Wednesday, May 12
Abstinence training
Hattrick was in scouts tonight, and we got to watch "Sex, Lies and the Truth", a truly horrid video. I had to marvel and some of the crap they were trying to pass off as facts. I see that the first site listed when you google it is this review, which does a decent job of debunking it from what I've skimmed.
I was amazed at the two 11 year olds talking about using a condom and a diaphram together. Gee, if they had real and proper sex education, maybe they wouldn't have sounded like such dorks? The review talks about the racial sterotypes that this film brings up, of which I really only noticed the one, the black single mother who's boyfriend was in jail. Miles McPherson who acts as a teacher in the film, spotlighted as a former NFL player is now a preacher (should I be surprised?) in California. He talks about the 20 years of safe sex teaching that's been going on. Valid for the time it was played, but that certainly is not valid for the time it was made, 1993. Safe sex wasn't started to be discussed until the 80's. I certainly wasn't getting taught safe sex back in '73, and I know, I was in sex education at the time. I wonder what happened to the commandment about not telling lies?
20 years ago, there were 5 STDs, and today there are 20! Wrong! There's only been one new addition, HIV. I knew more than 5 STDs, and that was their 20 years ago!
I love the PHD doctor and author (no, not an MD doctor, a PHD doctor!) talking about how 1 out of every 5 American's has an STD. Maybe, if you include Herpes Simplex I (cold sores) transmitted in anyway possible, but that takes the sex out of sexually transmitted, so you really can't call it an STD then, can you Doctor?
And then you've got the cute Kirk Camerone and the cute Chelsea Noble talking about their marriage. I checked, and they are still married. Damn it! :-P I love this part from the review:
One interesting aspect of this video, which purports to teach abstinence, is the reliance on sexual imagery to make the film appealing. The narrators are Kirk Cameron and Chelsea Noble, both widely regarded as teen "heart throbs," who appear in skimpy shorts and discuss abstinence while giving viewers the knowledge that they are married and sexually active. When discussion about sexual images in the media is introduced, the video launches into a fast-paced montage of ads showing sexy women in alcohol and fashion advertisements. Certainly, the use of attractive, sexy role models throughout the film and the advertising images makes the film more appealing than other abstinence-only films. However, the juxtaposition of sexual content with an abstinence message is a tactic for enticing and engaging viewers.That, by itself says a lot.
Then there was the inaneness about having a secondary virginity. WTF? Sorry, there is no such thing.
I'd go on, but I tire, and I didn't get to write the notes that I wanted to while this was going on, otherwise I'm sure I'd have even more doozies to write about. Relevant Link Permanent link posted by bytehead @ 5/12/2004 08:48:00 PM
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