1 in 4 Teenage Girls have an STD: Disconcerting

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE WILL HAVE TERMINOLOGY AND TOPICS THAT ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR THE EYES OF THOSE WHO ARE CHILDREN OR FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT INTERESTED IN SEEING LANGUAGE THAT IS ADULT OR SEXUAL IN NATURE

For those out there who have been so immersed in Political news you may not have heard about this. A new study released by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reveals that 1 in 4 Teenage Girls have contracted an STD. Dr. Sara Forhan, the leading researcher for this CDC study, said the following:

"What we found is alarming....This means that far too many young women are at risk for the serious health effects of untreated STDs, including infertility and cervical cancer."

Alarming is an understatement. Disconcerting is my word of choice. The fact that this many teenagers, if not more, have contracted a STD is something people need to understand the "why" instead of the "how". "How" is easy: Sexual Promiscuity and Psychological Immaturity.

The "why" is more deep and disturbing. Some people seem to want to blame Abstinence Education for causing our young people to be ignorant and having a lack of knowledge about sex and one's "sexual nature". Others point to parent's lack of role in the children's lives or the parents not talking to their kids. But both of these finger pointing excuses are by products of people who do not want the truth. So let’s address some of the issues that come into play concerning the sexual activeness of today's Teenagers:

1) Ineffectiveness of Sex Education
Our High School's have as part of their curriculum, under the subject/class "Health", what many know as "Sex Ed". The purpose of having this in schools is to "educate" young people of what sex is, the repercussions of sexual activity, and in many situations, HOW to have sex. Despite the reality that people have been having sex and engaging in sexual activities for thousands of years, today we need a class to give our High Schoolers a crash course in "Sex". While "sexual health" is important for our young people to know, many schools do not just limit it to "if you have sex, this can happen" type of information. They get detailed "you take the male penis and push it into the female vaginal hole...." and some teachers have been known to talk about sexual positions, different types of condoms, anal sex, and oral sex. There is a difference between "education" and "over-exposure".

2) The "sexing up" of our young people
Our young people as a result of TV, music, movies, and advertising are more and more desensitized to sex and sexual indecency. While people may argue to whether this is a good ("They need to know about the real world...") or bad ("They are still children, they don’t need to be thinking about...."), the fact is when you have TV shows like "Dawson's Creek" and "The OC" where everyone seems to be sleeping around with someone, movies like "American Pie" where sex is a major subject and sexual humor is saturated into every scene, along with music where Rappers talk about their "B****es and H**oes" and "tap that A**" while rockers who have songs that say, "You're a crazy b***h, But you f**k so good...When I dream, I'm doing you all night", do we really expect out young people to NOT take an active interest in being sexual? Despite the fact that our "Sex Ed" classes may discuss STD's and pregnancy, the subliminal messages of TV and music are the LACK of consequences for such excess activity. Also, the clothing industry has gotten in on the act. High School and College girls go to Victoria's Secret. They do buy 4 thongs in a packet for 6 dollars at the likes of Wal-Mart and Kmart. The mini skirt has been back for years. Skimpy bikinis are more than a fad, and then the parents say "My little girl is growing up so fast!"

3) Obsession with the other gender
While pornography magazines and websites are for "those 18 years of age and up", if you were to anonymously poll under 18 males, many of them would admit they either seen pornographic images of some sort. Despite the rating of "R", kids still sneak into those films. Any honest male has been in the locker room and heard the conversations "Man, she got some big a** t**s". Sure, boys while be boys, but in a society in which guys start seeing girls "wanting it" and then girls dressing LIKE they want it, if you can't do the math, you never will. I am a male, I went to school with these guys. And I was the cry shoulder for the girls. I will never forget the broken record words and phrases that would fall out of their mouths, "I thought he loved me", "I thought that was the only thing I could do to keep him", "He told me if I loved him I would", or "I thought he used a condom", "I thought we were being careful", and of course "He was so rough, I told him it hurt, he just kept going". And there in lies the origin of the infamous female "gossip" center. These same girls would go around telling everyone anyone who would listen, "He's an a****le", "He used me", etc. At the same time, the guys would go around talking about their "exploits", with all the details. And every guy, at some point, has wanted to be one of "the guys" and fit in. Of course, we have all acted upon that desire to "fit in" differently. But despite all these things that happen, you still have these girls who are "boy crazy" who throw themselves at guys. You still have women who will do "anything" because they "love him". You also have the women who run around thinking they can "change" the bad boys.

