# What's your solution to a million unwanted pregnacies occurring as a result of protected sex? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 26, 2009, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156 "2009-10-26T10:14:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![SmartAlx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SmartAlx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlx)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/301 "2009-11-02T17:12:18Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Most people in society don’t think these commercials are much of a problem. **EXACTLY! THAT’S MY POINT!** Society has changed its attitude towards sex. That is exactly what I said when I brought up girls gone wild. > [@SmartAlx](#): > > And I might respond, "who the #### are YOU to force your sexually active lifestyle on me? I don’t want to be exposed to even one second of a girls gone wild commercial on my TV at night. I don’t want sorority girls to throw themselves at any drunk guy who knows how to belch the alphabet. I don’t want sitcoms to portray the belief that sex should be a normal part of dating. I don’t want my girlfriends to break up with me because I won’t have sex with them. And I certainly don’t want millions of babies aborted every year. \*\* All of these things happen today because society as changed its attitude towards sex. Your attitude that you believe that you aren’t affecting my life is wrong. You are.\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/302 "2009-11-02T17:16:42Z")
> [@SmartAlx](#): > > Thank you for proving my point. The attitude in society has changed to accept girls gone wild commercials in the middle of a sunday afternoon, so much so that someone who doesn’t want to be exposed to them has to go out of his way and spend his own hard earned money to avoid it. Or you can go “click” and turn the TV off. At the very least, move your thumb half a centimeter on the remote control to hit the MUTE button. It’s kind of hard to have sympathy for your predicament when the remedies are so trivial. And “hard earned money” makes for a handy cliché but a poor argument, since you can both save your dough and avoid exposure by cancelling your cable service. And I’m guessing that no matter what state the society is in, it will always be possible to find someone who finds something personally offensive on TV. Heck, there were people upset that Lucy was pregnant, or at least the perception existed among CBS execs that the word _pregnant_ was risky. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/303 "2009-11-02T17:18:42Z")
> [@SmartAlx](#): > > They still run those? I love Corner Gas! By the way, I suggest you avoid the final episode. That’s when the bus full of strippers breaks down in front of the station and… Well, I guess that’s a spoiler. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SmartAlx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlx)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/304 "2009-11-02T17:20:53Z")
> [@Revenant\_Threshold](#): > > If it comes with the rent, you’re still paying for it. The default isn’t “have a TV, have SciFi”. You’re going out of your way already, is my point. No I’m not. I would have to go out of my way to NOT get cable. They wouldn’t decrease my rent and I would have to go through the trouble of getting the channel removed. > [@](#): > > What is your solution to this particular issue? In terms of society, i’m having problems thinking of any that don’t affect society worse, honestly. Read the thread. We’ve been arguing about the solution for quite some time. And besides, this discussion isn’t about my solution. It’s about yours. I was wondering what the propenents of the causes of the problem have as a solution to the problem. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SmartAlx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlx)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/305 "2009-11-02T17:22:24Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Or you can go “click” and turn the TV off. At the very least, move your thumb half a centimeter on the remote control to hit the MUTE button. But then I’ve already been exposed. Or more importantly my children. To you it’s an all or nothing situation. I have to accept all of the immoral shows on TV or have no TV shows at all, Ned Flanders style. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/306 "2009-11-02T17:28:10Z")
