When I think about the ads for birth control or safer sex methods, Trojan brand condom commercials are the first things that come to mind. Whether it’s a frantic couple running into a gas station looking for some more of those new condoms that made sex feel like “ecstasy” or a pig turning into a charming super model with the presence of a condom, Trojan dominates the ad market. But as a recent CNN article points out, this is all about to change.

According to the article “the Ad Council recently began offering 33,000 media outlets -digital, TV, radio, outdoor and print-the opportunity to run for free a series of short ads encouraging 20-somethings to use birth control.” These new ads use humor to promote knowledge about birth control, but they don’t just focus on decked out condoms. Instead these ads target young women by promoting Web sites like Bedsider.org, which help visitors “compare 15 kinds of contraception, locate the closest place to acquire various methods, set up regular birth control reminder and watch videos of real women sharing birth control experiences.” While these commercials and sites are geared toward young adults, they still reach many teens and provide an invaluable resource about birth control for people of all ages.

I think this new focus on informing the female (and male) population about all forms of birth control and safer sex methods is a good change from a condom centered market. It’s great that teens hear about condoms and know that they are easy to acquire, but teens have so many other amazing hormonal birth control options that should also be considered. Why place all the emphasis on getting a new condom that glows in the dark when you can just as easily protect yourself with birth control pills or the patch.

—Sam Dercon, 17, Staff Writer

A new gel developed to help fight HIV infection is even more effective at reducing the risk of herpes transmission, according to a study published online late last year. The gel’s active ingredient is tenofovir, a well-known drug used to treat AIDS. But what is really surprising is that the gel reduced the risk of herpes infection by 51 percent.

The clinical trials were especially well received because this gel is the first weapon women have that they can use all on their own. The gel is applied to the vulva and vagina a few hours before and after sex. Not only can women now access a form of protection that defends against both HIV and herpes, but it also doesn’t require a partner’s cooperation. This means if a male partner doesn’t know he is infected or outright lies to his female partner, she can still feel protected to some degree.

This is especially important given the rates of genital herpes infection among teens and young adults in the U.S. While a herpes infection is not life-threatening, it is also not curable. While the gel is still being researched and is years away from being approved for sale in the U.S., a simple gel that helps prevent the transmission of herpes would certainly be an easy way for teens to protect themselves from the virus.

—Olivier Vanasse, 17, Staff Writer

GAMBIT Game Lab created a prototype of a video game called, A Closed World. The game was created in response to the lack of LGBTQ related material in the video game world.

In this game, the player is in control of a character who explores a forest that is known to have demons lurking in it. In order to overcome the difficulties of having a “prohibited relationship,” your character must battle the demons. The demons attack by forcing their beliefs on you, and you fight back by defying their views on love and the “ideal” relationship. Your only weapons are logic, passion, ethics and remaining calm. By using these weapons, you will be able to defeat the demons and rewrite the definition of a “normal relationship.”

After I read about this game, I was amazed I never thought that a video game would be created with an LGBTQ related theme. The video games that I grew up around always had characters with heterosexual relationships. I mean the closest I’ve ever gotten to seeing an LGBTQ theme in a video game was when I made my two female Sims characters get married. I never thought that someone would create an LGBTQ-friendly video game, but now something new is emerging.

I believe that A Closed World is going to be a trendsetter in the gaming community, and it is a significant step in making the very close-minded world we live in more open.

—Mereia Alston-Torres, 16, Staff Writer

Photo by Henry Hargreaves

Recently The New York Times interviewed Simon Doonan, a major player in the fashion industry, about his new book Gay Men Don’t Get Fat. In the book, Doonan, a gay man, uses humor to talk about sexual orientation and food. In Doonan’s world, there are two clear categories of food: straight and gay. This idea made his interview over lunch with a New York Times writer very funny.

Doonan was critical of his interviewer for getting a panini loaded with meat and cheese, because this kind of food is typical of the way Doonan says heterosexual men eat. Doonan’s humorous play on stereotypes about sexual orientation included remarking that a baby arugula salad is a gay dish, while the meatloaf on the menu is “the Burt Reynolds of foods.” Doonan enjoys poking fun at both the heterosexual and gay and says that “bisexual eating” is the best way to “stay svelte” or thin.

Sadly his fashion industry mentality shows itself in his humor when he repeatedly remarks that “heterosexual foods” are the cause for the hefty nature of many of his heterosexual friends. Doonan’s fear of fatty foods isn’t so much about health as it is about looks. This is a dangerous line of thinking because it places too much emphasis on being thin and what you look like. Sure plenty of foods out there are unhealthy, but you should be wary of these foods because of your health, not the size of your clothing. Had Doonan emphasized that healthy foods were good for the heart, then his message would have been worthwhile. It’s important to remember that not everyone has the genes to look slim. What is important is to keep our bodies healthy.

In the end, I think Doonan’s humor far outweighed his unhealthy ideas about body image. And in spite of his obsession with being thin (what else would we expect from someone who works in the fashion industry?), I found the interview to be a delightfully funny read.

—Sam Dercon, 18, Staff Writer

There’s an ad for Tide Booster detergent that portrays a prim-and-preppy mother, dressed all in pink, sitting in a frilly and ultra-feminine living room, while her daughter, dressed in camo and cargo shorts, plays with trucks at her feet. The mother says that they “tried the ‘pink thing’,” but that her daughter insisted on more traditionally masculine clothes. When the daughter’s clothes are saved from crayon stains by Tide Booster, the mother’s reaction is “…it’s kinda too bad.” And when she asks her daughter, “playing another parking garage, honey?” her praise (“It’s beautiful”) is so halfhearted that it’s almost tragic.

The daughter’s dress and behavior don’t fit or conform to our culture’s stereotypes of who a girl should be. While the mother isn’t forcing her daughter to conform to traditionally feminine ideals (which the mother illustrates to an almost humorous degree, with her preppy pink cardigan and oh-so-delicate pose), but she is clearly annoyed, as if her daughter’s choice of clothing is a cross to bear.

And sure, this is just a commercial, but it’s painful to think that this ad campaign was chosen because they felt consumers could relate to it. So, rather than sending a positive message about letting your child be whomever he or she wants to be, the commercial is letting parents across the country roll their eyes and nod in harrowed agreement, as they look at their son playing with his dolls or their daughter rolling her trucks across the floor, desperately wanting them to fit in.

As harmless as the commercial may seem, it presents the problem of continuing prejudice against those who don’t follow traditional gender roles. It would be much better to set the example of a parent who fully embraces and accepts his or her child’s gender non-conformity.

—Taylor McCabe, 19, Contributor