Sex Without a Condom the New Engagement Ring?

Victor Corral

Sex Without a Condom the New Engagement Ring?

The comment thread on NPR is blowin’ up! Listeners are ranting (and raving) about the new “What’s the New What” segment on NPR in which Pendarvis Harshaw, an Oakland teen at Youth Radio, discusses how for his generation, sex without a condom is a sign of being in a committed relationship. Harshaw and his group of friends advocate getting tested for STD’s and using birth control pills as a responsible way to have sex in a monogamous relationship.

Listeners’ comments are all over the place. Some are disgusted that NPR would even post this, while others are praising Harshaw and his friends for showing maturity and responsibility when it comes to sex.

Given that the latest trends show that STD’s, especially HIV and AIDS have been increasing among communities of color for the last few years, predominantly among young Black men and women, what do you think about this issue?

Posted at 11:05 AM, Jul 30, 2008 in Health | Permalink | View Comments

Comments

Why not just get married....? wait for marriage..

Bottom line, women are the keepers of the culture,
they want love and marriage, but lack of self worth,
and fear of being alone promotes self destructive behavior.

It is scary for young people today...I feel sorry for them.

Ofcourse the IDEAL would be to wait for marriage--but to all the GROWN ADULTS how many of you waited till marrage? We cannot close our eyes and cover issues with utopia concepts to easy simple solutions. Younger generations today are experimenting and maturing sexually at a much faster pace. Whether or not they are ready (emotionally or mentally) is one issue- but even if we do figure out WHY the need to be so grown before their time- we still need to deal relaisticly with the effects of their ACTUAL actions.

I think what this young man is doing is incredible. Peer to Peer ocnversation is the best way to get a message across. Ofcourse we want our young women to respect themselves and their bodies and this HAS To be taught and shown to them before puberty! But as for those who have already decided on sexual relatinships why not speak to then frankly on how to repsect themselves WHILE being a sexual person. I applaud this act- and encourage more young peopel to talk sense into their peers- and possibly save their lives!

I applaud the openess of the concept of "unprotected sex as the new engagement ring," and can understand why the youth see this as a viable way to express commitment. However, my problem is that youth often forget about the realities of a situation like this. Young people of color are the most affected by sexually transmitted diseases, including Aids. This means that young partners are not properly or honestly communicating there health issues with eachother, and it is resulting in their deaths. When it comes to your life, it is unwise at best to be frivolous. While the "trust" factor is good in theory, in practice, it is already proving a failure, and it is costing the youth their lives. Sex, until you are ready to be married (trust someone with your entire life) should always involve protection ... even then, it's a gamble, because the other person has free will.