on NPR she cited gay marriage as the last straw that prompted her to leave:

I didn't anticipate at the beginning that the U.S. bishops were going to come out against same-sex marriage," she says. "That they were actually going to donate money to defeat the civil rights of homosexuals in the secular society. (NPR)

I say kudos to her for not remaining silent.  The Catholic Church is a source of inspiration, hope, and meaning for countless people, and Rice said the decision to leave was a very painful one.  But even though it was difficult to turn her back on her faith, she did what she thought was right.  The Church has a right to take an anti-gay stance, but when they publically advocate for anti-equality measures in regular society, I think they are crossing a line.  As a young person, I am inspired by Rice’s actions to speak out.  It is too rare these days to see someone living out their principles in such a profound way, and I hope Anne Rice serves as a role model to others. As she said, "all that is needed for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing," and I am moved by her bold decision to speak out. 

Elena Kagan, Obama’s second appointee to the Supreme Court, was confirmed by the Senate Judiciary committee last week. Kagan is the second woman Obama has appointed, and she will replace justice John Paul Stevens later this year.  The Senate Judiciary committee approved her by a vote of 13-6, with one Republican (Lindsey Graham) supporting her.  She appears to be headed to an easy confirmation in the full senate soon.  But where does she stand? And what will her confirmation mean for the pressing social and health issues we face today?

First, it is important to understand how she differs from Justice Stevens, who she will be replacing.  Justice John Paul Stevens was appointed under Gerald Ford in 1975.  During parts of his early career, he was a moderate conservative: critical of affirmative action, in favor of capitol punishment, and he even called himself a conservative.  But he gradually became more liberal, eventually supporting an affirmative action program as well as voting with liberal Justices on abortion and gay rights issues.  By 2003, a statistical analysis found that Stevens was the most liberal Justice on the court. If the Supreme Court was to become more liberal, it would mean that Stevens' replacement would need to be fairly left leaning.

So where does Elena Kagan stand?  Elena Kagan’s past shows she is a stronger advocate for gay rights issues and abortion issues than Stevens. 

Gay Rights: Kagan has shown both in words and in actions her support for the LGBTQ community. First, as dean of Harvard law school she banned military recruiters because she opposed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.  She called the militaries policy “a profound wrong—a moral injustice of the first order.”  And there is more. While the decision to kick military recruiters off campus was controversial enough, she went even further:

"Her most significant work is on the Solomon Amendment, legislation that withholds federal funds from colleges and universities when they ban military recruiters because the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy conflicts with many universities’ antidiscrimination policies,” wrote Matthews in a piece for CampusProgress.org. “As dean, Kagan supported a lawsuit intended to overturn the legislation so military recruiters might be banned from the grounds of schools like Harvard. When a federal appeals court ruled the Pentagon could not withhold funds, she banned the military from Harvard’s campus once again” (Newsweek) 

The Supreme Court finally ruled in favor of the recruiters, and so they were allowed back on campus, but Kagan encouraged students to protest the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.

 Abortion: Kagan is definitely pro-choice. According to Politico,

Kagan has acknowledged contributing to the National Partnership for Women and Families, which has strong ties to Emily’s List and NARAL. NPWF describes itself as a “national pro-choice group.”  

Kagan argued that federal funding for anti-abortion programs that serve those in need of pregnancy-related care should be “off limits” to religious organizations.

Kagan also worked with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists during the Clinton Administration, where she protected a woman’s right to late term abortion in cases where the mothers life was at stake.  The ACOG was going to issue a statement saying that there was no instance in which late term abortion was the only option for preserving the mother’s life or health. Elena Kagen suggested that ACOG say that the procedure of late term abortion was sometimes the best one available. ACOG adopted that language. (via WSJ)

It seems like Kagan will be an excellent addition to the Supreme Court. From the fairly narrow view we have of her past, it looks like Kagen will be a strong advocate for equality, abortion rights, women’s rights, sex education, and any other issue that involves putting science over ideology. 

Did you know…half of the world’s population-nearly 3 billion people-are under the age of 25?

And consider this:

- One out of every four people diagnosed with HIV is between ages 13 and 29, and 45 percent of new HIV infections are among young people ages 15-24. (link)

- Young people are the second highest uninsured demographic in the United States. (source)

- In the United States, nearly one million young women under age 20 become pregnant each year. 

- Worldwide, for young women ages 15 to 19 in low-and middle-income countries, complications from pregnancy are the leading cause of death. (source)

From Amplify:

We as young people have a critical role to play in discussing population issues from a rights-based approach, particularly regarding sexual and reproductive health and rights. The ability to access sexual and reproductive health information and services is a human right that empowers young people to make healthy choices for themselves and for their families. Educating girls and boys, empowering women, meeting the demand for voluntary family planning, and ensuring access to comprehensive, youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services not only play an important role in supporting human rights—but also in ensuring a healthier environment for us all to live in.