> [@SmartAlx](#): > > No I’m not. I would have to go out of my way to NOT get cable. They wouldn’t decrease my rent and I would have to go through the trouble of getting the channel removed. Ah, I see. Sorry to misunderstand - i’m neither an American, cable-owner, nor renter. > [@](#): > > Read the thread. We’ve been arguing about the solution for quite some time. And besides, this discussion isn’t about my solution. It’s about yours. I was wondering what the propenents of the causes of the problem have as a solution to the problem. I would say that it unfortunetly seems to be the wrong way to look at it. I can’t think of any solutions to the problem that wouldn’t make the situation worse. Rather, I think the best way to go about it would be to, sadly, put it to one side, and rather than try to change the system, try to provide an alternative. Instead of trying to stop the messages you don’t like, try to provide more of the messages you\* do\* like. I think that, even if many posters don’t agree with your message, they’d certainly be more supportive of the principle of the idea. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/307 "2009-11-02T17:32:12Z")
> [@SmartAlx](#): > > And I’ll say it once more, my problem is not how the commercials affect me, but how they affect society. I care more how society affects me. If these commercials are so powerful, what methods do you use to make sure you’re immune to them? I heard this rap-music (I like to call it C-rap music, LOL!) song the other day when I was shopping for a golf umbrella, and it was all about how the c-rapper liked women’s large posteriors. (That is all completely true, by the way.) It was such a rude song! I can only imagine that many people hear that song and want to look at, or even touch, women’s butts! If you have some kind of step-by-step process for avoiding temptation, it might make a good website. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/308 "2009-11-02T17:34:36Z")
> [@SmartAlx](#): > > To you it’s an all or nothing situation. I have to accept all of the immoral shows on TV or have no TV shows at all, Ned Flanders style. No, it means you have the option of being selective about what channels to watch during which hours or invest in any of several technological solutions. That you won’t exercise these options isn’t _my_ fault. The rest of my argument consists mainly of ridicule. In any case, I doubt your children are as stupid or vulnerable as you imply. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SmartAlx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlx)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/309 "2009-11-02T17:36:00Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > If you have some kind of step-by-step process for avoiding temptation, it might make a good website. People don’t want to avoid temptation. The website wouldn’t get very many visitors. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/310 "2009-11-02T17:39:57Z")
> [@SmartAlx](#): > > People don’t want to avoid temptation. They _used_ to, though, until those filthy hippies fucked it up. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SmartAlx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlx)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/311 "2009-11-02T17:40:03Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > No, it means you have the option of being selective about what channels to watch during which hours or invest in any of several technological solutions. That you won’t exercise these options isn’t _my_ fault. If you support the system you are part of the problem. > [@](#): > > In any case, I doubt your children are as stupid or vulnerable as you imply. It’s not about my children. It’s about children the world over. Children who have been raised by single mothers. Children who have felt that their mothers didn’t love them, or were spoiled by their mothers. Or children who didn’t have a good father figure in their lives. THEY are much more susceptible to be taken in by the temptations that these influences might have over them. See? It all feeds off of itself. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SmartAlx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlx)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/312 "2009-11-02T17:43:24Z")
> [@Revenant\_Threshold](#): > > …I think the best way to go about it would be to, sadly, put it to one side, Exactly what I’m saying. The attitude today is to ignore the problem. > [@](#): > > Instead of trying to stop the messages you don’t like, try to provide more of the messages you\* do\* like. I think that, even if many posters don’t agree with your message, they’d certainly be more supportive of the principle of the idea. There are some great messages, like Meet the Robinsons. GREAT movie about the value of a loving family. But people always miss the point and the alternatives are much more appealing to the masses. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/313 "2009-11-02T17:48:42Z")
