Teen Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Diseases

English 111.190
14 Nov. 2012
Essay # 3
Teen Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Infections
By examining the song “S.E.X” by a popular song artist named Lyfe Jennings I saw the topic of teenage sex discussed in popular culture’s music. The lyrics are expressing how sex can be lead and how most men take advantage of young women just to have sex. Lyfe Jennings song “S.E.X” sends a message to our young society that just because you think you’re in love doesn’t mean you have to give up your innocents by having sex. Lyfe Jennings song “S.E.X” also has a music video that shows you visually what he trying to express to our young community. In his video, Lyfe Jennings is standing on a street corner, leaning against his car, where drugs are sold at, watching a young girl about 17 walk down the street with a mini skirt on. The young girl just got out at school and went to a block party. Immediately as she walked into the house where the block party was taken place at a young boy took her inside the room and was trying to feed her sweet fairy tales just to have sex with her. While in the process of kissing, hugging, and trying to take their clothes off she remembered what her father told her. The video shows her shaking her head “No” and getting off the bed pulling her shirt down and immediately walking out the door. This video definitely gives the audience a motion picture of what Lyfe Jennings is trying to tell young girls about having sex at a young age. The best thing that parents can do is make sure that your child is getting taught sex education properly. Sex education is not getting treated how it should be in the United States. The United States is more worried about shame then they are with our young society catching STD’s. In the article “Sexually Transmitted Disease” by Sarah Glazer, a professor of medicine at the University of Alabama, who served on the IOM committee named Edward Hook said, “There is this really curious American ambivalence about sex being everywhere — from the sidelines of the football game to merchandising — but we can 't advertise doing it safely or the untoward consequences of doing it unsafely,” Hook says. “If I had one thing I could change it would be the stigma.” In other developed countries, people are more likely to tell their partners if they 're infected and talk to their doctors about it, he maintains, because there is less shame”(Hook 1). It is not right that the young sexually active teens are hiding that they are having sex or have a sexually transmitted disease because they are afraid of what people may think. Many teens do not even go to the doctor like they should and if they do that is when they would find out if they had an STD or not because our young society would not even know the symptoms. “Most young girls won 't even know they have Chlamydia, one of the most common and curable STDs, unless their doctor tests them for it. In approximately three-quarters of infected men and women, this bacterial infection has no early symptoms, but it can be easily cured with antibiotics if caught early. If not, in 10 percent of girls it can lead to serious consequences like infertility or a tubal pregnancy year later” (Hook). The young society today do not even understand the reason for sex, they just do it for the pleasure and satisfaction instead of love and compassion. In the United States several young females are getting infected with STD’s daily and there is nothing being done about it. Evidence shows that “Nearly half the African-Americans in the study of teenagers ages 14 to 19 were infected with at least one of the diseases monitored in the study -- human papillomavirus (HPV), Chlamydia, genital herpes and trichomoniasis, a common parasite. The 50 percent figure compared with 20 percent of white teenagers, health officials and researchers said at a news conference at a scientific meeting in Chicago”(Altman). This shows that the infections are on the loose but people aren’t being cautious enough about catching them. “The two most common sexually transmitted diseases, or S.T.D. 's, among all the participants tested were HPV, at 18 percent, and Chlamydia, at 4 percent, according to the analysis, part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey” (Altman). Sexually Transmitted Diseases also known as Sexually Transmitted Infections are not only spread throughout the United States, these diseases are spread worldwide. Each infection can be fatal in its own way. Five out of ten females who become infected once in their lifetime become infected again sometime later on in their lifespan as well. When coming across an infection, most women are unaware because there are no symptoms. Each disease is a contagion caused by adulteration; some of the symptoms are pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancy. If left untreated they can lead up to infertility and cervical cancer. ' 'High S.T.D. infection rates among young women, particularly young African-American women, are clear signs that we must continue developing ways to reach those most at risk ' ' (Douglas). When it comes to teens that are having sex, pregnancy is the biggest concern right next to who she is sleeping with and sexually transmitted diseases. Reportedly, ages fifteen to twenty four are the mains ones being affected by these infections. The problem is that teenagers are not using protection and then when they become affected nine times out of ten they do not know that they have been affected so with them having more than one sexual partner these diseases are being spread without notice and not intentionally. It is bad either way you look at it because having an infection for too long can cause serious health problems in both males and females. “Vaccines are available for certain types of STDs, but they only prevent -- they don 't treat. Barnett said many parents turn down opportunities to vaccinate and say their child is too young” (Barnett). “I never had the sit down talk about the birds and the bees” (Ryan). "Parents need to think about getting their kids immunized before they become sexually active" (Barnett) to sum it all up teens are being affected by these everyday life issues but there is nothing being done about it. As parents it should be extremely important to have that bond with the child to know if they are having sex or not, that way if the parents are aware they can get their child all the vaccines and birth control that they need to prevent them from any harm caused by sexually transmitted diseases. “The good news is that teen pregnancy and birth rates have declined steadily over the past decade and are now at record-low levels. However, we still have a long way to go: four in ten girls become pregnant at least once before age 20, the U.S. still has the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the fully industrialized world, and every year teen childbearing costs U.S. taxpayers at least $7 billion. We must not let the good news lull us into complacency and must redouble our efforts to help more young people avoid becoming parents too soon” (Brown). People often wonder why the rates of teen pregnancy are going down. There are two main reasons why, one as to a smaller proportion of teenagers indulging in sexual activity and the other being that some are using the abstinence method and it actually being effective. Having less sex and using more protection is the ultimate goal in the preventing teenage pregnancy theory. “Several sex and HIV education programs have been shown to delay sex or increase contraceptive use for up to 30 months. The effective programs share ten clearly definable characteristics. It is also important to point out that the overwhelming weight of research evidence clearly shows that sex and HIV education programs such as these do not increase sexual activity, as some people have reasonably feared” (Brown). It shows in several studies that teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections are worldwide and have been around for many years. The main focus now is to prevent this all from happening. Parents should step up and involve their child in anything that they can to keep their minds off of engaging in such activities. As teenagers grow up it is natural to want to get involved in sexual activities but in the same breath studies do show that males and females who are active in sports and living in a two parent home are less likely to get involved in teenage pregnancy and catch STD’s. “A final point about "what works": while we now know that effective programs to reduce teen pregnancy exist, it would be unrealistic to rely exclusively on such programs to address teen pregnancy. Most teens aren`t in programs, and many programs are small, fragile, and poorly funded. Other forces, such as parents, the media, moral and religious values, and especially popular culture, play critical roles as well. The Campaign works actively on each of these fronts and so should we all” (Brown).