Amen!

As young people make up a larger and larger percentage of the global population, it is time to view young people as assets, not liabilities.  We need to be engaged in the effort to find solutions to these problems, not seen as accidents waiting to happen.  Initiatives and programs that value the input and cooperation of young people are the ones that will be successful, because our generation knows best how to address the problems we face. 

Part of the ideological problem with abstinence-only sex education is that young people are viewed as out-of-control, hormonal, risky, and immoral.  The goal of abstinence-only education is to scare teens out of any sexual activity, and assert control over the choices young people make by using fear.  This simply doesn’t work.  In the end, we are the ones who will be making the decisions about our sexual activity, and we need to be trusted as partners in prevention.  We need to be treated with respect and honesty.  Tactics aimed at reducing teen pregnancies and HIV/AIDS cases must fight with the weapons of information and education, not fear and shame. 

Young people make up half of the worlds population now, and it is time to address the problems we face by treating young people are partners in finding solutions.

There has been a raging debate the past few days about women’s roles on The Daily Show, starting with a Jezebel post that accused The Daily Show and Jon Stewart of being sexist. The discussion has began to get to the larger point of women’s contributions to the news media in general, but so far the back and fourth has been petty, shallow, and largely unhelpful.  I think the topic of women on TV is a VERY important discussion to have, but it should not be about what Jezebel said, or what sexy maid costume new Daily Show correspondent Olivia Munn wore on her old show, or any of the petty back and forth between for-profit media outlets (of which jezebel is one.)  Because that is not what this is about.  This is about making news media work for a modern era.

I am a 17-year-old guy, trying to figure out my place in the world, and almost nightly I turn to The Daily Show and The Colbert Report to be filled in on the day’s news. These shows help me understand the world. The only way in which I am able to hear about anything beyond my immediate sphere of daily existence is by turning to media outlets, so it is extremely important that we address the issue of who controls the information we receive.

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When the birth control pill came out in 1960, it was revolutionary because women could take charge and control their fertility. For the last 50 years, women have had numerous hormonal products available to control when they can become pregnant, and the only options for men have been getting surgery or using a condom. The challenge in creating male birth control pills is that women make one egg a month, whereas men produce about 1,000 sperm every second. So scientists have been working for about 30 years to create a male for of birth control, and they finally succeeded.

Researchers in Israel have finally been able to create an oral pill that deactivates sperm before they reach the womb. And they’ve developed a version that means it only needs to be to be taken once every three months.

The breakthrough pill could be available in as little as three years, according to the scientist behind the discovery.

Unlike the jab form of the male pill it doesn’t use a combination of the male hormone testosterone and the female hormone progesterone to block pregnancy. The scientist behind the male pill discovery has developed a tablet that removes a vital protein in sperm that is required for a woman to conceive.

So while sperm still get through to the uterus they are unable to fertilize an egg. Using this approach, researchers believe they have a pill that is 100 percent effective at stopping pregnancy.

Not only is it long lasting but it also has other pluses. There are no side effects as suffered by women who take the contraceptive pill. (via Telegraph UK)

So this is big news. In as little as three years, guys could take a pill once a month that makes them temporarily sterile, with no side effects. This could have very significant, positive effects on the pregnancy rates of young people. However, one drawback is that like the female birth control pill, the male pill doesn’t prevent against STI’s, including HIV. This means that when the pill becomes available, men will need to understand that they can’t take a magical pill once a month and have as much condom-free sex as they want. Protecting against STI's is critically important, and condoms should always be worn during sex.

Here is why this is a big deal: As unfair as it is, there is less stigma attached to men obtaining birth control as there is for women. I am in high school, and there is a lot of assumptions people have when they find out a girl is on birth control. While everyone’s first thought should be “great! This girl cares about her body and her future and is taking steps to protect herself,” we do not live in a perfect world and many people’s first thoughts are “how slutty IS she…” or “isn’t she too young to be on birth control?” Sometimes, because of this stigma, young women are afraid to either go to the doctor or ask their parents for the pill. With guys, however, there are fewer stigmas attached to having birth control, as guys are considered players and super cool if they have a lot of sex. So perhaps if there were a male form of birth control, most sexually active young males would take it. If they used the pill as well as a condom, it would be almost impossible to have an unplanned pregnancy.

This could mean a new era of sexual health, where fewer unplanned pregnancies occur. Perhaps it will be easier to get guys to take the pill, resulting in every sexually active male taking this new product. What do YOU think this means? How will a male contraceptive pill change and/or improve sexual health?

