Wrap Up: The Importance of Condoms
By Elijah, member of the Campus Organizing Team
Condoms are important for those who are engaging in sexual activity. They prevent the spread of diseases and significantly reduce the chances of becoming pregnant. They should be used whether you’re making a random hookup or engaging in sexual activity with your long-term partner.
Okay, there – I’ve now given the basic stock message given to me every time I’ve been told that I should wear a condom. After racking my brain for a way to open this piece, that’s what I have. Simple. Effective. Clean. To-the-point.
And, well, boring as…
Yes, I do censor myself at times. In all honesty, I write how I want to speak. For those who know me, I don’t talk all that much, so writing’s how I express my verbosity. And yet, I remained stuck on how to open this piece for far too long.
Why?
Because part of me wants to believe that people my age already know that they should use condoms when having sex. I mean, in my head, I keep thinking, “Why would any intelligent human being want to risk exposure to unwanted pregnancies and STIs in a world that is still trying to find a cure for HIV?”
Then I look around and reality crushes me to the ground.
I see my friends from elementary, middle, and high school who are now raising multiple children - - children they love dearly, but never actually planned to have.
I see more recent friends who provided me with a safe haven when I was coming out…and see the scares that they have about what disease they might have or, God forbid, they actually do have.
I look around, and think…what can I do?
The answer is simple.
I work within my community to help promote condom use. The problem, however, is that with some of the people I know, it’s too late. Eighteen, nineteen, twenty…and it’s already been years since they’ve been infected with HIV. This is why I am a full supporter of teaching comprehensive sex education in our schools today.
A key component of comprehensive sex education is the teaching of contraceptive usage. It’s important that people my age and younger understand that, whenever they choose to become sexually active, condoms are vital for both males and females. Let’s face it, while some of us choose to practice abstinence, at least for a while, most of the people our age are going to engage in sexual activity at some point. And unless you and your partner are both virgins and in a committed relationship well before you begin to have sex, you cannot know who your partner has slept with, and who that person has slept with, and how the subsequent links may go.
Abstinence-only-until-marriage education, however, is the current sex education law of the land for public schools. You know, “Just say no.” I mean, if Nancy Reagan’s slogan worked for drugs in the 80s, it has to work for sex today, right?
Clearly, that’s not the case.
There’s a quote on the Advocates for Youth website that made me think when I was looking for research and bits that I could include in this article. Melinda Gates, wife of the billionaire Bill Gates and co-founder of the Gates Foundation, stated that “In the fight against AIDS, condoms save lives. If you oppose the distribution of condoms, something is more important to you than saving lives.”
Now, it’s easy to bash those who are for abstinence-only education. I mean, I’ve done it myself on a number of occasions, possibly even in this article you’re reading right now. But in all honesty, as someone who once supported abstinence-only, I can still understand their intentions. They’re noble. They encourage sexual activity to occur inside of a meaningful (i.e. heterosexual) relationship. They want to minimize, if not eliminate, the spread of STIs, and, well…abstinence is by far the most effective way to avoid pregnancies.
The argument actually works – in an idealized world. Look around, though; this is hardly an idealized world. Sex happens. Sometimes it’s in the context of a meaningful relationship; sometimes it’s a mutual attraction relationship; and other times, it’s the result of one too many Cosmopolitans (in all fairness, I’m not all that familiar on the subject of alcohol but am an expert on Sex and the City).
The abstinence-only education people love to hammer home points that we in the comprehensive sex education camp love to call scare tactics. It’s true – they are scare tactics. They aren’t the only ones to push them. Technically, I’m doing the same thing by telling you to wear a condom when you have sex or you run the risk of not being able to have sex in the future. What is more damning about those who support abstinence-only education, though, is that they not only invert statistics to support their message, but they also create figures and statements that fly directly in the face of unbiased, third-party research.
Understand that by encouraging the education of condom usage, no one is actually encouraging anyone to have sex until they are ready to make that choice. The goal of condom education in comprehensive sex education is to let teenagers know that, should they choose to engage in sexual activity, using protection significantly reduces the chances for pregnancy and STIs.
So, as this is National Condom Week, do yourself a favor: encourage someone to use a condom. It could be your partner. It can be a friend. It can be a family member. Or it can be a random stranger. Regardless, stay safe and remember to wrap up.
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