As the outrage over the passage of Prop 8, Prop 102, and Amendment 2 continues to grow, I keep wondering how we can turn this righteous energery into activism... And how we can connect this emerging movement with the work of reproductive and sexual health advocates around the country.
I've had a few conversations about my desire to jump headlong into the Prop 8 movement, but the question keeps coming up: "Is marriage a sexual health issue? Beyond a shared belief in equality for all, is there even a connection?" Here's my answer, and let's just get this out of the way: ABSOLUTELY.
More after the jump...
The United States has spent $1.5 billion on anstinence-only-until-marriage programs. We're used to hearing this statistic and, if you're like me, you're kind of numb to it by now. But take a step back and read that sentence again: The United States has spent $1.5 billion on abstinence-only-until-marriage programs.
"UNTIL MARRIAGE." That's the key. It's bad enough that study after study shows that these programs don't work. It's worst that up to 80% of them contain false or misleading information. But we too often ignore the basic fact that these programs are - by virtue of their very existence - a form of institutionalized discrimination against GLBTQ youth.
This country has based it's entire sex education system around the idea of heterosexual marriage - and anything faling outside those boundaries is by implication both immoral and dangerous. Even if we accept the patently absurd premise that we could suddenly convince all teens to abstain until their wedding night, where does that leave the entire section of the population that isn't even allowed to dream of one day marrying their same-sex partners? (Since nearly 95% of Americans have sex before marriage anyway, this is hardly a realistic goal.)
But language matters. As we all work tireless to improve sex education in America, some people and organizations have advocated for the addiiton of a "medical accuracy" clause to the current 8-point definition of abstience used by abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. Certainly, forcing these programs to refrain from deliberate inclusion of scientifically-inaccurate information isn't a bad thing.
But this "fix" does NOTHING to address the wider issue of GLBTQ exclusion from sex education, leaving America's queer youth marginalized, silenced, and at risk. Wose, it hands the far right a way to legitimize their propoganda and makes it that much harder to implement REAL sex education curricula down the line.
* 30 states have enacted constitutional amendments that ban same-sex marriage.
* Seven states have laws that prohibit any positive depiction of homosexuality in public schools.
* Over 40% of queer youth have been physically harassed or beaten up in school.
* Abstinence-only-until-marriage programs teach students to fear their GLBTQ peers and those living with HIV. Some programs teach that HIV can be transmitted through sweat and tears, while others (falsely!) imply that 50% of gay teems are HIV-positive.
Every time we propote "waiting until marriage" in a country that tells GLBTQ youth that "marriage" is something they can never have, we're telling thousands of young people that they are literally invisible in America... And that they always will be.
I refuse to recognize that America. That isn't the country that I love.
I'm honored to be a part of a movement that is fighting for the sexual and reproductive health of GLBTQ youth, as well as every other young person around the country. I get teary every time I see news coverage of the astounding movement building in the wake of these three recent constitutional amendments. THIS is the country I want to live in, and the future I want to fight for.
Marriage matters. It matters as an idea and as a measure of equality. But it also provides the context for sex education: for pregnancy and HIV prevention; for healthy relationships; for gender expression, communication and self-respect.
As we watch young people from across the country begin to lead a new movement for GLBTQ equality, let's make sure to remember - and to remind each other - that marriage equality IS a sexual health issue. Queer youth have it hard enough without being overtly discriminated against in the classroom. It's time for us - as a movement - to take a stand and show the youth of America that we've got their backs.
This isn't just about marriage. It's so much bigger than that... So let's get to it!