Readers take note: The following contains graphic discussions of topics you may find inappropriate and distasteful. If you choose to keep reading, remember that the information described is intended for teenagers.
Let's just say that teen magazines aren't what they used to be. Take Teen Vogue for instance. In case you missed it, a while back they came under (limited) fire for publishing a story called "Anal Sex: What You Need to Know." The tagline reads: "How to do it the RIGHT way." The author writes that "[t]here is no wrong way to experience sexuality, and no way is better than any other." Describing the act as "perfectly normal," she went on to say that it "can be awesome, and if you want to give it a go, you do that. More power to you."
More recently the magazine published a piece called "Having Sex When You're Fat: Tips on Positions, Props and Preparations." Author Elle Chase (described as a "certified sex educator") provides tips to her young readers on "how to have the best sex possible, and how you can feel powerful doing it." Her advice includes information on how to "get prepared" for different types of sex along with recommendations for sex toys, props and positions. The piece ends with this inspiring message: "We all deserve to f*** our fat hearts out."
But Teen Vogue doesn't stop at sexualizing and exploiting the minds of its young readers: it also advises them on how to get an abortion. In a column called "How to Get an Abortion if You're a Teen," author Nona Willis Aronowitz counsels a 16-year-old girl who wants an abortion. The problem: her parents are pro-life. According to Teen Vogue that shouldn't stand in her way because, as Aronowitz writes, "Having access to an abortion should be your right, regardless of your parents' beliefs." So despite the fact that 37 out of 50 states require parental involvement in a minor's decision to have an abortion, she outlines ways to get around the laws, how to "deal with it" without involving parents.
So let's review.
This "teen" magazine encourages its young readers to do whatever they want when it comes to sex and emboldens them to get abortions.
Here's some information they're not sharing:
-Anal sex is the highest-risk sexual behavior for HIV transmission according to the Centers for Disease Control.
-Every year there are ten million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases among young people between the ages of 15 and 24 according to the CDC, including drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea.
-Chlamydia, one of the most "common" STDs according to the CDC, can make young women infertile.
-The hormonal bonds created during sexual activity make casual sex emotionally risky, especially for young women.
-Post-abortion suffering is real, as evidenced by the growth of ministries such as Rachel's Vineyard and Silent No More.
Teen Vogue calls itself "the premiere destination for the young and unapologetic." Enough is Enough, a non-profit organization dedicated to making the internet safe for young people, calls it a "farce of a teen publication," and has started a petition calling for it to be shut down (link below).
Links:
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/anal-sex-what-you-need-to-know
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/fat-sex
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/how-to-get-an-abortion-if-youre-a-teen
Marcia Segelsteinis the author of the newly-released book, Don’t Let the Culture Raise Your Kids, published by Our Sunday Visitor. She has been covering family issues for twenty-five years, as a producer for CBS News, a contributor to National Catholic Register, and a Senior Editor for Salvo magazine. She has written for FoxNews.com, First Things, WORLD magazine, and Touchstone.
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