Promiscuous.

On the local news today there was a segment on a news program concerning pre-teen and teenage girls receiving a new vaccine that prevents cervical cancer cause by the HPV. The usual concerns were raised, such as what the risks and benefits were. But the main issue was how parents would talk to their daughters about the vaccine, since it would touch upon the subject of sex.

The host of the show asked a guest, a medical doctor, how a parent would tell their daughter to get a vaccine against something that was sexually transmitted, when the daughter was not supposed to be having sex. This is definitely a hard discussion to have with a child, especially over something as important as a vaccine that prevents cancer.

Another issue raised by the host was whether getting this vaccine would somehow encourage teenagers to be more promiscuous. The doctor was obviously in favor of girls getting the vaccine, and she cited many statistics showing the relatively high number of teenage girls having sex. Some of them include:

• 63% of high school senior girls have had sex (many of them having had 3 or more partners)
• 30-something % of girls has had sex by age 16

She felt that since teenage girls were obviously already having sex, it would be better for them to protect themselves against the HPV by getting the vaccine.

As to whether having the vaccine would promote promiscuity, I guess one could interpret that as meaning whether it would promote an increase in promiscuity, since from a certain perspective, it seems that promiscuity is already at a relatively high level. It may all depend on one's definition of promiscuity, but if parents are concerned about promiscuity among their teenage children, they could be well off to start looking somewhere else for causes.

Even before getting into the issue of whether their children should get this vaccine, which prevents an STD, they should see that society is already flooded with messages that promote promiscuity. Without putting a value judgement on this behavior, if it is something parents wish to prevent, they have to realize that everywhere around them, everywhere their children are, they are exposed to messages that promote this behavior. In television, movies, and music, magazines, etc., the messages are there, along with countless other sources. The fact that it goes so unnoticed by most people is a testament to how deeply ingrained these sexual messages have become, so much so that it has become an intrinsic part of culture and society.

But on the other hand, it is pointless to try and change it. The fact that it has become such an intrinsic part of society makes it impossible to extricate this idea of the acceptability, the non-issue, of treating the act of sex (and having many sexual partners) casually.