Houston, We Have a Problem: Bristol Palin and the State of Sex Education in America |
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 It seems as though just as soon as John McCain announced his choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential nominee, stories started flying about her, her family, and in particular, her daughter, Bristol Palin, who is seventeen years old and five months pregnant. Many of the major media networks have devoured this story, highlighting the hypocrisy between “Republican values” and the situation at hand. There have also been comments about the elder Palin’s views on sex education. However, the media’s focus on the situation has been unfortunately skewed. There has been entirely too much gossip about Bristol in the news, rather than actual news about the election itself. In fact, a Google search of Bristol Palin brings up numerous self-proclaimed “gossip sites” discussing her pregnancy. There are also news sites which discuss the pregnancy, and the possible ramifications on the election.
At the risk of sounding like Chris Crocker (he of the “leave Britney alone” fame), all I have to say to these news outlets is this: leave Bristol Palin alone. This girl is only seventeen years old, and she is now pregnant, engaged, and suddenly thrust in the national spotlight. Even at my age, I would be absolutely terrified to have to deal with all of that at once- I can hardly imagine how she is feeling. So, for the sake of a young girl, let’s please leave her alone and focus on the real issue- the state of sex education in America.
Sarah Palin has been quoted in numerous sources as being an advocate of abstinence-only education. People have made snide comments along the lines of “well, we can see how far that got her family,” but this comment should really be taken more seriously. What is the effect of abstinence-only education? For starters, we should start with the definition of abstinence-only education. In most cases, this type of education promotes abstaining from sex until marriage, and very rarely discusses sexually transmitted diseases and the use of contraceptives. In various studies, the faults of abstinence-only education have been shown. In a study ordered by Congress, teens who participated in abstinence-only education programs were just as likely as those that participated in comprehensive sex education to have sex. Other studies have claimed that students who participated in abstinence-only education programs were less likely to use any method of birth control than other students when having sex.Comprehensive sex education, on the other hand, generally covers topics such as puberty, sexually transmitted infections and diseases (STIs and STDs), birth control, and yes, abstinence. However, in many states the issue of sex education is left up to the individual school boards. Some schools may choose to teach all of these topics, whereas other schools may pick and choose which topics they want to present to students. In my school district, sex education was taught, but very briefly. We had a short presentation in elementary school about puberty, where we were separated by gender to “discuss” the changes our bodies were about to go through. After that, the topic wasn’t touched again until late in high school, primarily in health class. Even then, we only spent a day on the topic, and I think I left class more confused than when I started. Sadly, students today are still left with that same sense of confusion. Many of the old wives’ tales about sex and pregnancy are still floating around, and just like teenagers back in the old days, teenagers today are still listening to these stories as though they were fact. I believe the best (and most satirical) example of this is a scene from the movie “Mean Girls”, in which the gym/health teacher proceeds to tell his students, “Don’t have sex. If you have sex, you will get pregnant and die.” He then proceeds to hand out condoms to the students. This illustrates this failure of an abstinence-only education program. We tell students not to have sex, but we don’t tell them how to protect themselves if (and more likely, when) they do have sex. The thing that is lacking here is a set of national standards regarding sex education. With Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act, he targets standards that all schools must meet regarding education. Interestingly enough, sex education is left out of this government act. True, it is a touchy topic, but it is a very important topic as well, and one that the youth of America needs to learn about. Please, for the sake of all the Bristol Palins in the country, let’s focus on teaching students about sex in a responsible manner befitting a group of mature young adults
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  written by Kimmee Van Hoy  ,
November 26, 2008
This election is not about Governor Palin's daughter being pregnant. It's about so much more. If anything what we should take away is that sex education in America is not as effective as it should/needs to be. I agree with you, people do need to take a step back and realize that her life is pretty chaotic right now and to be 17, pregnant and newly engaged and thrown into the public eye is extremely hard and lashing out at her is not an effective tactic. People in general need to be informed of all the options and possible effects - from abstinence, pregnancy, contraceptives etc. Well said and informative.
 written by dropanchor talife, January 25, 2009
How conservative, and I don't know if it would be called sexist or Ageist(or just plain bad parenting)... I probably wouldn't want to see that guy again or just would want to finish high school! one reason to not have a pit-bull with lipstick become president.
 written by rusty ,
January 30, 2009
The "Bristol" situation, although it was extremely vicious for the media to put a family's personal business in the forefront to bash an elected official whom I personally cannot stand, paints a perfect picture of the retarded values this party holds. Don't educate teens about sex and pregnancy or allow them to use birth control, but don't help them when they become pregnant. Please, a human being cannot control their natural urge to physically be with the man they love 100% of the time regardless of their situation. Stupid values...
 written by Elizabeth, March 01, 2009
Okay, ouch? Our conservative values are not "retarded." Just because abstinence-only education doesn't "work" according to society's definition of sex education's success doesn't mean values such as not having premarital sex and not using unnatural birth control are "stupid." The liberal way of educating young people about sex is certainly not flawless. At a Planned Parenthood meeting I attended, the speakers FORGOT to discuss abstinence. They tacked on an extra sentence to the end of their presentation stating (with a chuckle) that for those who choose abstinence, "more power to you," but for "us normal folks," there was the magical *goody box of birth control.* I was really offended by the mockery of my personal beliefs then and I'm offended by you calling my morals stupid and retarded. I agree that sex education in the U.S. needs to be improved, and maybe a happy medium can be found between abstinence-only and comprehensive sex ed.
Also, there is no such Republican value to not help unwed pregnant females. The Palins said, "As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support." And perhaps the worst line of all in your comment, "Please, a human being cannot control their natural urge to physically be with the man they love 100% of the time regardless of their situation." :O Seriously?? This whole site is dedicated to strong women who resist things that seem normal in today's society and know how to control themselves. There's this wonderful little thing called WILL POWER. I'm in love. I'm abstinent. My mother abstained until marriage, my sister's abstaining until marriage, and many of my friends are as well. There are countless people who are celibate/chaste!! It's not impossible to control your natural urges. Please. Stupid liberals...
 written by Brad Collins, April 30, 2009
WHY control your natural urges? The only understandable reason is if you believe in God, and that in itself is ridiculous.
 written by Mary Bratcher, September 07, 2009
I've been a labor assistant in Texas for the last couple of years. Part of my job is informing women about their bodies and how to best work with them, but sometimes they are clueless about their own physiology. Everyone, women and men alike need to be informed and confident when it comes to their bodies. I think the reason this situation with Bristol is so intense is because people are projecting their dissatisfaction with current sex ed methods, and rightly so. I have been working in my community to talk to young women and men about their sexual responsibilities and resources that are available to them so that they can be safe. I KNOW that schools aren't teaching well, and that most parents are scared to death to talk to their kids. I see this as an open opportunity for us to know our roles and help young women and men in our communities to be aware of what they can do to be responsible. Also, we can throw benefit shows that highlight bands that promote learning, self-control, and responsibility. Don't be scared to mentor a young person, we are the cool big brothers and sisters in our community, help our local kids to be brought up with self reliance and a sense of respect for not only themselves but the people they may choose to become sexually involved with.
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