iif “just say no” didn’t work for drugs, why would it work for sex?
Unpublished post, originally written 2/26/08 for my state of sex education blog on gURL.
When I was a kid, the “Just Say No” slogan was huge. Everyone from Nancy Reagan to LaToya Jackson was telling us that all we needed to stay drug free was the ability to politely but firmly decline a pusher.
But “just saying no” didn’t actually keep kids away from drugs. As early as 1988, it was found that there was no relationship between the No campaign and a drop in teen drug use.
Despite this, in 1994 a measure was approved to provide government funding to programs teaching abstinence from substances. The most famous one to get this money was D.A.R.E., a program which warned that a sip of beer could easily turn into a full-fledged heroin addiction.
Needless to say, drugs aren’t the only things the government wants you to say no to. Sex, of course, is another. The similarities between the two go beyond the message. Like the drug programs, ineffective abstinence-only programs, continue to be paid for by tax dollars. And much like it ignored the findings on drug programs, the current administration seems to be ignoring studies showing how unsuccessful and damaging abstinence programs are. Given its track record disregarding science (global warming, anyone?), this shouldn’t come as a big surprise.
Since scientific studies don’t seem to be giving the government enough of a wake up call to revise their ideas on sex education, maybe the one million American cases of chlamydia will. That or Jamie Lynn Spears’ pregnancy. Somehow, she (like a lot of other teens) seemed to have missed the memo about just saying no.
back to my website: sexedvice.com
