Saturday, May 23, 2009

Purity Rings and Virginity Pledges: 100% Annoying, 0% effective

The Jonas Brothers wear them. Jordin Sparks and Miley Cyrus wear them. And parents love the fact that these young celebrities have taken the vow of virginity 'til marriage.

It is a brilliant marketing campaign that one has to wonder, if at all, is grounded in truth for any of these starlets. We all remember how Britney's faux "virginity" was used in order to curb the backlash of an over-sexualized young girl; are these examples really any different?

Whether or not these kids are legitimate in their quest to buy the car before the test drive is an issue all together separate from the fact that this particular marketing campaign is actually quite dangerous. In fact, the "Virginity Pledge," which started gaining steam from the Bush administration's "Abstinence Only" programs, have proven to be ineffective and irresponsible.

The simple truth is: it does not work. People have sex, kid's lie, and teenagers are certainly not beacons of rationality. Recent studies show that 82% of pledge takers deny ever taking the pledge, which really is a bad average when it comes to pledges. This isn't a pledge, its a Best Buy HD-TV return policy post-Superbowl.

Furthermore, not only are virginity pledges virtually useless, studies show that teens who have taken them are far less likely to have safe sex, which means more vulnerable to disease and pregnancy.

This is just one of the many fronts in the so-called "culture war." Parents, many of them who see the Jonas Brothers' choice as simply positive roll modeling, are unaware of the potential consequences from pushing adolescents towards sexual ignorance.

It is time we end abstinence-only education, and install a proper, responsible method to educate teens about the consequences and safety precautions to sexual behavior.

Whenever you see these faces



just realize that they are unintentionally trying to make the USA a Bristol Palin-Levi Johnson society. And oh, how sophisticated it will be!

5 comments:

  1. Abstinence is awesome to promote! Morally and physically. I agree, it shouldn't be the only approach, but not promoting abstinece is a silly idea. Sex is awesome, even biblically. Songs of Solomon(a book in the bible) is dedicated to sex, though within marriage. I'm currently practicing abstinence with my girl friend until we do get married. Eh, I don't know what else to say. I'm a Christian, and have been for only 4 years(currently 20). I have had sex in high school but through Jesus am reborn. This probably sounds silly to many people, and I agree. If I had it my way I'd be out there doing drugs, having sex, and travelling to New York to see Plushgun. But, it wasn't up to me. We can't choose Jesus, he chooses us, and it's be cool. By the way, I love Plushgun. haha. Work time.

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  2. I think this is an excellent journal entry and an extremely important topic. It's difficult to talk about, but that doesn't mean that we should shrug it off. I used to believe that I would wait until marriage - not for religious reasons, for I'm an atheist (though I'm not so fond of the label). It was just the "responsible" choice, in my mind. But after falling in love for the first time, I suddenly understood why many people do NOT wait. Though I still abstained in that first relationship, I began to reform my personal beliefs on the matter. And what it comes down to is: love is love. And for me, as long as there is love, sex is welcome to go hand-in-hand. Granted, numerous people have sex all the time without love OR marriage. And that's just bound to happen. But for me personally, love is always the goal.

    If marriage is the goal, in the mindset of society, what about the couples who CANNOT legally get married - our homosexual, bisexual, transsexual citizens? They cannot legally wed, therefore they cannot have intercouse? Oh wait, that's right... Christians are homophobic to begin with, so this would just help to alleviate that "sinful" lifestyle. No?

    Anyway, I will try not to bash. I know not ALL Christians feel this way, it's just an overwhelming majority. My point is, you make a good point, Dan.

    p.s. I already loved Plushgun (I have since I first heard your music on 'We Need Girlfriends'), but you's guy's "REAL friend campaign" and now your awesome personality shining through in your writing is winning my heart over tenfold.

    Peace and love.
    Rosie

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  3. As a health educator for 14 years, I have seen and heard it all from teens. The facts support exactly what you say Dan. Abstinence Only and Virginity pledges DO NOT WORK. Most pledgers break the pledge, and in breaking it, are usually the worst cases of STD's, HIV and pregnancy. Because these kids are told that condoms are only 50% effective and that birth control doesn't work, and not warned of how STD's are transmitted they have the highest rates of infection and transmission. Many of these "pure" teens also believe that "oral" sex and "anal sex" are NOT SEX. We know that isn't true, but we are talking about misinformed or totally uninformed teens. Both these forms of sex transmit STD's and HIV. In this day and time we absolutely need comprehensive sex education including talking about abstinence and postponement. However, abstinence only and pledging virginity till marriage DO NOT WORK and fail miserably. Just my two cents.

    David (Health Educator)

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  4. I think this is the most retarded thing ever it is selling sex to little girls and then saying it is all okay by wearing a meaningless piece of metal they even made a south park episode about this and miley cirus always is taking naked pics and stuff of herself and posting it on the internet

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  5. ok, well i have a purity ring and i am gonna stay a virgin. with the ring or not. i am a christian and the bible says to save sex till marriage. it is nice to see they (the stars who wear purity rings) are at least making an effort. i mean im not gonna say weather i think they are virgins or are gonna lose their virginity before marriage but i think it's good that they are trying.

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