I was intrigued to see protesters at the local mall here in Durham, NC outside of an Urban Outfitters. What were they protesting?  This shirt, and the lifestyle it promotes: 


The protest at Southpoint mall was led by Amy Lambert:

It wasn't unusual for Lambert, who had an eating disorder for more than eight years, to consume little more than one 80-calorie container of yogurt in a day. Now recovering, Lambert led a protest last week outside of Urban Outfitters at Southpoint mall in Durham. (via The Independent)

Protestors at Southpoint Mall

PHOTO BY REBEKAH L. COWELL/Indy WEEK

While some say this shirt is encouraging youth who are obese to become healthier and eat less, I see something much more misguided and sad going on.  This T-shirt, which has been removed from the Urban Outfitters website, is promoting a message that young women are only attractive if they are super thin, and that they should eat less to fit this unrealistic model of body size.  

This makes me really angry. At least 24% of Americans have an eating disorder, which has the highest mortality rate of any mental disease.  Stores like Urban Outfitters should be doing everything they can to promote healthy body image, but instead they are doing the opposite:

Telling an individual with an eating disorder to "eat less" aggravates emotional, psychological and physical issues. And for those still stuck in dangerous patterns, it is a message of validation, says Chase Bannister, clinical director for Carolina House.

The banner-statement 'Eat Less' can be a stinging trigger for women and men with anorexia, bulimia or binge-eating disorder," Bannister added, "ultimately providing reinforcement for the distorted belief our patients work so hard to stamp out: 'I will never be okay unless I'm thin.'
(indyweek)

Urban Outfitters is promoting a lifestyle that is killing young men and women, when as a clothing store I argue that they have a duty to do everything they can to promote realistic, healthy body images.  When countless people are suffering, oftentimes alone, Urban Outfitters should promote the message that it is Ok to eat, and that one can be sexy and fun and beautiful while also being healthy and safe.

Be sure to check out Amplify's issues page on body image.

While a lot of public attention has been given to abortion policy in Washington (abortion funding in health care reform, the potential overturn of Roe V. Wade, etc), all the action is happening at the state level.  And it’s not good.  This year saw an avalanche of extreme pro-life legislation, aimed at restricting access to abortion.  Many of the laws add procedures that have nothing to do with “life,” and everything to do with not trusting women with the decision to have an abortion.  This year in Oklahoma, for instance, SEVEN abortion-related bills have passed, including one that requires that a woman look at an ultrasound of the fetus before the procedure. Another of the Oklahoma bills requires the doctor to ask 38 questions about why the women wants to have an abortion, what her personal life is like, etc.  From my perspective, this will force legitimate clinics to resort to using contemptible fear tactics that we usually see from “pregnancy crisis centers."

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Currently, 6,000 young people (aged 14-24) contract HIV EVERY DAY, and more then 3.1 million people die from AIDS each year. This disease, while responsible for resurgence in condom use after the rise of the birth control pill, is also the disease that exposed America’s dark underbelly of poverty and homophobia in the 80’s and 90’s. This disease, which defined a generation and revolutionized approaches to sexual health, is stronger then ever both at home and abroad.

It’s important to recognize the success we have achieved.  The United States, under the Bush Administration, saw enormous success and was able to save millions of lives by providing life saving drugs to people in developing nations.  PEPFAR’s ABC approach (Abstinence, Be Faithful, use a Condom) and the millions of dollars we have spent in 15 focus countries have been enormously successful over the last 10 years.  

But, due to short-term thinking and ideological approaches, we are faltering in the war against AIDS.  Through right wing ideological approaches that segment the A from the B and the C (Abstinence, Be faithful, use a Condom), we have created a culture of fear around condoms and sexuality itself that mirrors American society’s dysfunctional approach to sexual health.  

According to research conducted by Advocates For Youth, “despite rapidly growing numbers of HIV infections among youth, the world community has not yet implemented effective prevention. Around the globe, the vast majority of youth have little understanding of HIV transmission or how to protect themselves against HIV infection (link).”  For too long, taxpayer dollars have been wasted on programs that prioritize ideology and right wing abstinence-only programs over science and programs that work. We see this problem in public schools here at home, and in PEPFAR programs abroad.  

Bush’s PEPFAR program made 4 inaccurate assumptions about the abstinence-until-marriage programs they promoted.

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The horrific sexual abuse on the part of Catholic priests has been called a scandal by the media, but this is not an accurate term to describe what has happened. Thousands of children were abused, molested, and raped by priests, and each time a higher-up in the Church found out, this person chose not to expel the criminal from the church but to redistrict him to a place where the crimes continued. This is not gossip. This is not a scandal. This is a disgusting violation of young peoples’ rights

Members of the Church have a right to safety and should trust their priests. What has happened violates the principles on which the church stands. I am furious and distraught that some people think they are above the law, and think that because they are “men of God,” they can commit crimes and assist others in committing crimes.

The media has focused primarily on how the church will attempt to recover from this scandal, if attendance will drop at Catholic parishes, and on the tentative efforts of a few bishops to prevent these crimes from happening again. What they are not doing is holding the Catholic Church responsible for being an institution that permits rapists and pedophiles to work closely with children.

