SIECUS Report articles from April 2003

SIECUS Report archives from April 2003

Young people have something to say about sex. (From the Editor).
April 1, 2003... "Write about what you know," my creative writing instructor said to me when I was deciding on the subject for a short story. "And write from the heart. That's how you will reach people." Throughout my years as a writer and editor, I have...

We have an opportunity to listen and learn from young people. (From the President).(Editorial)
April 1, 2003... Perhaps since the dawn of time, the phrase "Kids today..." has been followed by a string of negative descriptors--from disrespectful to lazy to out of control. No matter how old or young, each generation has failed to live up to the standards...

Facing the possibility of HIV: all I can remember thinking was if I have AIDS, suicide would be an option. I couldn't imagine having to deal with it, and I still can't.(Editorial)
April 1, 2003... About a year ago, my friend called me on the phone and said, "Have you heard?" and I said, "Heard what?" She then said, "Our friend Kathy has been diagnosed with AIDS." News like that would not usually have alarmed me. But the knowledge...

HIV as my reality: I need to prepare to "live with," not "die of," or begin to adapt the terminology again...to fit Me.(Editorial)
April 1, 2003... The Quilt. National AIDS Day. Angels in America. Red ribbons galore. Marches. Rallies. Rent. And the Band Played On. ACT UP. Countless agencies across the nation dedicated to the dissemination of information for the protection of the queer...

Teens need more information about AIDS.
April 1, 2003... To them, sex is a game; a game that is won and lost by how attractive the other person is. What teenagers fail to realize is that they are actually part of a bigger game, one of life and death. We are the first generation to have been at risk...

AIDS: find a remedy for this disease; we have to draw the public's attention to this problem: young people are in danger!
April 1, 2003... Every day through TV, radio, or newspaper news, we know more and more cases of AIDS are spreading among the population and people in the world. Unfortunately, the disease ignores borders, countries, races, colors, talent, poor and rich, man and...

We're here, we're queer: get used to it; there's a whole population out there--10 percent of us, in fact--who could be educated about how to avoid STDs. Is that so much to ask?
April 1, 2003... The other day in my health class a lady came in with graphic slides of people with STDs. We were surprisingly mature about it, for the most part, although none of us could fight the cringe reflex each time a new picture of syphilis or herpes...

A true story: the media and sexuality; for me to stand here and call myself an individual would be incorrect if I based my everyday life on another's opinion, such as the media.
April 1, 2003... The majority of our society has stereotyped "sex" as a bunch of teenagers drinking at a party and having sex. My first question is why is it only teenagers? Why must we be under the influence of some substance or intoxicated in order to have...

Let's Talk About Sex: the problem is that as a society we like children to be encased in a prophylactic of innocence. Knowledge is seen as taking away that innocence.
April 1, 2003... "Don't decoy or avoid or make void the topic 'cause that ain't gonna stop it." --from 'Let's Talk About Sex' by Salt 'N' Pepa (1991) When I was 10 years old, I had a very serious crush on a blue-eyed boy named Ben. He was tall and...

Divining Eros: what, pray tell, is always sexy? No, seriously, what's sexier than falling so hard for someone who really loves you back that 40 years later, s/he still turns you on?
April 1, 2003... Coming from a school (and an area) where I'm one of the very few 17-year-old virgins I know while also one of an even smaller set of queer kids, I sometimes find myself sincerely pondering the possibility of there being something wrong with the...

Schools should help children survive in the real world.
April 1, 2003... No one pretends that there aren't ignorant drivers on the roads that need some lessons. Why, then, do people pretend that there aren't ignorant people having sex that could benefit from a couple of safety classes? Telling a 16-year-old boy...

Teens shouldn't have to figure it out on their own: it's not fair for teens to figure things out the hard way while parents wait until the damage has been done to try and fix it.
April 1, 2003... Teens just don't know And the media seems to be there to explain it more than parents. Though this can be true for many things, teens being stupid about sex seems to be on everyone's mind. But it's hard for them to know what they haven't been...

