Is birth control preventive care?

With too-high teen pregnancy and abortion rates in this country, activists are hoping the recent passage of a health care reform law is an opportunity for millions of women to gain access to free or low-cost birth control. Under the new law, preventive services — like immunizations, cancer screenings and other wellness checkups — must be offered to consumers as part of their insurance policy, at no additional out-of-pocket charge, starting in September 2010.

Currently, contraception is not "preventive care" as recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), but why shouldn't it be? As if she could anticipate the debate, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) sponsored an amendment that would broaden the care available for women: "with respect to women, such additional preventive care and screenings not described in paragraph (1) as provided for in comprehensive guidelines." Though the amendment doesn't mention birth control specifically, Mikulski spokeswoman Rachel MacKnight has said, "From her perspective, that includes everything from heart disease screening and diabetes screening to mammograms to birth control."

In parallel to the new legislation, Planned Parenthood for one is using this year's 50th anniversary of the Pill as an agent for public action.

"2010 marks the 50th anniversary of The Pill. Today, though we've come a long way, countless women lack reliable access to The Pill. In the coming months, federal officials will consider measures that will dramatically increase access," the organization noted.

Share your story: http://www.thepillispersonal.org/

YPulse at SXSW - getting the lo-down on teen webbing

Hello y'all,

Well, we're at the eve of Sex::Tech 2009 and all I can say is wow! Kickin' off this Sunday, March 22nd at the J.W. Marriott in San Francisco, California we here at ISIS are truly ready to rock the house! For those of you who want to show up prepared, I offer you this bit of blog to enhance and enrich your Sex::Tech 2009 experience.

Our friends at YPulse, namely Anastasia, headed out to the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas last week to host a roundtable on "What Teens Want in a Website", and wrote about feedback from youth panelists. The youth talked about a bunch of topics, including the age old battle - MySpace versus Facebook, MS being for the "urban youth" and FB catering to "suburban youth". Turns out that neither of these social networking sites are all that "hot" right now, and that the youth have moved on to other, more relevant ways to social network via technology.

Which brought up the conversation about moving away from the computer screen and handlin' teen biz via texting, which has truly surpassed any of the social messaging networks. Teens get a phone, and wham-bam-thank you ma'am (ol' skool talk), it's On!! And these teens still text more than talk, remember talking??, which allows more privacy than MS/FB.

The panel also discussed brand sites, video, twitter, the whole mix of what y'all teens get yourselves involved in nowadays, when you have the spare time. It seems that all of these topics were of interest, but none of them really dominated the teen panel's time.

Overall, the article points out a few really good facts, based on the teen panel that is........teens are more interested in mobility than sitting in front of a computer screen. As far as being "techies" teens are workin' the text thing like mad, new tech is not something that these teens had a real passionate desire to explore.

Read all about it so that when you are sitting in the Sex::Tech workshops you'll be right on top of the dialogue and possibly add some of your own!

Enjoy the show and we all look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Blessings!

Do Teen Sexuality + Adult Anxiety + Digital Technology = Public Trouble?

I had two lovely plesaures this week - one was to spend some time surfing the website, The Midwest Teen Sex Show (MTSS), which labels itself as a "video show about teen sexuality" and the second was my telephone conversation with Dr. Marty Klein, a noted Marriage Counselor and Sex Therapist.

What do the two have in common - well, for one, MTSS has a tremendous amount of informative sexual content that teens can understand. MTSS website and videos promote healthy sexual dialogue and de-mystify the taboos that surround teen sex. The legal limitations applied to sexual health education by school districts, local jurisdictions, religious institutions (you get the picture) are what make it so hard for teens to learn ANYTHING or even ASK questions about their sexuality and how it all works. MTSS is the perfect outlet for those teens who "wonder why...."

So, how does Dr. Marty Klein fit in to all of this? you ask! Good question.......Dr. Klein is one of the few experts in the field of teen sexual rights and the dangers that teens might be facing for "exercising" behavior that might end up haunting them for the rest of their lives.

An article in Slate Magazine, entitled "Textual Misconduct: What to do about teens and their dumb naked photos of themselves" has some astounding implications about teen rights (or lack thereof). The article details the fact that if you are under 18, it is illegal to send naked photos of yourself to anyone, and in this case, the sender, a young teenage girl, was prosecuted as a sex offender and will now have to register as such FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE!

Dr. Klein is a featured speaker at the ISIS, Inc. Sex::Tech 2009 conference, being held March 22-23rd, in San Francisco, California. I had the wonderful opportunity to speak to him a bit about his presentation, and the predicament teens might find themselves in if they "text" nude photos of themselves to others. I asked Dr. Klein if teen's rights being reviewed by the present Administration? He answered that charges being leveled on teens are not federal; they are state, local or jurisdictional. The laws vary from state to state and it is up to the individual prosecutors as to if or how a teen is charged. The bottom line is "as far as discomfort with teen sexuality, every single American lives in a Red state" (meaning that red states are Bush lovers and Blue states are well, you know!)

