Teen Sex is Not A Game

“Hundreds of Houston-area parents are outraged over a new sex education program that teaches 12-year-old children about oral, anal and vaginal sex – and uses graphic curriculum to instruct students on how to use condoms.

The new curriculum is called, “It’s Your Game, Keep It Real,” - a program that includes real-life scenarios about condoms.

Some of the video was so graphic that a Houston television station was unable to air footage from the curriculum, [Christine] Kalmbach said.

•  “I think it’s soft porn when they have a girl on the couch and she says, ‘Let me help you put the condom on,’” parent Mayte Weitzman told television station KTRK. “They’re teaching them oral, anal and vaginal sex,” she said. “They’re teaching them all kinds of sex. They’re not focusing on abstinence.””

Here’s what you should know about It’s Your Game, Keep It Real (IYG): 

IYG is a Risk Reduction (abstinence-plus contraception use) program and their own research indicates that program students were 22% less likely to have initiated sex compared to the non-program students.

Further research on It’s Your Game reveals ”the results suggest that, as knowledge increases for STI signs and symptoms knowledge and condom knowledge, a student has a higher likelihood of initiation of sex.”

· What was the behavior change goal: abstinence or condom use?
·  Could too much graphic condom instruction encourage sexual experimentation?

So, would an abstinence version of IYG be any better?  Apparently not! The It’s Your Game, Keep It Real – Risk Avoidance version has some troublesome outcomes!

I could not find anywhere in the report that this so-called abstinence program delayed the initiation of sex across age, gender and race. Subgroups like Hispanic students delayed the initiation of sex and female students delayed oral sex until 9th grade.

BUT male program students had an increased risk of initiating oral sex compared to the students not in the program.

Furthermore…”Students who received IYG, Risk Avoidance had 1.7 greater odds [risks] of having 2 or more vaginal sex partners in the past 3 months relative to students in the comparison condition.” [after the program]

• Does this mean that the students getting the abstinence version had more vaginal sex partners in the past 3 months than the students that did not get the program?
• What was the goal of the program? Was any kind of sex, except vaginal sex, considered safe sex?
• Would you consider this an abstinence-until-marriage program?

“Students who received IYG, Risk Avoidance had 1.5 times greater odds [risks] of avoiding unprotected sex at last intercourse, either by using a condom or by abstaining from sex, relative to students in the comparison condition.” [after the program] 

• Does this mean that students in the abstinence version of the program were more likely to have abstained from all sex OR more likely to only abstain from unprotected sex? There is a big difference!
• Does this program teach that protected sex with a condom is as safe as being abstinent?

Authentic Abstinence Education is indeed a foreign language to those who promote contraception to teens. And, it seems that IYG teachers had a difficult time teaching kids to abstain from all sexual activity while teaching them how to use a condom.

Parents, find out if your child’s school is teaching IYG and consider whether you should opt out of the classes. According to IYG’s own research, your child may be more likely to have sex as a result.

Worried about Federal Mandates? Read more about It’s Your Game, Keep It Real (IYG) and its partnership with Planned Parenthood…

Worried about rising cost of entitlements? Find out if girls using hormonal contraception continue to use condoms to protect themselves from STDs.