Cute dress, no?
And yes. It's made from condoms.
She's not going to prom; she's walking the runway at last year's condom fashion show in Beijing to raise awareness about AIDS.
I bet your head is saying,
"Hey! It's kind of cute. I want to see some more!"
"WTF?!"
"That would NEVER fly here."
I think all of those responses are fair, particularly the last one.
I'm taking a one-credit, Saturday class called Sexuality Education: Criteria, Curricula and Controversy, and while most of it focuses on--you guessed it--sex ed in schools, we also talked this weekend about the differences between sexuality in the U.S. and other countries. And, surprise, we're way behind--in pregnancy prevention, STIs, contraception use, you name it.
(If you're curious about the sexuality climate in Europe, check out this great video that talks to teens and highlights condom advertisements that are quite interesting/entertaining.)
Why is it that we in the U.S. can't seem to talk to teens about sex? Are we more conservative than other countries? Do (federally supported) abstinence-only school programs, gulp, maybe not work? Are we in denial that teens are having sex?
In class, we did a small-group exercise where we got a list of about 20 sex-related topics that students should learn and, pretending to be a school board, put them in the curriculum at appropriate grade levels.
At first, being the public health-focused people we are, we of course were ready to throw everything, from talking about healthy friendships to demonstrating how to use a condom, into, like, kindergarten. But stepping back into our role as a school board, we struggled to be realistic toward what a community would go for, pushing a condom demonstration back and back, until it would come so late in a child's education that there's a very good chance he or she would have already had sex--without that knowledge.
What do you think about sex ed in the U.S. and abroad? Clearly we're struggling here--what can we do about it?
(If you're curious about the sexuality climate in Europe, check out this great video that talks to teens and highlights condom advertisements that are quite interesting/entertaining.)
Why is it that we in the U.S. can't seem to talk to teens about sex? Are we more conservative than other countries? Do (federally supported) abstinence-only school programs, gulp, maybe not work? Are we in denial that teens are having sex?
In class, we did a small-group exercise where we got a list of about 20 sex-related topics that students should learn and, pretending to be a school board, put them in the curriculum at appropriate grade levels.
At first, being the public health-focused people we are, we of course were ready to throw everything, from talking about healthy friendships to demonstrating how to use a condom, into, like, kindergarten. But stepping back into our role as a school board, we struggled to be realistic toward what a community would go for, pushing a condom demonstration back and back, until it would come so late in a child's education that there's a very good chance he or she would have already had sex--without that knowledge.
What do you think about sex ed in the U.S. and abroad? Clearly we're struggling here--what can we do about it?
Thanks to bronwyn (ECG) (condom dress) and compujeramey (German condom ad) for the great photos!
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