Another question I asked was if he thought teens rights were being constricted, and if so, why? Dr. Klein said that historically, whenever any type of new technology was introduced to mainstream two things happen:

1) technology is adapted for sexual use (think television; publishing i.e. comic books, magazines; radio; internet)
2) adults get anxious about how teen's use said technology.

He went on to say that new technology creates "cultural panic" from religious institutions, mass media and parents. In short, until these groups understand the new technology, teens are less likely to have any rights.

Are teens aware of their rights?

Dr. Klein noted that when he was featured on the television show 20/20 in a segment called "Age of Consent", that an overwhelming majority of teens HAD NO IDEA of what the age of consent was for their State. And, he pointed out, in some cases, where the state line is accessible within minutes, there is a huge possibility that a law can be broken (or avoided) just by crossing the State line. "There are an awful lot of young people who don't realize that nude photos (sexual) of a minor can be perceived as child pornography".

Is advocacy for change happening?

Dr. Klein states that conferences like Sex::Tech 2009 open up forums for access, control, information regarding sexuality that can easily be filtered out of the Internet by local jurisdictions, including school districts.

So, as you can read, lots and lots of very important, life changing, permanent implications in the most innocent of teen behavior, that most teens don't know about but could impact their lives (and friends, families, communities) if.........

Blessings!

Underwear and Sex::Tech '09!

We asked people "what would your undies say if they had the last word" in safe sex and STI prevention. As it turns out our undies had a lot to say because the 500+ entries to the campaign gave them a voice. These undies have spread across the Internet and along with them ideas of safe sex, STI prevention and all around healthy attitudes toward sex are reaching viral proportions. The 500+ entries have gotten over 650,000 engagements through votes, views, reviews and content created and entries can be seen in close to 700 different places online. I'm attaching the full press release and an image of our winning pair!

With the success of this contest, we at ISIS, were again reminded of the need to talk to young people about sex and sexual health. We see that the Internet and mobile technologies have strengthened youth networks, provided new avenues for expression, and increased youth access to tools and information designed to improve their sexual health. ISIS would like to announce that the second Sex::Tech conference will be held March 22 & 23 in San Francisco. Sex::Tech will explore available tools and methods for reaching youth with culturally appropriate STD/HIV prevention and sex education interventions from a youth perspective, with input from public health professionals, educators, researchers, and technology developers.



Here is a little bit about the winners of the inBrief underwear design contest:

• Grand Prize winner Tina Nguyen (Pomona, CA) designed Riding Safely, a line of men's and women's underwear that lets partners know they need a ticket to ride. Ms. Nguyen will receive $1000 (scholarship or cash equivalent) and 12 pairs of women's underwear with her design.

• Image Buzz winner Dan Brown (Corvallis, OR) designed The Real Reason Dinosaurs Went Extinct, that ponders what if dinosaurs knew about safe sex? Dan will receive $250 (scholarship or cash equivalent) for the best entry among the top 100 generating the most attention across the Internet as determined by the ISIS expert selection panel.

• Community Sweepstakes winner Chrissy Olsen (Muncie, IN) will receive $250 (scholarship or cash equivalent) from among everyone participating in the contest in any way (whether viewer, reviewer, or voter) as selected by Brickfish.

Sex, Film and Videotape: 100 Years of Sexual Health

Mark the date
Thursday May 1st 8pm
at The Roxie
3117 16th St, San Francisco
ISIS presents our first public screening

Sex, Film and Videotape: 100 Years of Sexual Health

Award winning filmmaker and human sexuality expert, Dr Mark Schoen, will be presenting footage of early sexual health films from the 1900s to the present day and he will also provide narration/commentary on the footage concerning the social implications of the films.

Sex::Tech into the future - themes from the morning

Running around with our nerdy heads in the Sex::Tech clouds was the ultimate. However, the one regret that most of us at ISIS have is that we couldn't enjoy everything. However, the sessions that we did all enjoy together, the keynotes, really framed some of the central challenges public health-ers and educators on shoestring budgets are facing.

Day one:
Given the opportunity, youth will tell us what they want. They will tell us what's missing from the prevention messages they receive. Why doesn't public health employ more young people to reach their peers? "Digital natives" know how this stuff works. They are masters of flash, they are widget geniuses, networking gurus and mobile warriors. We should all diversify the age range of our staff.

Day two:
We are a creative group, scrappy fighters, and strategic friend makers. So...we need to make friends with the ad people, the business people, web designers and folks that don't always live in a pile of epi stats. Partnerships outside of government health arenas and outside of education are a great idea.

