I am not, but I know 'I AM'

This article comes courtesy of E's blog. It's an article about the Tyra Banks show and a survey she conducted anonymously about teenagers and sex. She then hosted a show last week by having seven girls visit the show and talk about their sexual activity. The original article is here.

As I read it, my heart sank. Here are some of the statistics:

• On average, girls are losing their virginity at 15 years of age.
• 14 percent of teens who are having sex say they’re doing it at school.
• 52 percent of survey respondents say they do not use protection when having sex.
• One in three says she fears having a sexually transmitted disease.
• 24 percent of teens with STDs say they still have unprotected sex.
• One in five girls says she wants to be a teen mom.
• About 50 percent acknowledge that they’ve hit someone.
• One out of three teens has tried drugs.

Whoah! Outrageous. If you think these statistics are bad, then read this. I think this was the most depressing piece of the whole article:

“A lot of the guys, if I didn’t have unprotected sex with them, they would get mad at me and I still wanted that closeness with them,” one girl says during the show. “I was afraid if I didn’t do what they wanted, they wouldn’t be my friend.”

The same girl talks about how she tested positive for chlamydia twice and also contracted genital herpes."

I'm sorry, what?! You only gave into their demands and had sex with them so they would be YOUR FRIEND?! Unbelievable.

For me, what makes me most sad about this article isn't just the insanely young ages girls are having sex (13!), or how often (some with 9 sex partners!) or how unprotected it is (only one girl out of seven uses protection!) .... but the lack of self respect these girls have for themselves which is exhibited by this behavior. How sad. Really, really sad. Do they not have enough respect for themselves? Their bodies? What have they been taught about their self worth? Apparently not enough if they need to go find it, especially in places like this. So very sad.

How can a 13 year old girl possibly understand the weight of sexual intercourse as well as dealing with the emotional level of having sex? I don't think they can.

I'm glad God abundantly gives out grace for any who chose to follow Him - that we are not bound to our pasts, especially for those that have a history not unlike these girls. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Articles like this make me nervous about having children and the world they will grow up in. My husband and I will need to do all that we can, with the help of God, to teach our children well how to be Christ-like in a culture such as this, not allowing culture to define them, but God and God alone. That's a lot of work! Can't slack off.

Wow.

1 Comment

1. jo. on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 1:45:00 PM EST

   agreed - can't slack off.