Sex education stumbles in Mississippi

[lovedforaday]

Even a law requiring schools to teach sex ed is falling short in a state with one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the U.S.TUNICA, Miss. - Marie Barnard was delighted when, after decades of silence on the topic, Mississippi passed a law requiring school districts to teach sex education. But the lesson involving the Peppermint Pattie wasn't

Comments

[tabaqui]

It makes me sick to think that teen age girls see pregnancy as some kind of *popularity contest* or something, and that their parents/adults see nothing bad about it. Fucking revolting.

[nesmith]

That's pretty much how it is on my mom's side of the family in WV. They're petrified of and uptight about sex, but any pregnancy is something to be celebrated and cooed over and is just the most Wonderful Miracle Of God. Me getting my master's? "Oh, that's great, yeah." My dumbass 18 year-old cousin getting pregnant with some fucking asshole guy who took off, with no job, no money, not able to take care of herself? "OMG BAYBBEEEEEE!!!!" (I suggested the idea of maybe teaching all the cousins about birth control or condoms and they looked at me like I'd advocated sacrificing a baby to Satan.) Her mother ended up adopting her kid, so she's mom AND grandma and that kid is fucked, lemme tell you.

And they wonder why I never want to visit.

[tabaqui]

I will never, ever, ever understand that mentality.

My mom told us outright she didn't care about being a 'grandma', and if she never was, it was fine with her. Two of us have had one kid (and both late in life), and the other two none, and she's happy as a clam.

It's not like the human race is going to die out or anything.

[nesmith]

I don't either; on the one hand I am happy that when one of my ignorant female cousins gets pregnant there isn't any slut shaming and the family focuses on making sure the child is supported (my mom's elder sister raised her younger daughter's child while younger daughter continued to party) even if they're not pleased with Mom, but there's never any suggestion that getting pregnant as a teenager is bad or even the consideration of maybe teaching their kids about birth control/condoms (the word 'abortion' is NEVER, EVER uttered).

Oh, but there's plenty of bellyaching about having more mouths to feed. They're just so much in love with the idea of babies and so distanced from the reality, even the elders who have raised a couple generations. Every time I talk to them my tubes shrivel a little more.

[martydressler]

That scenario (college/university degrees are viewed as worthless, teen pregnancy being a celebratory event) is something that runs rampant in my pocket of the country (Central California).

Ugh.

[nesmith]

Yeah. Really makes you feel good--years of hard work and accomplishment are meaningless next to someone experiencing the natural result of being able to fuck successfully.

[peace_piper]

Northern California too. I remember inviting all my family to my very first art gallery opening, and the beginning of my career as an artist (I only made $60 that night, but hey!) and I made a point that this something very big to me, like the birth of a new baby.

No one came out of a sense of "wow that's great!" but my dad. My mom showed up, when she heard there were snacks, but no one else came.

A few months later, when my cousin had her 4th baby, by a fourth different man (who they were "oh so in love, he's so good for her!") who split a few weeks after the kid was born was attended by almost every member of my extended family.

When my brother graduated college, three years ago, it was the same story, just parents, grandparents (when we bought them tickets) and a few extended relatives who were within 20 minutes drive showed up. "After all, it's not like you're getting married or having a baby."

The only events that seem to matter. -___-

[moonshaz]

As the holder of a master's degree myself, I know exactly what kind of hard work and dedication it takes to earn an advanced degree. It was hard, man! And I don't mind saying I was incredibly proud of myself when I finally got there. Fortunately for me, my family was suitably impressed. I would have felt like crap if they hadn't been. :-( (Tbqh, I was the first member of my immediate family to even graduate high school, much less go to college, so they were easily impressed. But still!) So please accept my sympathy as well as my congratulations on your degree (no matter how long ago it may have been).

It blows my mind that spreading one's legs is somehow considered to be a praiseworthy accomplishment--because for the average pregnant teenage girl that's what getting pregnant boils down to. (For some, including myself, pregnancy is a hard won goal that takes years of actual EFFORT--but not for the kids we're talking about here.)

A teenage pregnancy a miracle from God? Yeah, no. Freaking N-O NO.

[nesmith]

Yeah, it didn't really matter much to me because frankly a lot of people on that side of the family are idiots (not just when it comes to kids, but overall) and they never liked me much because I did crazy things like read books that weren't written by some uber-conservative evangelical and didn't go to church or wear dresses or act like a "typical" girl. So I didn't really care, but it did smart a little to have something I worked hard for get dismissed so easily.

Thanks for the congrats :) In all honesty the only approval I needed was from my father, who got to see me get my hood a few months before he died. Made up for all those years of crap grades and him being more and more convinced my life was going nowhere.

So far I have one female cousin who's now in her twenties and managed to avoid the whole teen pregnancy thing, and she seems to have no interest in popping them out, so there might be hope yet.