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Breaking news in North Carolina: The NC Division of Social Services has recommended the elimination of the State Abortion Fund!

* Click here to send a letter asking State Legislators and Gov. Bev Purdue to stand up and defend reproductive freedom in NC  *

The NC State Abortion Fund was originally established in response to the Hyde Amendment so that all women, regardless of income, would be guaranteed the ability to make personal, private childbearing decisions.  We must stand up and make our voices heard to ensure that the State Abortion Fund does not disappear in North Carolina.  But we can do more then just save the fund, we can fix it. 

North Carolina took a great step towards ensuring reproductive freedom in 1978 by establishing the State Abortion Fund.  This fund was set up to provide funding for women to obtain an abortion in the case of threat to the life of the mother, and in cases of rape or incest.  In 1996, however, extreme anti-choice legislators tried to make this fund more restrictive. 

(From Planned Parenthood NC) In order to access the Fund, women must live below the federal poverty level, but not qualify for Medicaid.  This essentially excludes almost all low-income women. An accessible State Abortion Fund, as well as state-funded prenatal care, ensures that low-income women have the same ability to make reproductive health decisions for themselves and their families as do women with higher income and greater means.

We have the opportunity in North Carolina not only to save the State Abortion Fund, a lifeline for some women living below the poverty level, but also to restore it to its original intent.  The State Abortion Fund was originally intended to ensure that the constitutional right to choose applied to all women, regardless of income level. The NC Division of Social Services wants to cut the fund, but North Carolinians need to step up and tell our legislators to FIX the fund, not destroy it. 

I believe that reproductive freedom and the ability to choose when to have a child is a right, not just a privilege of those with money.  We can’t leave low-income women behind when it comes to access to abortions, and it is crucial that we save and fix this fund.  

Please take a minute to send a letter via Planned Parenthood of NC’s action center.  Letters go out to Governor Bev Purdue, the House Budget Committee, and several prominent Senators who must be encouraged to stand up for reproductive freedom in North Carolina.  You can do more than just send a letter. Tell five friends about this cause and get them to speak up as well! Please spread the word about this on Facebook and Twitter, and make sure NC doesn't leave low income women behind regarding the right to childbearing decisions.  

Working as a youth activist in North Carolina, I thought the one and only barrier to comprehensive sex education was the law. Well, we changed the law. We lobbied for a bill that passed last summer, it now mandates all schools teach information both about abstinence (as the only 100% effective way of preventing unwanted pregnancy and STD’s) AND contraception. Prior to this bill, only the ineffective abstinence-only programs were allowed to be taught in schools. I thought that the main reason why we had high teen pregnancy rates was because the law would not allow schools to teach comprehensive sex education. We worked to pass our bill last year, and over the summer it became law. Horray! So now what? Now that the bill has passed, I have had my eyes opened up a bit about what we are really fighting for. Passing the bill was a tremendous step, and the NC legislature should be proud that they stood up for young peoples rights to accurate information, but there is MUCH more work to do.

The truth is that while it can be easier to blame one authority for all our problems (aka the government won’t let us teach comp sex ed, so they are the problem), we need to think bigger. What are we fighting for? Who stands in the way of young people's sexual health and reproductive rights? The answer is many, many people. Teachers who are reluctant to teach the new curriculum even though it is now the law, fellow teens who are not willing to talk with their partners about sexual health, parents who do not care what their child does and allows them to become pregnant, a culture that values sex and sexuality in the media but not an honest discussion in the classroom. ALL of these attitudes, people, and groups stand in our way. We are fighting to help other young people become less apathetic about their own sexual health, we are fighting to ensure that males and females show equal respect to one another, we are fighting to change state and local policies, and we are fighting to hold teachers accountable to teaching science based, medically accurate sex ed programs.

I have realized over the past year that passing the bill does not solve all our problems; we need to have a wide-ranging, full gamut approach. This year we have worked to train schools on how to implement new sex ed programs, to change the culture around sexuality so that we can have more honest discussions, to distribute condoms so that fewer young people have unprotected sex, and to train other young people and support them in getting involved in their own communities. It has been fun, challenging, interesting, sometimes disappointing, oftentimes eye opening, and, above all, rewarding.

Yes, folks, it's time that I write a post about everyones favorite pop-singer Ke$sha (real name Kesha Rose Sebert, the $ is added for stylization to her performer name).  Full disclaimer, I am a huge Ke$ha fan and my friends and I made a kick ass video to Tik Tok, check it out:



There are several issues that Ke$ha brings up around teen sexuality and sexual identity. In some ways, people who immediately disapprove of Ke$ha show how conservative and backwards American culture is when it comes to sex.

