I was talking with some of my friends about MTV’s Teen Mom a few weeks ago, and one of them said, “They’re all whores.” My friend wasn’t calling the guys who the girls had sex with whores, just the girls—not that anyone deserves to be called a whore. I was really surprised and upset that my friend said this.

Why is it that if you’re a teen mother you’re a whore? I don’t hear people calling 20-something-year-old mothers whores, even though they have unplanned pregnancies too. People—teens and adults—make mistakes and birth control fails. But that doesn’t mean you’re a whore, and it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. I don’t look at any of the girls on Teen Mom as whores or sluts. So, they have kids? So, they’re young? So, what?

Being a parent is the most difficult job in the world, especially when you’re young and not ready to take care of a baby. Why say hurtful things about young mothers who are in a really difficult situation?

People may use words like “whore” because they are insecure and want to feel better about themselves by putting someone else—a girl or woman—down. It would make a big difference if people spent half the time they spend talking bad about other people doing something good, like making sure teens get the information they need to help prevent unplanned pregnancies.

—Kait Hamilton, 17, Staff Writer

World AIDS Day is held once a year, every year, on December 1. While HIV/AIDS is a daily reality that needs to be discussed and addressed, this is one particular day when people take extra time to get educated, get tested and remember the over 33 million people worldwide, living with HIV/AIDS.

AIDS-related deaths have been decreasing over the past couple of decades for two very good reasons: knowledge and treatment. Yet, HIV/AIDS still has no cure.

This World AIDS Day, we encourage you to remember that there’s a long way to go in developing a cure for HIV and overcoming the social stigma faced by those living with HIV/AIDS all over the world. And while you’re remembering, you can actually do something by participating in a World AIDS Day event near you. And there are two other things you can do, not just today, but any day:

1) Educate yourself about HIV/AIDS and
2) Get tested.

-Anita Modi, 17, Contributor

Girls can wear dresses or pants. Right? Apparently not at prom. Sex, Etc. magazine recently reported that a 17-year-old girl in Indiana wanted to express her gender by wearing a tuxedo to prom. She was denied this right, because her school’s dress code required girls to wear dresses to prom. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit that resulted in the elimination of clothing restrictions based on sex.

You might be quick to blow this off as a rare occurrence, but issues like this come up more than you would think. At all-male, Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, there’s a new “Appropriate Attire Policy” that prohibits students from carrying purses or wearing dresses, makeup or high heels. A few weeks ago in Wesson, MS, a female student wore a tuxedo in her school picture, but the school would not allow her photograph to be published in the yearbook.

It is very discouraging that so many people and institutions are not accepting or understanding of how people choose to express their feelings of being male or female. Sadly, people often do not approve of things that they are not used to. There are many people in the world whose gender expression does not match our expectations of how guys or girls should act or dress. If we keep educating people and exposing them to the different ways that people choose to express their gender, perhaps we can eliminate the kind of discrimination these students faced.

-Melanie Johnson, 17, Staff Writer

Pretty pink princesses or muscle-bound superheroes? Monster trucks or sparkly ponies? Go into just about any toy store, and you’ll notice that half of it is pink with toys for girls and the other half has brightly colored toys meant for boys. Is that really fair? Does our gender really have all that much to do with what kinds of toys we should like? A group of sixth graders in Sweden don’t think so.

The students had been learning about gender roles in school and felt that the 2008 Toys “Я” Us Christmas catalog portrayed outdated gender images by having girls and boys playing with separate kinds of toys. Boys were featured playing with very active toys in busy settings, and girls were usually pictured sitting and playing passively. The sixth graders decided to file a complaint with the Swedish agency that polices marketing and advertising in order to voice their concerns about the gender messages they were seeing in the catalog.

The agency agreed with the students and recently issued a statement, saying that they felt Toys “Я” Us’s advertising materials showed a very narrow-minded view of gender and excluded kids of all genders from enjoying a range of toys. There are no fines or penalties associated with the statement from the Swedish agency, but the students raised their voices and called attention to issues of social and gender inequality in media and advertising. Their actions won’t revolutionize the world, but these Swedish young people are a reminder that there is power in the voices of youth. How are you going to use yours?

Lots of schools have an anti-bullying policy to protect students from name-calling and harassment. So, why do phrases, like “that’s so gay” and “faggot,” often go unchecked in schools? This kind of rampant homophobia in so many schools can lead to tragic results.

Eleven-year-old Carl Walker-Hoover hanged himself last week after students persistently bullied him in school. Carl was harassed daily and was often called “girlie,” “gay” and “fag,” according to his mother. Check out the video below for a CNN report on Carl’s suicide:

It’s ironic that Carl would have turned 12 on April 17th—the same day as this year’s Day of Silence (DOS). Thousands of students are expected to participate in this year’s DOS, a day to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. If you want to stand up and fight discrimination, then be a part of DOS: Wear red and remain silent throughout the day, unless called on to participate in class. Your silence will send a message that homophobia and LGBT discrimination has to stop.