"I love boobies." Do you?

"I love boobies." The phrase makes my inner middle-schooler giggle.

All giggles aside, I am referring to a new trend sweeping California. In addition, the trend is for a really great cause; breast cancer awareness. The Carlsbad based nonprofit Keep A Breast decided the best way increase awareness among teens was to start producing rubber bracelets similar to the Lance Armstrong bracelets. The bracelets are bright pink (or pretty much any color you want if you go to their website) and have the tag line "I love boobies" in big, bold letters. 100% of the profits sold go to the Keep A Breast Foundation.

So what's the drama over this good cause? Many California schools and parents feel like the bracelets are "sexually suggestive" and should not be allowed on the wrists of tweens and teens. According to the ABC news story, Kelly Avants, the spokeperson for the Clovis school district, stated that the bracelets are in clear violation of the school dress code and they have been banned. Kelly McAtee from Keep A Breast fired back at Avants, saying that "boobies is not a four letter word."

With this recent news, there has been a sudden surge in popularity at the I Love Boobies Facebook group. The page is 2,000 members strong (maybe some of those people could "Like" the SCPOC page....) and the growth doesn't seem to be slowing down. Many of those contributing to the page are teens stating that they simply want to support friends and family members who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. One teen posted that his First Amendment rights had been violated. There's even a comment from a young adult that mentions that since more young women are being diagnosed with breast cancer, it is important for teens to know about the risks and start self-exams early.

I can understand the need to keep graphic and offensive sexual language out of classroom, but how many people really consider the word "boobies" offensive? Also, by not allowing young people to be passionate about a cause, are we saying that teens cannot be activists? For almost half a year I have been working with a group of dedicated, opinionated, and driven teens and young adults at the Sonoma County Peer Outreach Coalition. I would never dream of telling the Peer Leaders not to be outspoken about the causes of which they are passionate.

What happens when you start telling youth that they cannot be activists?

Teen Mental Health A-Palooza!!!

The Sonoma County Peer Outreach Coalition has been BUSY. Aside from our regular duties of updating all of our social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, we have also been busy with lots of other activities! Here's what we've been up to:

Updating Our Website

*whew!* That was hard work! For the past few weeks we have been building resource pages on the website. Do you want to know more about depression? What do you do if a friend has an eating disorder? Have you ever heard of K2? Do you know how to put on a condom correctly? What should you think about before you come out of the closet?

Did any one of those leave you scratching your head? Check out our resource page on the website to get all the facts. We're just calling it a "Teen Mental Health A-Palooza!"

Chillin' at the South Park Day and Night Festival

On Saturday, August 14, the Peer Leaders headed to Martin Luther King Jr. Park to promote the Peer Outreach Coalition. We handed out dozens of our new stickers, resource lists, and had a raffle for two tickets to Great America! The Festival was a blast too! The food was yummy and the day was full of non-stop music, dancing, and martial arts demonstrations. It was a great day!

Be sure to go to our Facebook page and check out the photos we posted!

Recording Radio Shows

What are you doing Sunday night? Well, if you are near a radio or computer, tune in to KRCB (Radio FM 91) to hear the Peer Outreach Coalition on the hit show Outbeat Youth! Peer Leaders Marcos Garcilazo, Jesús Guzman, and Vanessa Romero (along with group faciliator Shana Friedman) will be discussing their experiences with the POC and helping the LGBTQ community! The show airs at 8pm on August 22, and if radios are just too mid-nineties for you, you can stream the show online at the KRCB website.

So, feed your inquiring mind at our website resource page, check out our photos from the festival, and listen to us on the radio too! It's just another wonderful weekend with the Sonoma County Peer Outreach Coalition. Have a happy and healthy weekend!

Nothing says "trendy" like belly panels and bootcut maternity jeans

Do you shop at Forever 21? Although I am pretty far outside their demographic (trendy dressed tweens and teens) I will admit the store does have one quality I find appealing: dirt-cheap clothing.

Forever 21 just announced a new line of clothing and is promoting feverishly online. The website images are of a youthful blonde model wistfully looking down at her pregnant belly beneath the slogan "Meet the newest addition to our family"(See image above).