> [@SmartAlx](#): > > Exactly what I’m saying. The attitude today is to ignore the problem. Huh? There’s a difference between ignoring the problem and believing that the problem is best affected by other means. Were I ignoring the problem, I would have offered no solution at all - I wouldn’t have seen the necessity for a solution. I wouldn’t even have posted on the subject. But I am addressing the issue; that’s not ignoring it. And my idea is based very much on an understanding of the problem. I’m not ignoring it at all. I hope you don’t actually think that of me. > [@](#): > > There are some great messages, like Meet the Robinsons. GREAT movie about the value of a loving family. But people always miss the point and the alternatives are much more appealing to the masses. Then improve the message. Obviously it can’t be a great message, because it doesn’t get through - a message isn’t simply about the wisdom of what the message teaches, but whether the message gets across, whether it is easy to understand, whether it is appealing. I haven’t seen that particular film, but it seems far too easy to me to just give up on good messages always being outweighed by the bad. ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/314 "2009-11-02T17:51:20Z")
> [@SmartAlx](#): > > **EXACTLY! THAT’S MY POINT!** Society has changed its attitude towards sex. That is exactly what I said when I brought up girls gone wild. You’ve yet to establish this is actually a problem. Do you have children? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/315 "2009-11-02T19:39:46Z")
> [@SmartAlx](#): > > I would have to go out of my way to NOT get cable. Good news! Somebody just invented an amazing device called a “wire cutter”. Apply it to the cable input to your home, and your problem will be solved. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/316 "2009-11-02T19:44:03Z")
> [@SmartAlx](#): > > And I’ll say it once more, my problem is not how the commercials affect me, but how they affect society. I care more how society affects me. Help! SmartAlx is being oppressed: [QUOTE=L. Sprague deCamp] “You don’t like the Goths?” “No! Not with the persecution we have to put up with!” “Persecution?” Padway raised his eyebrows. “Religious persecution. We won’t stand for it forever.” “I thought the Goths let everybody worship as they pleased.” “That’s just it! We Orthodox are forced to stand around and watch Arians and Monophysites and Nestorians and Jews going about their business unmolested, as if they owned the country. If that isn’t persecution, I’d like to know what is!” [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SmartAlx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlx)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/317 "2009-11-02T19:52:45Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Good news! Somebody just invented an amazing device called a “wire cutter”. Apply it to the cable input to your home, and your problem will be solved. So the answer is to live in a bubble. Is that it? I repeat: > [@SmartAlx](#): > > To you it’s an all or nothing situation. I have to accept all of the immoral shows on TV or have no TV shows at all, Ned Flanders style. And once again (I hear an echo) it’s not about me. Even if I live in a bubble, the problem is still there. Kids are exposed to programming that encourages them to think of sex. Teens think about sex enough as it is. They don’t need to be reminded about it at every turn of the dial. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/318 "2009-11-02T20:02:17Z")
> [@SmartAlx](#): > > Even if I live in a bubble, the problem is still there. Kids are exposed to programming that encourages them to think of sex. Teens think about sex enough as it is. They don’t need to be reminded about it at every turn of the dial. So the rest of us should have entertainment consisting of a steady diet of cartoons? Again, countries like Italy, France, and Sweden, known for their permissive attitudes towards sex (I’m sure we’ve all seen the movies), have among the lowest pregnancy rates. Just seeing boobs on TV doesn’t mean that we’re going to have an insatiable urge to make babies. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/319 "2009-11-02T20:08:35Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > So the rest of us should have entertainment consisting of a steady diet of cartoons? > > Again, countries like Italy, France, and Sweden, known for their permissive attitudes towards sex (I’m sure we’ve all seen the movies), have among the lowest pregnancy rates. Just seeing boobs on TV doesn’t mean that we’re going to have an insatiable urge to make babies. And the societies with the most ‘old-fashioned’ attitudes towards it (wives are for babies, prostitutes are for pleasure, masturbation is evil, do as I say not as I do, etc.) have awful human rights records. Unless the OP’s definition of morality is tied only to unwed teen mothers and abortion rates. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156/320 "2009-11-02T20:23:43Z")
> [@SmartAlx](#): > > So the answer is to live in a bubble. Is that it? Yes, that IS it. That is your only option if you are so hypersensitive and unwilling to make the slightest personal effort to “protect” yourself from those horrible, awful images of scantily clad women. That’s what you _ **want** _, what you are arguing for; that someone _ **else** _ wrap you in a bubble. You are simply insisting that we all need to move into your bubble with you, and I’d rather not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-solution-to-a-million-unwanted-pregnacies-occurring-as-a-result-of-protected-sex/515156.md?page=17)