Do you remember the 2003 Black American comedy blockbuster, Love doesn’t cost a thing? Specifically, do you recall the scene where Steve Harvey attempts to teach his son (played by Nick Cannon) how to use a condom? Yuck!
Trust me, there are few conversations as uncomfortable for parents as telling their kids about condoms. Despite the impressive explosion in the adoption of teen sex education, the topic of sex yet remains an extremely sensitive one in traditional African American families – one which the majority of Black parents wish they can entirely avoid.
Sorry, the United States is the beacon of freedom – both politically and sexually, and you can not totally prohibit your children from contact with the opposite sex.
It is not uncommon to find parents who see giving their kids condoms as direct approval of their sexual escapades. It is no secret that many parents prefer their beloved wards abstaining from sex entirely. But how possible is this in the 21st century?
Before we dive in any further, how about we peep at the statistics to better understand the sexual dynamics of modern society?
What does data say?
We all lie, but numbers rarely do. And the number remains pretty clear that teenage pregnancy is a disguised pandemic in America and the world at large.
In the United States, 194, 377 babies were born to underage girls, typically within the age spectrum of 15-19, in 2017. This implied 18.8 girls in every 1000 American girls (between 15-19) gave birth. Agreed, this was an impressive drop of 7% from the numbers recorded in 2016.
Well, 194,000 might sound like a trivial number, but for context, I would be damn rich if I have $194k sitting in my bank account!