Many of Ke$ha’s songs talk about having sex, partying, drinking, and generally living a carefree and fun, crazy life. She comes across to some as irresponsible, sex crazed, and stupid. Adults think that teen girls will become more slutty if they listen to Ke$ha songs, and Ke$ha has been called trashy, a whore, a slut, etc, because she sings about clubs and sex. But is Ke$ha a bad role model, and is she just a regular pop star who uses sex appeal to sell songs? Maybe.

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I did not invent patriarchy, sexism, or discrimination, but in some ways I benefit from those systems. I am a 17-year old straight, white, American male. Labels like this, while limiting and sometimes negative, are also very important to understand because of the implications they have. Even though I do not think a person should be immediately judged based on gender, race, sexual orientation, etc, we are not all the same and we are not always treated the same. Some of us naturally have advantages in society simply because of the labels and stereotypes that people have in their minds. As a straight white male, I have some relatively unearned benefits in my life. I was thinking about what this means for how I want to live my life and what I want to see change in the world. Maybe everyone who benefits unfairly from discriminatory systems such as racism and sexism have an ethical responsibility in the world to do something about it in a way that empowers each person.

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Teen Health Now is a group of young people across the state of North Carolina working towards eliminating federally abstinence-only programs in NC, adopting a comprehensive sex education policy in the state's health curricula, and changing local policy to support comprehensive sex education in communities. We also work to raise awareness for many other teen reproductive health issues. Part of our goal for this year is to train and mobilize other young people across the state.  We are doing this by hosting free trainings and events for young people! This spring Shelby Knox is coming to Chapel Hill, NC, to speak at a community forum about sex education.  We are also hosting a free, day long training on the topic of online organizing and advocacy at UNC Chapel Hill. This training is on Saturday, March 27 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.   Any youth can attend (you can RSVP to the Facebook event here).  This is an amazing opportunity to learn from national leaders in online activism, so please consider attending.  If you know any young people who may be interested, spread the word!  Check out the official event description:

Learn how to make your voice heard!
Teen Health Now, a project of Advocates for Youth and the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina, is a youth activist network in North Carolina that works towards making comprehensive sexuality education available to all young people in North Carolina's middle and high schools.  Recently the Healthy Youth Act was signed into law, and now it is up to us young people to make our voices heard and ensure that the new sex education curriculum is implemented in all schools.  We need your help to make this happen.

Teen Health Now is hosting a 1-day training on Online Organizing and Advocacy this March! Using the Internet and online social media networks is a powerful and effective way to be an activist for change.  This training focuses on how to take your advocacy to the next level, and is centered around reproductive health and sexual health and rights.

Take your activism to the next level and learn about advocacy related to reproductive health issues.  This daylong event will also include training on how to incorporate online organizing tactics such as Facebook, Twitter, and blogging. Also become knowledgeable about the Healthy Youth Act and the implications the new law poses for youth and sex education in North Carolina.

Learn how to:
- Create Facebook groups and use them to generate interest about your reproductive health issue
- Tweet with purpose
- Blog effectively and reach a large number of people with your message

This is a FREE training.  We will also provide your breakfast, lunch, and a free t-shirt.

Don’t miss this chance to attend a FREE training by Advocates for Youth, a national leader in online organizing.

To register:
Visit http://www.appcnc.org/training and follow the directions to create a user name and password on APPCNC’s website.  Once you’ve done that, click on “Youth Trainings” and register from there.  If you have problems registering, please contact Mary using the information below.

If you have questions about this training, please contact Mary Martin Vance, Teen Health Now Coordinator at mvance@appcnc.org or 919.226.1880.

This training is co-sponsered by VOX: Voices for Planned Parenthood at UNC, Advocates For Youth, and the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina.

Hey!  Last week I wrote about an amazing performance at my school by an activist and performer Marie Garlock.  She explores the politics of development, HIV and the body, and sex education through dance and theater.  It was an absolutely amazing performance, and I now have video!! This is an Amplify exclusive because I shot the video just for Amplify and edited together several of the highlights of the show.   Check out my post from last week and then watch:

The bill the House passed in November barred abortion funding in programs directly funded by the federal government. But it also banned it in private insurance plans that cover abortion if those plans are federally subsidized. (NPR).

Abortion is a politically charged issue that is at the forefront of the current debate over healthcare. Initially, Democrats didn’t want to change or mess with abortion policy at all; they wanted to maintain the status quos as set by the Hyde Amendment. In 1977 the Hyde amendment barred federal funding for abortion and at first Health Care Reform was not going to change this. But then Stupak and Pitts came along and the Stupak-Pitts Amendment was passed. The effect of this :

“Anyone receiving a subsidy for their premium from the government would not be allowed to choose a plan that includes abortion and that would apply to about 85 percent of people participating in the exchange," said Jessica Arons. She's Director of the Women's Health and Rights Program at the Center for American Progress.(NPR)

So basically, anti-choice legislators used Health Care Reform as an opportunity to stigmatize abortion and make it less accessible for women. This is upsetting, because the whole point of health care reform is to improve health care for all Americans. Abortion is health care. Limiting access to abortion in the process of expanding health care is not Ok, and it would be a major step backwards.

