No longer getting Knocked up!
July 25, 2001 11:22 AM   Subscribe

No longer getting Knocked up! Teens are not getting knocked up... as much. Why do you think that is?
posted by aj100 (21 comments total)
 
One possibilitythat we are given:...."and the economic boom of the 1990s, which led many teens to put off starting families so they could take jobs. " Now does this mean that given what now seems a recession heading our way,young women will not take jobs but instead start families? Somehow,this explanation sounds questionable.
posted by Postroad at 11:26 AM on July 25, 2001


How long do the CNN production artists have to complete their illos? More than five minutes?
posted by bilco at 11:29 AM on July 25, 2001


Ahh, the Straightedge revolution.
posted by Hankins at 11:31 AM on July 25, 2001


I think it's the coke douches.

Seriously, it is encouraging, but I think things like this tend to cycle. I do hope it's because of more information (regarding protection, birth control, etc.) getting out there and that the information will KEEP getting out there.
posted by witchstone at 11:34 AM on July 25, 2001


Umm, Straight Edge? What about it? It has about as much to do with pregnacy as Veganism...

Perhaps you're thinking of Hard Line, the belief system that shuns all forms of intercourse and self-gratification?

Though these three ideologies are linked by the fact that if you find a community where one is popular the other two can follow, I don't exactly follow your point...

Unless your point is that teenagers only get pregnant when drunk or high?
posted by J. R. Hughto at 11:36 AM on July 25, 2001


I imagine it has a lot to do with slightly easier access to birth control and abortions, in addition to the fact that it is no longer necessary to have your parents sign for any of these things.
posted by annathea at 11:39 AM on July 25, 2001



I think it has more to do with the rise in oral sex as being (righty or wrongly) seen as a safer alternative by kids now.


coke douches.......

"Say, it's a little warm, but this Dr. Pepper tastes much better than usual."

"Uh..... that's coke."
posted by dong_resin at 11:52 AM on July 25, 2001


Maybe folks is just uglier these days?
posted by Sellersburg/Speed at 12:14 PM on July 25, 2001


parents are happy
less teenage sex than before
have their grades improved?
posted by dogmatic at 12:23 PM on July 25, 2001


It is crazy... Teenagers having sex. I didn't get to have sex in highschool. What is this world coming to....I guess I was just unlucky, or ugly.
posted by aj100 at 12:27 PM on July 25, 2001


I think it's all Bill Clinton's doing. Helping teenagers learn about Oral Sex and other alternatives.

Now that's a lasting legacy I can support, I say we put his face on Mt.Rushmore instead of old Ronny.
posted by Mick at 12:37 PM on July 25, 2001


The Chicago Tribune ran a major piece in the mid-90s about teenage pregnancy rates, pointing out that they had declined, not increased, since the 1950s. The real change? The decline of shotgun marriages. The increase, in other words, was in teen pregnancy out of wedlock. Their findings certainly jibed with my parents' own recollections of pre-sexual revolution teen behavior, in which boys competed to "lay" as many girls as possible--just not the girl you were planning to marry. If, however, you got the girl pregnant, you were expected to marry her (and usually did).
posted by thomas j wise at 12:50 PM on July 25, 2001


Umm, Straight Edge? What about it? It has about as much to do with pregnacy as Veganism...

Unless your point is that teenagers only get pregnant when drunk or high?


Most straightedge kids consider abstaining from casual sex, or sex altogether, as part of the straightedge lifestyle.
posted by ljromanoff at 12:55 PM on July 25, 2001


If reading the various kiddieblogs that I've seen (defined as: 15-17 year olds with great design sense and no concept of copyright infringement) is dispositive, the fall in pregnancy has a lot to do with the rise of anal and oral as suitable replacements for traditional intercourse.

That, coupled with available protection and abortion should explain it.
posted by swerdloff at 2:10 PM on July 25, 2001


As a 16-year-old myself, I'd say the following:

Current moral trends dictate that enjoying an emotional and intimate coupling is "wrong," whereas participating in an act that both partners admit is demeaning and degrading is "right."

:/
posted by Ptrin at 2:24 PM on July 25, 2001


Annathea: actually, forty-two states have laws on the books requiring parental consent or notification prior to a minor's abortion. Thirty-two laws are in effect. More.
posted by acridrabbit at 2:45 PM on July 25, 2001


As a member of this youthful generation, here's why: Guys and girls are truly afraid of becoming pregnant. Much moreso than afraid of STD's. We've grown up in a nonstop boom time, and it's generally accepted that having a child will significantly delay your opportunity to make your own success.

Not only that, but as Ptrin says, there is a huge stigma attached to intercourse. Of course, guys will still brag about scoring some oral or whatnot, but it's pretty rare to hear anyone brag about getting laid. Especially without a condom.
posted by Kevs at 4:06 PM on July 25, 2001


Speaking as a 19 year old male, it's because I can't get laid. Seriously. Same with all my friends.

We need a war or something.
posted by gleemax at 7:42 PM on July 25, 2001


Yeah, I was just trying to look cool... gleemax speaks the truth : (
posted by Ptrin at 7:50 PM on July 25, 2001


*grin* It doesn't get any better once you turn 21...
posted by SpecialK at 10:36 PM on July 25, 2001


*hrrmph* oral sex parties *hrrmph*

Also, declining sperm counts thanks to toxic crap all over the map, and just not trying hard enough, dammit!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:40 PM on July 25, 2001


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