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From:	Lindsay Menard-Freeman [ profile ]
Subject:	Fwd: Youth Sexuality in News & Culture: Fact or Fiction?
Sent:	Apr 11th, 2011 - 15:02:06

	Check out Advocates for Youth and their contribution to Conversations for a Better World! cheers, Lindsay ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Ida Jeng Christensen Date: Fri, Apr 8, 2011 at 4:21 PM Subject: Youth Sexuality in News & Culture: Fact or Fiction? To: Lindsay Menard-Freeman Hi Lindsay, As you may know, we recently launched our conversation on youth, sex and media lead by Advocates for Youth. Check out www.conversationsforabetterworld.com and their two, great, first blog-posts: - http://www.conversationsforabetterworld.com/2011/04/lets-talk-about-sex-because-lives-are-on-the-line/ - http://www.conversationsforabetterworld.com/2011/04/mtv-ignites-a-change-in-kenya-zambia-and-trinidad-tobago/ If you have capacity to help us spread the word, feel free to: - Share the email invitation below with your networks. The email invitation describes the topic of the month and the blog-posts we are looking for. - Share our monthly newsletter (coming next week!). - Re-tweet and post the blog-posts by Advocates for Youth. Their Twitter name is (at) advocatestweets if you want to mention them. Best, Ida Youth Sexuality in News & Culture: Fact or Fiction? Open a newspaper, or turn on the television and what do you see: Promiscuous teens gone wild, conservative virgins, teenage parents, lots of sex. We, young people, are being bombarded with headlines, advertisements, movies and music videos. It looks like fun, but whats the reality? What about teen pregnancy, HIV and sexual transmitted diseases? Do media show the whole picture, or do they stereotype youth sexuality? Join! We are dedicating an entire month to the topic of youth, sex and media at Conversations for a Better World . Start blogging! Send us media pieces, headlines, articles, music videos, movies, or videos featuring teen parenting and sexual choices. Tell us what you think. Or Postor Tweet your thoughts. Meet the bloggers Advocates for Youth will be blogging all month and taking the lead. Talk to them: - Let's Talk About Sex - Because Lives are on the Line - MTV "Ignites" a change in Kenya, Zambia, and Trinidad & Tobago Share examples from your country Or blog about some of the examples below: - In the comic movie Juno we follow the footsteps of a 16-year old girl from pregnancy test to delivery room. Hello, Id like to procure a hasty abortion, she says jokingly when she calls a womens health clinic. But is it really that funny to be 16 and pregnant? - Or think of the Indian movie Tere Sang; the very first of its kind to feature teen parenting. Its about the sweet & bubbly 15 year old girl Maahi, whos impregnated by the rebellious 17-year old Kabi. The message is clear: Sex before marriage is a big mistake. Is this the right message? - There's also the Ugandan music video Carolina by Bobi. A pretty girl with a promising career ahead of her suddenly disappears from school one day, only to show up several years later, sick poor and with several kids. Sex before marriage isnt the best idea, says this music video. Are music videos like these helpful and fair? - And let's not forget the TV-series 16 & Pregnant from MTV which has turned into a true media industry. One day, the young parents are being slammed in the tabloids under accuse of being uneducated, irresponsible, abusive, immoral, and destined to a life of poverty. The next day, they are hitting red carpet events. What exactly is the reality of teen parenting in your culture? Do media show the right picture? - And theres Justin Bieber on the front page of the magazine Rolling Stones, preaching about abstinence before marriage: I don't think you should have sex with anyone unless you love them," he says. The next day, hes tongue-kissing his girlfriend and tweeting the pictures so the world can see. What exactly is the message here? Questions for consideration - Do you have examples of really cool ads, Youtube videos, commercials or articles that you consider fair in their approach to teen parenting? - Do media stereotype youth sexuality, perpetuate a double standard, or do media report fairly? - Whats the role of music videos - are they showing teen parenting as something normal and healthy? - What about teen pregnancy and teen sexuality in advertisements - do they portray a positive and realistic approach to teen parenting? - What exactly is the reality of teen parents and teen sexuality in your culture? - Do media talk enough about safer sex and contraception? - Do they give us enough information about the downside of sex - from sexually transmitted infections to pregnancy to emotional consequences? - Sometimes media put teen pregnancy on a pedestal is this helping young people make the right choices? - How is teen pregnancy perceived in your culture? - Are young mothers as equipped as older mothers to provide an environment that enhances the infant's development? - Do you see examples of misinformation or exaggeration in the media? - Do you think theres a difference in the perception of teen pregnancy from country to country? - What happens if teenage parents lives are portrayed in negative ways? - -- Lindsay Menard-Freeman Program Officer Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS, a program of TakingITGlobal www.gyca.org www.tigweb.org (T): +212.661.6111 (E): lindsay (at) gyca.org 540 President St. 3rd Floor Brooklyn, NY 11215 Donate now! http://tigurl.org/gycadonate/ GYCA is a youth-led global network of over 5,500 young leaders and adult allies working on youth and HIV/AIDS in 173 countries world-wide. GYCA's mission is to empower young leaders with the skills, knowledge, resources and opportunities they need to scale up HIV/AIDS interventions amongst their peers.