Concerned parents bar Sex Etc. from school
Magazine written by teens for teens promotes homosexuality, ‘safe sex’
From, The Kentucky Citizen Digest, January/February, 2001.

Standard fare in the backpacks of school children on their way home are report cards and homework. Usually. However, during the 1999-2000 school year, some Kentucky ninth graders from McClean County High School arrived home with a newsletter called Sex Etc. — something a little more exciting than an ordinary algebra assignment. The publication was distributed to youth across Kentucky through five other youth-service organizations as well.

While a few points are made throughout the publication favoring abstinence, the overall message largely emphasizes “safe sex.”

Several topics are covered in the latest issue, including one that debates the merits of oral sex. In Oral Arguments: Is Oral Sex a Safe Bet?, teens are quoted. “It’s fun and pleasing, and nobody has to worry about losing their virginity,” said Alan, who is 17.

A column trumpets the benefits of “outercourse,” going through the motions of sex without penetration. It says, “‘Outercourse’ can be a very safe and pleasurable way of enjoying sexual expression without risking pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases.”

One recent article highlights AIDS activism. Another applauds students for pushing a condom giveaway program in their schools. The latest includes the National Gay and Lesbian Hotline’s toll-free number for youth who want to talk about their sexuality.

That advice has parents concerned.

Donna Cowles, mother of two public school students in the Bowling Green area, objected to the message Sex Etc. is selling. “You can have a happy, fulfilled life by waiting and remaining abstinent until marriage,” says Cowles. “Kids are looking for role models.”

Cowles also serves as the Youth Service Center Coordinator for Warren East High School where she ensures that her students have positive role models. She says that her program is committed to teaching them the benefits of abstinence until marriage. “That’s all this office will ever promote,” she emphatically adds.

Sex Etc. is published by the Network for Family Life Education based at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Even though it is distributed for free, only five Kentucky schools receive it, amounting to less than 5,000 copies statewide.

Leslie Bickett, Youth Service Center Coordinator for McClean County High School, sees nothing wrong with distributing Sex Etc. “I was trying to provide correct, factual information, which is needed.” Bickett said she would not be surprised if up to 95 percent of the students at the high school were already sexually active. Nonetheless, concerned parents succeeded in barring the newsletter from the school.

Tina Darnell, Abstinence Education Coordinator at Hope Unlimited Pregnancy Care Center in Paducah, agrees that kids need correct information—factual information on the risks involved with even “safe sex.” Teens frequently tell Darnell they haven’t heard information about the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

“I think that kids today do not realize how easy it is to catch an STD,” said Darnell. “They need more information on STDs and how they are caught.” Darnell emphasizes to her classes that the only 100 percent certain way they can avoid STDs is to abstain from sex until they are married.

Public health experts agree that abstinence is the most effective way to prevent unplanned pregnancy and STDs. Those experts, including Cowles and Darnell, are wondering why Sex Etc. is promoting such low standards and an inferior message to teens. So are parents.
 
 

Key Family Foundation Contacts: Kent Ostrander, Executive Director Martin Cothran, Senior Associate Policy Analyst