For more conference takes:
Margaret (ISIS' youth outreach coordinator) wraps things up nicely on the Sex::Tech blog as does our superpal Cory Silverberg in his post of the century on About.com. Also spreading the word are SexRev2.0 blogger Regina Lynn, Melissa Gira who live-blogged Marty Klein's popular session for thos who missed it, and Jeremy Fisher, our talented Fresh Focus third place winner.

Phalligator will soon return to regular programming with what's happening in the center of the sex/health/technology Venn diagram.

Sex::Tech Mega Success!

ISIS staff is taking the rest of the week off to recoup after an amazing, surprising and wonderfully productive two days.

We want to extend our warmest thanks to all of our participants both in front of and behind the scenes.

We are working on finding the best ways to connect Sex::Tech participants virtually, as well as share thoughts and materials between us so we can continue to work together. We will be sending out follow-up information early next week.

Let's not lose this momentum! With new partnerships, new friends and a budding Sex::Tech community the possibilities for new media's influence on youth sexual health and sexual happiness are endless.

Vote for your favorite Fresh Focus finalists!

The Fresh Focus Sex-Ed Video Contest finalists have been decided. Now is your chance to vote for your favorites. It's almost impossible to decide. Really...I don't know how anyone could really pick a favorite. But...you have to.

Here's one of my personal favorites that just barely missed the top ten...but it makes me smile every time.



Go to DoGooder.tv/freshfocusvideocontest to VOTE VOTE VOTE

The winning videos that you select will be presented by Nikol from the Midwest Teen Sex Show on Tuesday morning, January 22nd at Sex::Tech. And youth finalists will be on hand to answer questions.

If you haven't already, check out how MTSS rocks Katie Couric.

Sex: The Delinquency Antidote

There are few things in the world that get me as excited as the Findings section of Harper's Magazine. Each month, Findings is an amazingly constructed list of segue-less scientific findings taken out of their original context. (I'm typing faster just thinking about it.) In this month's issue they published the following finding and it is really something to chew on:

"children who engage in consensual sex in their early-teen or pre-teen years are less likely to become delinquents than children who are not sexually precocious."
The thing about Harper's Findings is that they don't provide supporting evidence or even footnotes to suggest where this finding came from or even how this conclusion was drawn. And whose to say what is meant by the word 'delinquent' in this sentence, but for the moment I say to hell with proper documentation and supporting arguments (I can feel my English teacher mom cringing.)

Could early understanding and consensual exploration of sex possibly not cause irreparable damage to kids? This is a hopeful thought. I happen to spend a considerable amount of time reading a host of online teen forums concerning sex and sexuality. In these forums you can see that a lot of teens are sexually precocious and curious. Using the submission to our Fresh Focus Video Contest as evidence, teens don't feel that they have been given adequate adult guidance about sex and they are looking for it other places. The Internet is providing places and avenues for teens to connect with each other and ask questions about sex and their bodies with out worry or pressure. At our January 22-23 Sex::Tech Conference we will be discussing ways to make sure that when young people use technology to figure out how to lead sexually healthy lives there will be good, correct easily accessible information there for them.

Zoe 101 Needs Sex::Tech 101

I'm sure you've heard by now that Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant. She is Zoe, the star of Nickelodeon's popular show, Zoe 101, as well as Britney Spears' sister. She plans to raise the baby in Louisiana, her home state.

AP reporter John Rogers reports that Nickelodeon is considering launching a "Post-Spears Pregnancy Show," with Linda Ellerbee, a veteran newscaster. Ellerbee proposes a broad discussion about youth relationships, including how you know you're in love, the "right" time to have sex, and value systems. Dan Martinsen, the network's spokesperson, said no decision has been made.

Of course, everyone says this story provides the opportunity for parents to talk to their teens about sex. BUT WILL THEY? History shows most parents are uncomfortable talking to their sons and daughters frankly about sex ed.
PARENTS: Try surfing the Web together for information. Have a discussion about what you know to be true, what you learned when you were young, what you learned thru experience... Come to our Sex::Tech Conference -- where researchers, advocates and young people will guide us through the best of the online world for youth.
YOUNG PEOPLE: Make a video! You have till January 7th to submit your version of a better sex ed for the future. Details at DoGooder.tv (www.dogooder.tv/freshfocusvideocontest)

Teen birth rates may be rising - Let the "why?" debate rage on

In the Washington Post today, an article by Rob Stein called "Teen Birth Rate Rises in U.S., Reversing 14 Year Decline" ponders just why teen birth rates might be rising. The opinions couldn't be more different.

Is it that abstinence only messages have left our teens without the tools to protect themselves, or is it that condom promotion messages are encouraging increased sexual behavior?