A pregnant model? That's right, Forever 21 is expanding their brand by including a new line of maternity wear. Called Love 21, the clothing line includes bootcut and skinny jeans that accommodate a pregnant belly, as well as a number of trendy tops and large purses designed to hold all of one's "Maternity Essentials." The clothing line is available in five states: Arizona, Alaska, California, Utah, and Texas. Bloggers at The Gloss pointed out that three of these states (Arizona, California, and Texas) have some of the highest teenage pregnancy rates nationwide.

How common is teen pregnancy? For starters, the United States has more teen pregnancies than any other industrialized nation. According to the CDC, there are about one-million teenage pregnancies annually. Most of these pregnancies are unintended.

Forever 21 is receiving a great deal of attention as a result of their new Love 21 line. On the Facebook page of The Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy, a debate has started about whether or not the clothing line is encouraging and/or glamorizing teen pregnancy. As of today at 12:15pm, the responses seem to indicate that most consumers feel that this relates to consumer demand, such as creating a line of plush-size clothing. One woman writes: "It does not promote teen pregnancy. No One [sic] with any fashion sense gets pregnant for the clothes! I agree it is a business that is simply looking to fill a niche in the market." Another contributor states "I think the visibility it is bringing to teen pregnancy makes people uncomfortable with the fact that it means there is a market."

With over one-million teen pregnancies a year, it does in fact seem like there is a market for maternity clothing. But just because there is a market, it does not mean that there should be a market. What are we doing to prevent teenage pregnancy?

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 2/3 of all teenagers who have a baby will not graduate high school. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, the following needs to happen:

• Strengthen a culture of personal responsibility regarding sex, getting pregnant, and bringing children into the world, as well as strengthening the practice of always using contraception when you aren’t ready to have a child;


• Support responsible policies that will increase the use of contraception, particularly by those who cannot afford it and by those at greatest risk for having an unplanned pregnancy; and
  
• Provide more education to teens, parents, and young adults in their 20s that encourages them to take sex and pregnancy seriously, stresses personal responsibility and respectful relationships, and includes extensive information about contraception

Here's an idea: What if 100% of the profits of the Love 21 Maternity line was donated to organizations committed to comprehensive sex education, such as the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, and Planned Parenthood?

What do you think? Is Forever 21 glamorizing pregnancy or simply filling a niche in the market?

More Sex Education Controversy

This time of year schools nationwide are making adjustments to curriculum and various school policies. Last week the Sonoma County Peer Outreach Coalition told you about Provincetown school district and the school's proposed policy to allow access to condoms to all students, even those as young as 6 years old. Now the school district is facing harsh criticism from parents and local politicians and is rethinking the entire policy.

So now let's take a look at Helena, Montana. Helena Public Schools has proposed a new health curriculum that outlines comprehensive sex education for grades K through 12. Highlights of the curriculum include:

First grade: Students are taught that people can love people of the same gender

Second grade: Students are taught that it is wrong to make fun of people by saying the words "gay" and "queer"

Third grade: Students are taught that the media often presents an unrealistic image of marriage, love, and what it means to be male and female

Fourth grade: Students are taught about the risks of online chatting

Fifth grade: Students are taught about vaginal, oral, and anal intercourse

6th-8th grades: Students are taught about abortion, STIs, and contraception

9th-12th grades: Students are taught about erotic images in art can reflect society's views on sexuality

Wow! The curriculum as a whole is quite comprehensive. More than anything I love the fact that students are being taught from early on the importance of tolerance and cultural sensitivity. Teachers can be truly instrumental in halting hate-driven language in classrooms. Teaching this to children early on can prevent problems in middle school and high school.

Of course, the entire curriculum is sparking controversy. Some feel that the language for fifth graders is too mature. Others commented that the curriculum conflicts with religious views about premarital sex and marriage, mainly in regards to the open discussion about homosexuality and sexual preference.

If you need some reading material, here is a PDF of the entire curriculum. The sex education curriculum is on page 45.

What do you think? Is this curriculum appropriate or has Helena Public Schools gone too far?