The House bill is more restrictive of abortions then the Senate bill, and currently Democratic leadership hopes to have the House vote on the Senate bill with the Senate abortion language included. Then the Senate would vote on a combined House and Senate bill, and this process of reconciliation only requires a simple majority vote. It could pass without a “supermajority” that Democrats lost recently in the Senate, and it could pass SOON. This is good news. It means that the American people could get meaningful HCR that doesn’t further restrict abortion coverage in the ways that the Stupak Pitts amendment would have done.

This also means that our Representatives have a choice: either vote for a bill that DOES NOT further restrict abortion coverage, or vote against Health Care Reform. I would just like to remind our legislators that abortion IS healthcare, and that they must pass Health Care Reform without restricting abortion coverage.

Emergency Contraception (EC), the hormone birth control method used to prevent pregnancy up to three days after unprotected sex, was mocked recently by The Onion.  This made me laugh so hard I had to share it on Amplify: (if the embed below doesn't work click this link)



The Onion makes this joke for a reason.  Currently, EC is not available to everyone.  Obtaining EC is much more difficult than going into Taco Bell and ordering a burrito.  The Onion makes this contrast to show that EC is just a way to prevent pregnancy, like condoms.  Far right-wing politicians and pro-life activists, however, have worked hard to ensure that Emergency Contraception is hard to get. Recently the FDA allowed EC to be given to those over age 18 without a prescription, which was a great step forward.   Anyone under the age of 17 needs a prescription, and many emergency rooms do not have EC on hand.  

With 95% of the 800,000 teenagers pregnancies a year in the United States being unintended, it is vital that we work to ensure everyone has access to Emergency Contraception.  You can read more about the controversy here and sign the petition here to make EC available to all women.  

Sex. It is a topic that is discussed on TV, in music, in Washington by our politicians, at dining room tables, and now....at the Winter Olympic games in Vancouver.

Luckily, the discussion in Vancouver isn't about morals or shame around sex, but about safe sex. 100,000 condoms were shipped to the Olympic Villages where the athletes live in Whistler and Vancouver. The Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research provided them. 100,000 condoms are a lot; this means there were at least 14 condoms for every athlete.

Apparently, many athletes have ditched their earlier theory of no sex before a game or competition. There was a shortage of condoms, and another 8,500 were airlifted to Vancouver! The executive director of he Canadian Foundation for AIDS research, who authorized the shipment, said:

"When we heard about the condom shortage in Vancouver, we felt it important to respond immediately. Safer sex is key to preventing the spread of the HIV virus."

Amen! It is awesome that in Canada a shortage of condoms is cause for alarm. Imagine if condoms were distributed at high school football games in the US...parents and conservative action groups would panic, the person distributing the condoms would probably get in trouble, and it would most likely not end well. Sure, distributing condoms to adults at the Olympics is different that distributing them to high school students. Even the Great American Condom Campaign, a project that distributes millions of condoms every year on college campuses, does not distribute condoms among high school students. How many teens became pregnant or caught an STD shortly after a high school football game? Probably a lot. Since we are not very open about condoms and safe sex in the United States, to many teens just don’t bother using them.

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Most of the information and stories I hear about sex education are negative.  Many schools in America teach abstinence-only, and too many young people leave high school with an incomplete knowledge of sexual health. Today, I am going to share a more positive story.

I go to Carolina Friends School, a private Quaker school that is very liberal and open about sex and sexual health. I took our required "Adolescent Health" class last year, and it was a positive experience for me.  Working as an activist for sex education has made me appreciate the program I have at my school; I am lucky to have a comprehensive sex-ed program.  The class is offered every semester both as a co-ed and a single sex class.  Teachers who usually teach other subjects teach the class, but they have to have a complete knowledge of sexual health to be allowed to teach Adolescent Health.

We talk about basic anatomy, sexual identity, how to protect against pregnancy and STD’s, and talk about what constitutes a good relationship.  We are told that abstinence is the best way to prevent pregnancy and STD’s because it is the only method that is 100% effective.  We are also told that if we are going to have sex, there are many ways to stay safe and then we learn about all forms of birth control.  We also read interesting news articles about relationship issues and gender issues, and discuss what it means to respect our partner.  The most important thing I took away from the class was the point about discussing birth control and condom use BEFORE an intimate experience.  It can be very hard to have a talk about using condoms right before sex is about to happen, it is better to establish ground rules before hand so when the time comes both partners are on the same page.

Our teachers are always completely open and honest, and if they do not know the answer to something they find out and discuss it next class.  We also always take a trip to the local Planned Parenthood, where health educators and doctors talk about sexual health and ways to stay safe.  Since Planned Parenthood staff work with these issues everyday, they are very helpful.  The PP people also talk about what services Planned Parenthood offers.