These are three major factors in our young people's worlds. And let’s stop placing all the blame on the parents. It is not always their fault. You can have parents who will do everything for their child, raise them right, and that child still goes out and does drugs or lies to their parents about their friends and hangs around the wrong people. The truth is, if your son or daughter wants to do things without you knowing, they WILL find a way to do so. A parent’s influence goes only as far as the child will accept their role in their lives after a certain point.

Notice how I say "point" and not "age". There is a reason for this. Every young person has different levels of maturity and intellectual development. Despite your kid's C's and D's, they can apply themselves to outwit you and others.

The truth is that parents, teachers, the media are dually responsible for this study. Young people and children are sponges. They soak in everything, break it down, and then act.

Honestly, and this may enrage some people, a major reason for the high rate of Teenage girls contracting STD's is Hygiene. Yes, we all have heard our parents tell us to wash our hands after going to the bathroom, before we eat dinner. We have been told we should take one shower a day. We have been told we shouldn't wear dirty clothes. We have all been told we should brush our teeth at least once, if not twice, a day. But how many people actually listen? Being a "clean" person has a lot to do with it. And it's always the ladies being clean, but also they guys they choose to be intimate with. If one is not clean, they become a breeding ground for disease and sickness. Not keeping up with your immune system, not eating the right foods, not taking showers, washing your hands, brushing your teeth, it all adds up. Doctors say that HPV (an STD that can lead to Cervical Cancer) can be contracted through Oral Sex. Not to be crude, but how many young ladies really think about if that guy's genitalia was washed properly within the last 24 hours? The same applies to females. Does Sex Ed or the media or Parents really teach kids the wash themselves completely? One's cleanliness and appearance is a reflection upon how much they respect themselves.

And of course, let us not forget, society tells our young women "If you don't look like this..." you are not pretty or beautiful or cute. And you do not think THAT affects how they treat their bodies and who they let touch their bodies?

One more factor that has gotten us to where we are today: Religion. Especially Christians. The Bible says, "For God loved the world so much..." not "For God loved those who wait till marriage to have sex so much..." The judgmental mentality of Catholics, Christians, and Muslims everywhere have towards those who have sex outside of marriage and those who have children out of wedlock is disgusting. Let me tell you a story and I will leave all involved anonymous:

There was a girl who attended a Christian school. That girl had sex with another student who attended that school. It was rumored a few months later that the girl was pregnant. The school nurse told the administration. The school expelled both students. They later allowed the girl to come back to school when she never gave birth to a baby. Some suspected she had an abortion.

Yes, the Bible speaks about how fornication (sex outside of marriage) and adultery (when a married person cheats on their spouse) are sins. But the Bible also says in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" and in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." The Bible doesn't have a grading system, like you and I do, of what "sins" are worse than others.

Even Jesus, in John 8:1-11 had a woman who had committed adultery brought before him. The people who brought her before Jesus wanted to stone her. Jesus told these men, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."(verse 7) When all these men left, Jesus said unto the woman, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more"(verse 11)

The lack of compassion in religious circles today for those who are involved in "sexual immortality" disgusts me. These people are so concerned about women aborting their babies, yet they cast out and push away these pregnant women when they are most vulnerable. Many abortions happen because these girls are "shamed" and feel the only way to gain favor back is to rid themselves of the baby or "fetus". It's a vicious cycle, but it happens all across this country.

Christians are ordered to forgive by Jesus in Mark 11:25-26:

"And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."


In summary, EVERYONE is to blame for this situation coming to pass. The blame needs to be spread around. Teachers, Media, Parents, Churches, other young people, EVERYONE. This is the culture we have created around our young people. The truth needs to be realized before we can start attempting to "fix" any problems.