Schools need to teach more about the world around us.
April 1, 2003... I know that there are many teenagers who have sex, who do drugs, who just don't care. I think if adolescents in school were taught more on those subjects then there would be less of that, which would be great. In my opinion, sexuality...

Sex education must teach more than biology, risks: providing sex education for young people may very well be the most valuable education of their entire lives.
April 1, 2003... Providing sex education for young people may very well be the most valuable education of their entire lives. I strongly believe that the earlier we learn about sex and sex-related issues and the more information we have on it, the better off we...

A close-to-perfect health class: as long as sex remains something that society thinks should be spoken about behind closed doors, sexuality education will be controversial. Until then, I am content with my ninth-grade health education.
April 1, 2003... For me, learning about sex was a gradual experience because, as a toddler and young girl, I didn't really care how I was made. I was completely content with my Barbie Dolls (and no, I didn't look underneath their clothes to understand why Ken...

SEX, ETC., Editorial Board discusses what works (and what doesn't) in sex ed.
April 1, 2003... What do teens think is the best way to teach students about sex? The following teens, who are providing their insight, are on the 2002-2003 Editorial Board of SEX, ETC., the national newsletter and web site (www.sexetc.org) that is written...

The conventional teaching of abstinence isn't realistic: teenagers are having sex and, more and more, there is a need to teach students how to have safe sex, not how to have no sex.
April 1, 2003... In a day and age where war is knocking at our country's doorstep, where technological boundaries are being broken each and every day, and where fantasy is continuously becoming reality, there is still something on everyone's mind that rises...

Sex education can learn from bananas: we must bear in mind that, for a certain number of people, ignorance really will equal death.
April 1, 2003... Panting, with tears flying into sweat-matted hair, the last cyclist stoically pulled himself up the first hill of the aptly-titled 2002 Hill Country Ride for AIDS. I stood among the hundreds of volunteers lining the sides of the course; our...

Arm young people with information.
April 1, 2003... We allow guns in our country to apparently protect us and yet we are afraid to teach girls how to put on a condom. What is more important than protecting the body you are given and making sure that the people around you are safe? The U.S....

All the good a little sex ed can do: why don't the students have a say in their own education? It seems to me that adults should spend less time debating with each other and more time listening to their children.
April 1, 2003... Politicians, health educators, and parents are con-stantly debating the best way to teach sex education in public schools. Naturally, the issue is extremely controversial, with a wide range of opinions covering every aspect of the topic....

Young adult looks back: how sexuality education can prevent eating disorders.
April 1, 2003... 1996. I am in high school. I am sitting in health class. Health is a required course, and it is held in the basement of the gym. The room looks like a large concrete box. There are no windows in health class. I am sitting next to the boy who...

Parents need to start listening and talking.
April 1, 2003... Sex, birth control, and condoms. These simple words are quite common in today's teenage vocabulary, but why is it that more and more teens are not able to talk to their parents about sex and sex-related issues? My very good friend Jackie...

Kaiser releases sexual health survey on adolesents and young adults.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The Kaiser Family Foundation has just released the National Survey of Adolescents and Young Adults: Sexual Health Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experiences. The survey looks at a nationally representative sample of more than 1,800 young people...

Teens campaign for better sex education: in order to make decisions regarding our sexuality, teens need full and complete, scientifically-backed information, just as anyone would want truthful information regarding any other decision.
April 1, 2003... In the county of San Mateo, CA, just south of San Francisco, is a group of teens stemming from different ethnic backgrounds and socio-economies called ASsET (Advocating Sexuality Education Together). Though we have differences in our...

The persistence of prevention politics. (Policy Update).
April 1, 2003... This issue of the SIECUS Report is rich with the voices of young people. They are boldly speaking out about the realities of their lives and the need for full and accurate information about how to maintain their reproductive and sexual health...

Facts on sexuality-related issues for young people: a SIECUS annotated bibliography.(Bibliography)
April 1, 2003... The question is not if--but rather how--young people will learn about sex. When want answers to their questions, it is important that they know where to go for clear and unbiased information--whether about anatomy, sexual feelings, sexual...