We are also encouraged to be an active member of our community at my school, and I was allowed to organized a trip to the state legislature with my health class.  We talked with elected officials and encouraged them to vote in favor of a comprehensive sex education law.  The law passed last year, so now all schools in NC will be teaching comprehensive sex education!

I feel that it is extremely difficult to talk honestly with a partner about sex.  It is much easier to enjoy the relationship, and to push the tough questions into the future and "deal with them later."  In truth, too many young people do not ever face the tough questions because people do not feel comfortable talking about it.  The sex "just happens" without proper thought going into protection.  An open, honest discussion with peers and teachers at school helps with this immensely. I have practiced talking with people about condom use, so now it is much easier to face the issues in my relationships and talk BEFORE the fact about using protection.  Condoms are also available at school, and we can go into a teacher’s office and take some at any time.  This ensures that all of the students at my school are safe.

So far, things are working well.  There have been almost no pregnancies ever at my high school.  This program works well for parents, too.  My parents are happy I am getting this information at school because they do not have to talk with me about it at home.  And while I do respect my parents, I would MUCH rather hear about how to stay safe from a Planned Parenthood staff person than my mom.  Lets face it…thinking about parents and sex at the same time is kind of awful.

Overall, I strongly encourage all schools to embrace an open, complete, accurate comprehensive sex education program. This comprehensive approach helps teens make healthy decisions and opens up conversations among youth about using protection.  I am lucky to go to a school that has this, but the sad truth is that many other people do not.

What does your school teach? Do you think you know all the facts about sexual health and are you comfortable talking with a partner about protection? If you did not learn about sexual health in school, where did you get your information?

I take a modern dance class at school, and it is very enjoyable. I find it a fun way to relax, get some exercise, and be creative during an otherwise stressful day filled with academic subjects. I never thought my dance class would be a way to explore social issues and health issues, but last week I discovered I was wrong!

Marie Garlock wrote a dance/storytelling performance piece called {it is in you}: Health Justice Performance in Tanzania.  It was based on her experience living in Tanzania and working with HIV peer health educators, performing artists and health justice activists and experts. She did a residency at my high school last week, and she taught two class periods of my dance class. She also performed the piece in its entirety for the entire school. Working with Marie was an absolutely amazing experience. I learned about HIV/AIDS and other health issues in a way I had never done before: using performance and dance. Marie describes what she does on her website:

Garlock journeys forward with "{it is in you}: Health Justice Performance in Tanzania," exploring the politics of development, HIV and the body, and seeking to honor the insights of East African friends and educators, through storytelling and movement.

In our class, Marie asked us to stand in partners and react to questions using our bodies and creative movement. She asked for a guy, what the primary purpose of sex was. She then asked for a girl. Once we moved and took a certain shape, she explained how the answers, on average, differ between cultures. The answers vary a lot between men and women, no matter the culture. They also reveal a large problem. She told us that globally, the primary reason for a girl to have sex is for an exchange for a marriage proposal. For a guy, it is to know for sure that the girl belongs to him and will not cheat.

She then did a similar exercise about violence in relationships, and what a girl should do if she experiences violence from a boyfriend. The sad truth around the world is that many girls often do not have anyone to go to, and they end up HIV positive along with facing violence. Experiencing this through movement was so intriguing, and I left the class with a very different perspective on the issues of sexual health cross culturally. 

We face certain challenges here at home, and in Tanzania youth face challenges that are sometimes very similar. Male dominance in relationships is a problem both where I live in North Carolina and in Tanzania. This similarity is important because it unites us. Both in developed parts of the world such as the US and in developing places such as Tanzania, there is a pressure for men to "show strength" and "be masculine" without necessarily thinking about protection and safety. For women, there is pressure to "be in a committed relationship/marriage before sex" before all else. One of the most exciting goals of the {It Is In You} project is to link across cultures to understand our common human experience and common battle against AIDS. Many of the same kinds of issues confront young people where I live in NC and in Tanzania or East Africa. The reason for asking us questions and seeing how we react was to see what the differences are between young men's and young women's motivations for relationships. The exercise helped me see the connections between what we think at my high school, what our national culture thinks, and what our friends in Tanzania think.

I had learned about these sorts of issues before, but experiencing the emotions and scenarios that Tanzanians experience made it real for me. I felt that I could relate to a person in Tanzania with HIV and think of them as an individual, as opposed to a statistic. I think this is a problem that activists face in the United States. We want to help, but it can be hard to think about life from the perspective of someone living in a place so different.

Doing the dance performance work helped with this. When we were asked questions and answered them with movement, I was fascinated by the discoveries I was having. Internally, I simply felt how culture around sexuality could be degrading and harmful.  The idea that I could think about issues that I care about just by moving my body was very new and interesting.  I learned that thinking intellectually can only get us so far, and relating to others and figuring out how we really feel sometimes needs to be done through art and dance rather than just intellectualizing and trying to think through everything.

