In Trump Town, “Our Bodies Ourselves” Needs to Reach Our Younger Generation Immediately

Courtesy of Washington Post

Our current government has been working hard to revert progress that has been made on sexual education and women’s health. The Trump administration has asked for $75 million dollars to provide abstinence-only education in our school system. They have also cut funding to NGOs that practice safe and legal abortions and/or provide information about where one might have a safe abortion. Not to mention the obscene remarks about female bodies that have been said by our president (i.e. “…grab them by the p***y”). These and more are just a few ways the United States government has slipped back into sexist, old-fashioned ways of thinking about the female body. 

With Trump, and his misogynistic tendencies, as our president, it is imperative that our up-and-coming generation of females have access to accurate information about their bodies to make safe and informed decisions. 

As of April 2017, The United States has discontinued funding for the UN agency that supports family planning and reproductive health due to Trump’s ferocity in fighting against abortion (Solomon, 2017). Due to the nature of the fund (United Nations Population Fund), the discontinuation of US support affects more than 150 additional countries. This ruling was also in conjunction with the Global Gag Rule stating that non-US NGOs who receive US funding may not education the public on abortions, provide safe and legal abortions, or provide information on where one may receive a safe abortion. 

The ruling also applies at home. Any NGO that practices abortion or provides abortion referrals will be denied federal funding (McCammon, 2018). One of these programs is Title X. As one might also infer, this new rule would hinder Planned Parenthood services significantly even though they have over 10 categories of service with only one category focusing on abortion (planned parenthood). 

Clay Bennett: Political Irony

As for the abstinence-only education, numerous studies have found that these programs simply do not work; in fact, abstinence-only teachings about sex are positively correlated with a rise in teen pregnancy (PLOS). I am sure the irony of the Trump administration pushing abstinence-only education is not lost on you (watch a funny sketch about this here). 

We must recognize that, although there is horrific irony in the situation, parents want the best for their children. They do not want to see their kids go through teen pregnancy or engage in sexual encounters at a young age. Most of these feelings come from a place of protection and good heartedness, not from feelings of contempt (well, maybe at those supporting sex education). But the bottom line is when are our kids going to receive sex education if not at a younger age?  

Courtesy of NPR

What about our girls who will be raised in a society where our president sexualizes their bodies while simultaneously preaching they not have sex until after marriage? This is where it is incredibly important that literature works, such as Our Bodies Ourselves, be made available and accessible to our younger generation of girls. Andrea Brand, an author of a blog posted on the Our Bodies Ourselves webpage, wrote about what has helped her reach her two younger daughters on the topic of sexual education (Brand, 2016). She expressed her frustration with her daughter’s school system sex education as they, too, had adopted an abstinence-only approach. Brand argued that the most effective way she found was frequent communication with a trusted parent or guardian. The thought of sitting down and talking about sex with your younger child can be anxiety-provoking, she writes, but there are several tools out there to probe conversation. 

If some of the resources she mentions are not available in the community, as it was with her family, she recommends starting or joining an interactive discussion group. Her group titled “I Saved You A Seat” is a blog that outlines different group discussion starters for those willing to start their own conversation group. She notes different curriculums as a supplement to her own observations and techniques for starting a discussion with a preteen/teen. 

 

These resources are an excellent way to begin discussions that allow preteens/teens to become more aware of their bodies beyond the abstinence-only education they are getting in schools; however, making a preteen/teen-friendly version of Our Bodies Ourselves, as mentioned in class, is an excellent idea. It provides the teen a private, safe, and knowledgeable source for them to keep on their nightstands or as a PDF on their electronic device. 

Progress made on the liberation of women’s bodies from the grasp of the government have been challenged, one proposal at a time. Now, more than ever, our up-and-coming generation of females needs to be made aware of their changing bodies and how to make informed decisions. Parents and educators alike push for their kids/students to succeed in life, education being an incredibly important factor. It is up to us, as a community, to rally together and educate this new generation as best we can.