Arturo21 said:
But then don't say she's a role model...imagine if she advertised those condoms, soon every 11 year old girl in America would be screwing around.
Are you joking? Firstly, she's not actively endorsing Trojan--this is not a print ad, this is the product of nosy paparazzi. Secondly, most 11-year-olds haven't even hit puberty, and sex is the last thing on their minds. Thirdly, access to and education about condoms and safer-sex does not translate into "more sex," it just encourages the kids who'd be doing it anyhow to protect themselves.
Seriously, by the time teenagers are 16, about half of them have had some form of sexual relations. If all these kids used condoms, plus other effective means of birth control, teen pregnancy, many STDs, and a lot of the "sl*t" stigma of sex would die off in a generation.
I'm 27, almost 28, married, and have been sexually active since I was 20, but I've been a vocal advocate for safer-sex since I was about 13. It's just a smart thing to do. If you're going to "do it," you should make an informed decision about what your're comfortable with, what you expect out of the encounter, and what responsibilities you need to take in order to engage in a mature pursuit such as sex.
I got into about 8' of hot water when I was in highschool for writing an op-ed piece for the local paper advocating that condom-vending machines be installed in the school loos, since there was only one drugstore in town, and the druggist had kids in the school system, so nobody felt that comfortable about the idea of buying a box of rubbers from Jeff's dad. I wasn't advocating free rubbers (which is what my mom thought, and considered a waste of tax dollars, which I still disagree about), I was just advocating an anonymous source for kids who wanted to fool around, but wanted to be somewhat responsible about indulging their urges.
I was publicly decried as a "sl*t" and received some nasty letters, and saw some letters posted to the Letters to the Editor page in the next newspaper, publicly accusing me of being a wanton little hussy--four years before I even lost my virginity, but I considered it worth the drama, to at least get that idea out there into the community and get people thinking realistically about how teens approach sex.
It's compelling, mysterious, and "forbidden." It's like a shiny red button labelled "do not press." Human nature dictates that most of us will desperately desire to press that button, if only to find out what the big deal is.
*is confused as to why sexual intercourse is such an awesome accomplishment for a 17 year old*