The piece was performed in Tanzania with peer health educators, and the work that Marie is doing in Tanzania is truly amazing! The performance also touched on US AID funding, PEPFAR and the right wing abstinence-only policy that was exported to Africa, and wisdom from the traditional cultures in Tanzania.

I recorded some video from Marie’s performance, and I will be uploading this to Amplify sometime next week. She lists other performance dates on her website, if you live in any of these places I encourage you to go to the performance.

Marie is also a co-founder of Triangle Dance Festival for AIDS, and the Teen Health Now youth advocacy group will have a booth at this event!  To keep up with Teen Health Now and come to our trainings and events, become a fan on Facebook!

The Olympics have officially started, and I am very excited. I am huge Winter Olympics fan!

Lindsey Vonn, American downhill skier, posed for the cover of Sports Illustrated recently. They titled the cover story "America's Best Woman Skier Ever." Lindsey Vonn is an amazing athlete, and if she is able to recover from her recent shin injury she may take home a lot of gold medals this year.  Vonn is also blond, young, and attractive. There is some controversy over the Sports Illustrated cover. Some say that because she is young and attractive she was put in a sexual pose, and that the intent behind putting her on the cover was to highlight her sex appeal not her athleticism. Check out the picture:

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Candidate for US Senate Harold Ford Jr. talked with Stephen Colbert last night about abortion and gay marriage.  Harold Ford is a Democrat, and a former congressman from Tennessee.  He recently moved to NY, and has come under heat for changing his position on some important issues.  Tennessee is much more conservative than New York, and for the most part you have to be a moderate democrat to win in the south.  Most congressmen in the south are anti-choice and anti-gay marriage.   In the past, Ford had said that he is opposed to gay marriage and opposed to abortion.  Now, he spins his abortion argument differently, and sounds pro-choice.  Ford recently said that he was now FOR gay marriage, and explained his change in stance on the Colbert Report:

I've been out of politics for the last four years, and I've thought long and hard about it.  I've had some different thoughts.  I've got a wife that believes in it (gay marriage), I've had friends and others who have helped educate me on this. It's a changed position.  

Great for Harold Ford!  Perhaps not all politicians are stubborn and close-minded, I think it is respectable that he was able to change his mind like this.  Some say that he changed his stance just to get elected, and while I am sure there is some truth there, he still is doing an admirable thing by admitting he was wrong before and not supporting marriage equality.

The interview from the Colbert Report was very interesting, and I have included the video below.

Here in the United States, youth face many challenges with regards to sexual health and reproductive rights.  I have been involved in the fight for accurate sex education where I live, because I have seen the damaging affects of abstinence-only sex education and wanted to help change this ineffective program.  The challenges that youth face in the United States are NOTHING compared to the challenges that youth face in the developing world.  

In Bangladesh, a 16-year-old girl was raped, became pregnant, and was sentenced to a cruel and harsh punishment. The Young Turks covered this story:

(The first three minutes are the facts of what happened, the remaining time covers the reaction and opinion to the story.  If you don't want to watch the whole thing, just check out the beginning.)



This story is heartbreaking. I cannot imagine how hard this is for the girl, she did NOTHING wrong and she is treated like a criminal. Imagine if this happened to you. It is so terrible and so upsetting that I do not know how to express it in words. For me, this puts my "first world problems" in perspective.  We youth face challenges everyday here in America, but compared to this story, we have it relatively easy.

Rights are universal, cultures are different. This type of religious fundamentalism needs to stop. Like the man said in the above video, people who commit evils like this and justify their actions with God are bad people that need to be stopped. I do not believe that the United States should go to other countries and attempt push western style modern democracy on them, and I have a lot of respect for Islam and traditional cultures all over the world. However, the Untied States has immense power in the international community. Who we trade with, who we give aide to, and what international programs we fund have a huge impact in countries like Bangladesh. While we should NOT try to get every village to look like a town in the USA, we have a responsibility to protect the rights of people like this girl who was raped. Complications of pregnancy (including unsafe abortions) are the number 1 cause of death among young women in the developing world. Female genital mutilation happens at an alarmingly high rate. This practice is evil, disgusting, and wrong, and needs to be stopped.  

You can take action and sign the petition to US congress to increase family planning assistance in developing nations.  

Rights are universal, but cultures are different. Activism in countries where the culture is radically different is very complicated and difficult, but we have a responsibility to end such practices as victim blaming, unsafe abortions, and FGM in developing countries. To read more, check out Amplify's page about sexual reproductive health and rights in South Asia (which includes Bangladesh), as well as this great article on culture and sexuality called "Youth and State of Culture" on the Advocates For Youth website.