Recently while browsing through my Facebook feed, I was

taken a back by a link to an article one of my Facebook friends

shared.  The article, which gave a play-by-play on how to

engage in anal sex was posted to a website that targets

teens 13-years-old and older, Teen Vogue.

​

Instinctively, my eyes widened and my mouth dropped.  I not

only felt uncomfortable and saddened by the subject matter,

but as I read along, I felt a sense of urgency to add an append-um.

​

As a 27-year-veteran of teen programming and former adolescent parent, I was not dismayed that Teen Vogue choose to address a topic that has been thrust into the public square, but what caused me concern was the author, GiGi Engle's, a writer and sex educator in NYC neglect to discuss the emotional and physical risks involved in this behavior and all types of sexual behavior for teens at early and inappropriate ages.

​

Study after study reveal teens lack impulse control, critical thinking skills, and most don't even bother to bathe regularly.  So now, I am supposed to believe that it's okay to teach teens to enjoy something they are not mentally nor emotionally old enough to process, apply or understand?

​

Our youth are bombarded daily with adult subject matter leading to a generational loss of innocence.  As the mother of four adult children, I worked hard when they were young to preserve their innocence, but as a teen expert...

 

I've seen the field of sex education move away from prevention and intervention to acceptance and collusion in eroding our children's innocence. 

​

Ms. Engle, in great detail explained why anal sex is considered enjoyable for some and gave teens tools and tricks that once was reserved for "professionals."  What's next? What's the limit? Where's the line when adults charged with educating teens about their sexual health are complicit in normalizing behavior that only now has begun to reveal the full breath and scope of its consequences.

​

As the writer unpacked her bag of "Anal Sex for Dummies," conspicuously missing was any information about the risks of engaging in sex at early and inappropriate ages.

​

Though she never veered in to the lane of promoting gender preference, she completely missed Responsibility Avenue.  So much so, she had to make a U-turn and add at least some information on using a condom so that teens can protect themselves.

​

Still more alarming was the total and complete omission of information about the risk tied to anal sex. With each passing year and study, individuals practicing anal sex are only now able to share its long-term consequences.

​

As the publisher of UrbanGirlz Magazine, the only in-print magazine for girls and teens of color nationwide, I felt it important to go one step further and shine light on the consequences of engaging in anal sex.

​

RISKS OF ENGAGING IN ANAL SEX

​

- In 2007 a study conducted by the Guttmacher Institute of 28 women, 25 percent reported being forced into anal intercourse.  So no, everyone is not doing it or are doing it willingly.

​

- In a study conducted in 2016, the results revealed those who are being penetrated will suffer from "fecal incontence." In other words, you will not being able to control your poop.

​

- Receptive anal sex leads to increased chances of anal cancer especially among one who engages in multiple sex partners especially in those under 30.

​

- The Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a fact sheet in 2016 that confirms anal sex is the riskiest behavior for getting an transmitting HIV for men and women.

​

- CDC further reports that condom use only prevents an average a 63% for the person who is non-receptive and by 72% for a receptive person who is HIV positive.

​

- CDC also reports beyond the STI's usually passed through vaginal sex, anal sex further exposes one to risk of contracting hepatitis A, B, and C; parasites like Glardia and intestinal amobas, bacteria like shigella, salmonella, camylocbacter, and E. coli.

​

Though there is lots of information available, I encourage sex educators to be truthful and impartial about the risks involved in receptive anal sex for both males and females. Furthermore, sex educators must be equally diligent at making sure we are taking into consideration the age of the teens with whom information is being shared. 

​

Keeping it Real, 

Lady T

​

​

​