Despite having spent more than $16 million on abstinence only programs, Mississippi is ranked first in number of teen births. The state also is one of the top five for sexually transmitted disease — taking first place in 2006 as the state with the highest number of gonorrhea infections.
Yet, the state itself not only wants more abstinence education, but is literally praying for it.
Millsaps College senior Kathryn Royals recently attended the Mississippi Department of Human Services’ summit entitled “Abstinence Works: Let’s Talk About It,” and wrote about the experience for RH Reality Check.
…Before the summit began, rap music blasted over the speakers. The 5,000 kids in attendance spent their time inside dancing and singing along to Soulja Boy’s hit song “Crank Dat,” the chorus of which repeats “Watch me crank that soulja boy, then superman that ho,” which most young people know is a disgustingly explicit sexual innuendo. Shortly after the Grenada Middle School cheerleaders performed their catchy cheer “Stop, don’t touch me there! You know this is my no-no square,” outlining the shape of a box around their short shorts. Talk about mixed messages.
And despite the fact the event was state sponsored and state funded, Reverend Gary Bell led the rowdy group in prayer, closing with “in the name of Jesus Christ.” Performers sang about the glory of God and performed interpretative dancing to Christian gospel songs. Judge John Hudson’s speech quoted the Bible and reviewed the Ten Commandments. As for how that relates to abstinence? According to Hudson, the commandment “Do not commit adultery” directly translates to “Do not engage in promiscuous sex, or sex before marriage.” The constant and overzealous harping on God and Jesus wasn’t just wrong because it ostracized anyone who didn’t prescribe to a particular brand of Christianity – it was wrong because it was illegal. Taxpayer and state money funded the event, and last time I checked, it is illegal under the U.S. Constitution to use those funds to promote a specific religious message or agenda. …
And for those (like me) who are wondering if the report is exaggerated, or if the author was just being over-sensitive to a few statements, there is also video.
Although Iowa became the 17th state to refuse Title V abstinence funds in February 2008, what is happening in Mississippi still has some impact here. As we’ve discussed numerous times on this blog, there are only two states that have yet to elect a woman as governor or to Congress. Those two states are Iowa and Mississippi.
Royals’ account of the state-sponsored “summit” in Mississippi, complete with the keynote speaker’s “misogynistic declarations,” provide women in that state a clear target in upcoming battles to elect women to that state’s highest offices. Iowa women do not share that luxury.
When the Iowa Supreme Court struck down a ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional, residents were again reminded of our state’s long and bright history of standing up for civil rights. We were progressive then… and we remain progressive today.
Electing a qualified woman to Congress or as governor, however, should be at the top of our priority list — especially as the political parties prepare for the retirement of some of our older federal statesmen. As constituents of those individuals, we need to make clear that we expect any “grooming” that is done to include women. As members of the political parties, we need to let leadership and staff understand that obvious slights to potential female candidates will no longer be tolerated.
