Real Talk4Teens, based in central New York, released this video with a catchy tune to promote condom use. From groups of boys on street steps throwing condoms at the camera to a girl holding an umbrella while condoms are dropped, the chorus—“Sport that raincoat!”—tells us using condoms is cool. Intermixed with facts like the number of new STD cases in the U.S. per year (19 million) and the numbers of AIDS-related deaths in 2007 (14,000), the video also tells us using condoms is safer. Cool and safer? I’m in. Sport that raincoat!
Being hairy down there doesn’t bother Harry Potter. Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who plays Harry Potter, was recently interviewed and talked about “manscaping” or the trend of having guys remove their body hair. He has been in a play where he had to appear nude, and now he is starting a new project where he will again be in the buff in a few scenes. The director told Daniel he isn’t allowed to shave his pubic hair because it wouldn’t be consistent with the time period in the film. Daniel had no problem with this because he admits he doesn’t do much maintenance on his pubic hair. Although he does do some grooming in his nether region, he also explained that he doesn’t like when women don’t have any pubic hair, he finds it “creepy.”
So is shaving down there good or bad? The answer is up to you. It’s really what you’re comfortable with. Depending on what you prefer, you can choose to do some maintenance in your pubic area, a lot or none at all. Shaving and grooming can leave your area neat, but it needs to be maintained continuously. Hair grows fast and when it starts growing in, your pubic area can get itchy and a bit uncomfortable. On the other hand, if you don’t choose to shave at all, that’s fine too!
As a big Daniel Radcliffe fan, I really appreciated his honesty about something so personal. When talking about a subject like shaving pubic hair, Daniel didn’t make it awkward or uncomfortable. Whether you choose to adopt Daniel Radcliffe’s habits of limited grooming, opt for a natural look or decide to shave your pubic hair completly, the choice is up to you. Whatever you choose, it’s not right or wrong; it’s just your personal preference.
Congratulations! According to a University of Michigan survey, we’re smoking less pot (by about 15 percent), smoking fewer cigarettes (by about 13 percent) and drinking less (by over 30 percent) than our parents did 30 years ago!
Today’s teens seem to be getting the message that drug use and abuse only hurt us in the long run. Perhaps our parents know what to caution us against because of their experiences, and it’s an “I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did” type of thing. Or perhaps our educational system has succeeded in showing the negative effects of drug use despite the media’s obsession with cigarettes and alcohol.
But the good news doesn’t stop there. In the 1980s, about half of boys and about two-fifths of girls (from 15 to 17) reportedly had experienced sex, but today those numbers have fallen to less than one-third for both genders according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Adults may freak out about shows like Gossip Girl or Teen Mom, which they may think make teens look like sex-crazed smokers and drinkers, but the numbers definitely tell a different story.
Building girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place is the mission statement of The Girl Scouts of America (GSUSA). The GSUSA is an organization where girls are encouraged to be active in their communities by doing community service. They boast of having a fun and nurturing environment where girls can build relationships with each other. So I bet you’re thinking that the GSUSA is accepting of all kinds of girls. Right? While that may be true to some extent, many of its members aren’t very accepting at all.
A girl scout in California named Taylor started a campaign to boycott Girl Scout cookies because a Colorado troop allowed Bobby Montoya, a transgender girl, to join their troop. This was a big step in the Girl Scout community. Historically the organization has denied transgender girls from joining their local troops, but has become more inclusive in recent years. In a YouTube video that Taylor made, she talks about how the GSUSA is being deceptive to its scouts and their parents by not notifying them that “transgender boys” were being accepted into the organization.
I feel sorry for Bobby Montoya, who has to endure blatant displays of ignorance. I believe that everyone should be accepted for who they are. If a person identifies as a girl, she should be able to live her life without anyone questioning her gender identity or denying her the right to do things that any girl would be allowed to do. I applaud the leaders of the troop in Colorado for allowing Bobby to become a girl scout. Hopefully, the troop’s decision to include Bobby will spark a trend, so that other transgender youth will have great opportunities like this one. The GSUSA is a place where girls can have fun together and build good character. And, isn’t that something that every girl, transgender or not, deserves?
Also known as the “morning-after” pill, Plan B One-Step emergency contraception can normally be bought over the counter by anyone 17 or older. It is 89-percent effective at preventing pregnancy if taken by a woman within 120 hours of unprotected sex or sex where the method of birth control failed. Shippensburg University checked its records and found that all students were at least 17 years old, and therefore saw no problem with the unique request to offer EC in a vending machine. The machine is accessible to students who have checked in at the university’s private health center.
Though controversy has, of course, erupted over this issue, I think Shippensburg is on the right track. After all, the morning-after pill is a form of emergency contraception, not abortion. Easy access will mean fewer unplanned pregnancies. The distribution of the Plan B pill is monitored, securely located and accessible only to students. The availability of the pill will allow female and male students to back up their birth control or offer reassurance if, say, the condom breaks.
In the future, who knows? Maybe other schools could benefit from expanding their vending machines to include emergency contraception, too.
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