I make plenty of mistakes, but it was just once I didn’t use a condom…I’m too young to be anyone’s father…I wish I could just go back in time and undo this…going to the pharmacy was just so hard…I walked to the condom section in the back of the store, my heart started to beat like crazy…I started to sweat…the guy behind the counter kept looking at me…damn these are expensive…You know what, forget it.....
Teen Pregnancy and even unplanned pregnancy among adults are an important public health issue because of the social challenges we face today. One of the reasons that so many teens get pregnant is because we lack the knowledge about how to protect ourselves against STIs and pregnancy. When we do receive information sometimes it’s not the whole story. Abstinence-only programs often try to scare teens by giving us false and misleading information about birth control and condoms. However, it’s not just about lack of information when it comes to sex. Emotions like fear, embarrassment, trusting others, not asking for help, guilt, thinking “it can’t happen to me,” all contribute to the higher rates of pregnancy and STIs.
A lot of the feelings we have about sex come from messages we get around us. Messages we get from music, movies, TV, the internet, religious groups, and even us teenagers rushing to be grown up, can be reasons why practicing safer sex isn’t as routine as putting your pants on one leg at a time. They can make us too scared to buy condoms. If we get over that fear, affording condoms can be an issue for some of us. We don’t know all of the places they are available for free. For other teenagers using a condom doesn’t seem like an option because we hear phrases such as “it feels uncomfortable” or “it feels better raw.” When you hear negative messages all the time, you start to believe them. We also may start to feel embarrassed or guilty about sex. Feeling like this makes it hard to ask our partners about using condoms, or to listen to advice we get because it doesn’t feel right to talk about sex.
What we need to know is that practicing safer sex and communication can prevent us from finding ourselves in unpleasant situations. We shouldn’t feel afraid to protect ourselves. We need to be aware of the information coming our way and question things that we don’t understand or want to know more about. We need to be conscious and informed when making decisions about our sexual activity and health. Don’t just let unprotected sex happen.
To help here are some tips to talking about the topic and getting more information:
Last but not least, know your resources! There are a number of places you can get condoms and other birth control methods for free. All you have to do is call 311, check out your school’s health resource room or visit the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center. We provide free services for teens and have free condoms at the S.P.E.E.K. office in room 216.
See you at S.P.E.E.K.!