Allegra Madsen, ISIS' new program manager, asked John Santelli, teen health expert at Columbia University, about his thoughts on the new data:

"Multiple social and policy factors are presumably influencing the recent rise in teen birth rates," offered Santelli. "One possibility is a decline in contraceptive use. The 2005 YRBS [Youth risk Behavior Surveillance] data suggests such a decline (a small decrease in condom use and a small increase in non use compared to 2003). One factor that may have contributed to a decline in contraceptive use would be the negative information on condom and contraceptive use that many abstinence only programs include."

Another thing is also clear. This debate is being played out among adults, health professionals, politicians, etc. But what do that teens want? What do they think they need?

The Fresh Focus Sex Ed Video Contest gives young adults (under 30) a chance to say what they want. We're asking film makers to imagine the future of sex ed, and what they think would work better. We're offering a $3500 first place prize, along with a chance to screen their videos at the Sex::Tech Conference in SF on January 22nd.

As I posted yesterday, Jennifer Garner isn't the only one who didn't get any formal sex education, check out the Fresh Focus submissions so far and judge for yourself.

Pick your pleasure, the Sex::Tech Program is up!

You've all been waiting, and I'm happy to be able to say that the Sex::Tech program has been posted!

We are thrilled to be offering attendees two full days of diverse expert presenters ready to share their projects and ideas!

View Day 1 - January 22nd
It's going to be a tough call between panels, but you have to choose! We had so many amazing submissions that we had to stack them up pretty tight.

View Day 2 - January 23rd
Our keynote on the second day will be a discussion with Anastasia Goodstein of YPulse and a yet to be announced technology guest, moderated by technology writer Janet Kornblum of USA Today!


Two important reminders:

1. Book your hotel room at the JW Marriott for January 21st and 22nd. We cannot accommodate everyone. The government rate will vanish in to thin air December 31st.

2. Sign up for Sex::Tech updates on Twitter. Find us here. During the actual conference we may use Twitter as crowd control so don't be left out!

Nikol and Britney will be at Sex::Tech!

Check the promo video from Midwest Teen Sex Show. Nikol and Britney will be at Sex::Tech in January to present the finalists and winners of the Fresh Focus Sex Ed Video Contest.



We have gotten several video submissions already...check them out and plan your own!

Youth Radio covers sexual health issues

Youth Radio offers media training to youth ages 14-17 to promote young people's intellectual and creative growth. Involved youth have access to industry professionals and get to participate in the production of award winning programming.

Youth Radio programming covers just about everything of interest to young adults. Here is a small taste of some of their STD, HIV and Sex Ed programming.

Get Tested

Shooting Down HPV

Latinos and AIDS

Changing the Course of Sex Education

To get involved as a youth check out these options.
To learn about supporting Youth Radio and their new expanded offices check out the Support Us page. A $200 donation provides field staff with recording equipment, and $50 provides teachers with supplies for after school tutoring.

Stay tuned to find out how Youth Radio may work with ISIS to report on the Sex::Tech conference.

Deb rocks on Real Life Real Talk radio

Deb Levine, ISIS Executive Director and founder, joined Real Life Real Talk yesterday for a radio interview. Check out Deb as she talks about ISIS' growth, inSPOT expansion, issues with verifying sex information online, and about the upcoming Sex::Tech conference and Fresh Focus Video Contest.

Check it out here. Go Deb!

Fresh Focus: Sex Ed Video Contest has launched!

Internet Sexuality Information Services and RH Reality Check in conjunction with Dogooder.tv present the Fresh Focus: Sex Ed Video Contest. You could win a $3500 scholarship or cash equivalent just for making a video about sex! Videos -3 minutes tops- should be submitted to DoGooder.tv by December 31st, 2007 and should follow one of two contest themes:

Theme 1: Share your sex ed experience so far. Show us how and why it sucked or rocked.

Theme 2: Redesign how sex ed could be delivered. Imagine that anything is possible.

Voting will begin on January 4th. The winning videos will premier at the Sex::Tech Conference: Focus on Youth, taking place January 22-23, 2008 at SFSU's Institute for Next Generation Internet in San Francisco to an audience of health professionals, youth activists, educators and tech wizards!

First place wins a $3500 scholarship to the educational institution of your choice (or cash equivalent) and a free trip to San Francisco to attend the conference; second place wins $1000 cash; and third prize is your choice of a Nikon P5000, a Nintendo Wii or an iPhone. Content and creative vision will be weighed more heavily than production quality. Film makers must be between the ages of 15-30. See the official rules for more details.

Check out our contest partners:
Advocates For Youth
ISIS-Inc
RH Reality Check
NSRC
SIECUS

Snag the press release HERE.