Work Cited
Altman, Lawrence K. "Sex Infections Found in Quarter of Teenage Girls." New York Times 12 Mar. 2008: 1. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 1 Dec. 2012.
SARAH S. BROWN, DIRECTOR,NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT TEEN PREGNANCY. "Reducing Teen Pregnancy." FDCH Congressional Testimony (n.d.): Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 2 Dec. 2012.
Schoonover, Jason. "Teen pregnancy: STDs a concern with sexually-active teens." Austin Daily Herald (MN) 09 May 2011: Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 1 Dec. 2012.
"Teenagers In Care Lacking Information On Sexual Health." Southern Star (Brisbane) (2011): 5. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 2 Dec. 2012.
“Teenage U.S. Pregnancy Statistics, 2003,” The Alan Guttmacher Institute. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oupjl9i0wg8 | | |

Cited: Altman, Lawrence K. "Sex Infections Found in Quarter of Teenage Girls." New York Times 12 Mar. 2008: 1. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. SARAH S. BROWN, DIRECTOR,NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT TEEN PREGNANCY. "Reducing Teen Pregnancy." FDCH Congressional Testimony (n.d.): Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 2 Dec. 2012. Schoonover, Jason. "Teen pregnancy: STDs a concern with sexually-active teens." Austin Daily Herald (MN) 09 May 2011: Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. "Teenagers In Care Lacking Information On Sexual Health." Southern Star (Brisbane) (2011): 5. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 2 Dec. 2012. “Teenage U.S. Pregnancy Statistics, 2003,” The Alan Guttmacher Institute. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oupjl9i0wg8 | | |