Recently, in our high school newspaper, a senior girl wrote an article about how condoms should be handed out on Prom night. Her argument, obviously, was that people were inevitably going to have sex, so it might as well be safe sex.
Some people, however, feel that this conveys the wrong message- that you are supposed to have sex that night.
Her article has gotten her on the principle’s bad side (who believes she did this to draw attention to herself), has made the local news, and has led her to be interviewed on many radio stations.
Any comments on this issue are welcome.
(P.S.- She has also been asked to be an honored guest at a local planned parenthood meeting.)
Think of it this way - you are going to the prom and :
1 - you are given a condom as you board the limo.
or
2 - you are not given a condom as you board the limo.
Which senario do you think it more likely that sex is expected?
Surely, by prom night (spring of senior year), they should be able to get condoms without assistance? Seems to me that handing out condoms would be simply a gimmic to remind them to practice safe sex. I do not think being handed a condom would make someone alter any decision he or she might have made re his/her activities of the evening.
Anyways… you failed to mention that they had to postpone the school newspaper for careful review of the article. The school was afraid that parents would get offended if the article <i> did </i> convey the promotion of sex. After reviewing the article, the school did decide to publish it. The reason being, the article’s author explained that she is against pre-marital sex and she had enough reasons as to why the school <i> shouldn’t </i> give out condoms before prom night.
To expand the OP a little more, I happened to have personally spoken to this girl today. She stated that she is not absolutely against pre-marital sex, but that it is her opinion that it is the person’s right to choose. She also said that she is all-for giving out the condoms.
For all the parents out there who think thier children do not have sex. They do, if they feel it is right and with the right person. Pre-marital sex is a fact of life and a product of experimentation by young human beings. God will not condemn those who endulge in this… I mean he did not condemn all those before Christianity was around did he? and if it were not for those prior to the belief that pre-marital sex was a sin, we would not be here.
I am playing devils advocate folks. I am just trying to stay real in a world the does not promote such ideas. Parents should know that thier children are going to experiment and they are going to do things that they will regret. That is OK they have to learn to be an adult and that will not happen with a tight leash attached at their hip. the tighter the leash the more they are apt to pull tension on the very fingers that hold the other end.
AND as for the girl who wrote the article…she believes in not having sex before marriage…well that may be, but I would not think she would advocate the distributuion of condoms if she was not thinking about the act itself…
Would you care to quote chapter and verse on that last statement? If you’d care to consult the book He wrote, I’m sure we can see what God thinks about sex outside of marriage.
Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
I’d say it’s pretty clear what God thinks of those who have extramarital sex, and this is one of many Biblical examples of God’s view on the subject.
And yes, this is definitely a topic for Great Debates
switching hats here, I am looking at this from a risk analysis standpoint.
You have to compare giving condoms to not giving out condoms, and the factors that I see that must be taken into account are:
Will giving condoms increase or decrease teanage sex that night for people involved in the prom?
Will it increase or decrease teenage sex in the future for the people involved in the prom?
Will this increase or decrease carry over to people not directly given condoms (Juniors/ seniors in other schools?)?
What are we trying to stop here, sex, pregnancy, std’s, or trying to uphold morals?
Is the benefit of giving out condoms worth the costs (i.e. 10% more students will have sex either at the prom or one year after due to condoms given out BUT there will be 20% fewer STD’s amoung thoses students).
I don’t have the answers but that is what has to be looked at.
I, being a teenage girl, know that what Phlosphr says is mostly true. I really don’t think that giving out condoms is going to make anyone who wouldn’t have had sex do it. Most girls I know who are not sexually active choose this due to morals, beliefs, religion, etc. I doubt that a condom would change this.
On the other hand, I don’t think that actively handing out condoms is necessary. I think the best idea is to make them available for anyone who wishes to take one (or many…). That way, the school is not “actively” promoting sex, but it is rather acknowledging the need for safe sex.
Yes I agree one hundred percent! When married stay with your spouse and your spouse only. BUT THATS WHEN YOUR MARRIED.
We are talking about teens experimenting and having sex with another animal of the same species. It is a precursor to choosing your life partner. It is much more fun than procreating with a hundred different males\females throughout ones life, like the male Lion… And much much safer. I do not believe in waiting until marriage. I will not mock anyone who believes this and I will not belittle any religion that holds this true. I am simply stating my opinion. I had several loving girlfriends before I chose the one who I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, the one who I could look into her eyes and say “yup! I can’t wait to gaze into your ocean grey/blue eyes until the day I die, and I can’t wait to wake up next to you every day till then!!” So in all, I am all for pre-marital experimentation and a little making love too…
Careful sarcastic comment immanent : What happens if one waits to have sex until marriage and then find out your partner really sucks in bed??? Your screwed…excuse the pun.
My question is, why does this leach expect other people to pay for, and hand out rubbers for her slutty friends?
Why doesn’t she want her friends to go to a store, pick out some rubbers, and pay for said rubbers, with earned money, just like any normal person? It’s not my damn problem if her friends want to screw around, they should pay for it, not me.
If these teenage sluts want to screw around, let em buy their own damn rubbers. Where do they get off thinking its other peoples job to “provide” them with rubbers?
Having sex automatically makes you a slut? Or is it just having sex when you’re a teenager? Is there an age limit - “under x years old = slut, over x years old = normally-functioning, sexually active person”? Does the “slut” terminology apply to both males and females?
racinchikiki, sluts come in both sexes and in all ages. My use of the term is motivated by this high school student who thinks that rubbers should be PROVIDED for her loose friends for Prom Night.
Um… exactly who should provide them? Taxpayers? Taxpayers via the school district? If these slutty students are old enough to have sex, shouldn’t they be old enough to walk into a damn drugstore and pay for their own damn rubbers with their own damn money, instead of demanding that other people provide them?
Also, when did it become expected that unmarried teenagers should have sex on “prom night”?
From my high school experience handing girls condoms won’t encourage them to have sex but handing them beer will. Handing them to guys will get you a lot of water-filled condoms being chucked like water balloons or applied to inanimate objects that look funny wearing condoms. In any case it is all a better option than having a bunch of teen Moms nine months after Prom.
Thank God I got out of high school before they started slinging condoms at us.
I graduated class of '98, and I never saw condoms being handed out until college. And y’know, to be completely honest, I’m insulted. I mean, if parents really need to ‘wake up’ and realize that their kids are having sex, isn’t it more important for parents to teach their children the facts, and then to communicate what they believe? Instead of having the school play mommy and hand out condoms, how 'bout parents just bother to talk to their kids? (about whatever their belief system is, be it waiting until marriage, waiting until in a committed relationship, having safe sex, etc.)
The reason I’m insulted is because if apparently the world expects us to act like adults, but doesn’t trust us enough to act like adults. Ugh, I’m saying this badly.
Basically, if I’m adult enough to have sex, I’m also adult enough to educate myself and protect myself. Handing out condoms is sort of belittling. I dunno, just another case of making the school take the place of our parents.
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