Sacrificing Teen Girls on the Altar of Abstinence (and Coca-Cola)

Here's the lead from an AP story I just read in the LA Times:

At least one in four teenage American girls has a sexually transmitted disease, suggests a first-of-its-kind federal study that startled some adolescent-health experts.

Holy. Effing. Shite.

The story goes on to say, Some doctors said the numbers might be a reflection of both abstinence-only sex education ... there are a lot of myths out there, too -- many sexually active teens think the withdrawal method will protect them, or that douching with Coca-Cola will kill STD germs.

OK, my friends. What the living hell? Aside from the obvious issues of abstinence-only education, there's the Co-cola (to quote my Alabama friends) issue. That's just weird.

You want to know more about urban Coca-Cola legends? Head here, where I'm thinking Snopes could add an entry on "Coca-Cola will kill STD germs" marked with a big effing RED FOR FALSE button. Oh wait, Snopes does say that.

On that page, the writer includes this rather vivid description: Back in the 1950s and 1960s, this method of parenthood prevention proved somewhat popular because not only was it cheap and universally available at a time when reliable birth control methods were hard to come by, but it also came in its own handy "shake and shoot" disposable applicator. After intercourse, the girl would uncap a warm Coke, put her thumb over the mouth of the bottle, shake up the beverage, then insert the neck of the bottle in her vagina and move her thumb out of the way. The warm well-shaken Coke became an effervescent spermicidal douche, with the traditional (at that time) six-ounce bottle providing what was deemed to be just the right amount for one application.

(Just remember: It's NOT effective! It's NOT a spermicidal!)

Also: Douching with Coca-Cola?! Um. Ouch. And um, sugar in the vagina=not good.
From MedHelp: Douching can cause yeast infections, so it's probably not the best idea anyway. There's just no reason to use Coca-Cola anywhere near the vagina.

AGREED. But back to the real issue: Parents of adolescent girls, get them tested. Talk with them about birth control, safer sex and sex in general (in a non-icky way, please). You might start with one of the most often-banned books in the U.S., Robie Harris and Michael Emberley's brilliant, fantastic, awesome It's Perfectly Normal, when the girls (and boys) are on the young side. (Older girls? Hey, how about a classic? Our Bodies, Ourselves still packs quite the amount of info into one tome. And the website ain't too shabby either.)

I listened to a Pen American Center podcast with Robie Harris a while back, and it's quite strong. Check it out too.

And young adults, I beg you: Just say no to all of this rhythm method, "pulling out," anal or oral isn't real sex, etc. bullshit. Gonna have any kind of sex? Protect yourselves. Because the most common STD found in the study — the human papillomavirus (HPV) — can cause cancer. Don't need any more of that floating around.

*Coca-Cola image from Wiki Commons, credit to Jorgebarrios; It's Perfectly Normal image from Candlewick Press.