Yasmin Shiraz

The Female Condom In Action

According to the Washington Post, the District of Columbia will be giving out free female condoms over the next three weeks as a part of a campaign that will distribute 500,000 condoms through high schools, beauty salons, and convenience stores.The campaign is funded by MAC cosmetics. (Get ya lip gloss on!)

This initiative is aimed at reducing the spread of HIV & AIDS throughout the city. In 2008, a report said that DC had a 3% HIV/AIDS rate which is considered a major epidemic.

HIV/AIDS infection is the leading cause of death for black women 25-34.

What makes me glad about this is that there are women who are faithful and want their “sexually risky” partners to wear condoms but they refuse. Now that women have their own condom, they can utilize it. It gives women a sense of power over their bodies and in the bedroom. Stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS is the best way to control the disease. I call this “positive progress” because for years only the male condom was available and even after the female condom was available it was not widely promoted. So, this is definitely progress.

Women do not be intimidated by the female condom. This is about our empowerment and tools to save our lives. As a matter of fact, I plan on going to DC next week and see how easy it is for me to get a female condom.   I’m going to see if this campaign is exactly what they are saying in the papers.  I’ll keep you posted.

Read the full article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35736237/ns/health-more_health_news/

Chelsea King, 17

According to www.msnbc.com, a body recently found is likely to be missing teen, 17 year old, Chelsea King. Chelsea was a straight A student who’d gone missing 5 days prior.  John Albert Gardner, 30, was arrested on suspicion of rape and murder. To this I say, be as careful as you can when you see strangers. Even OLDER teens, you have to watch out. There are plenty of crazy, derelict, murderous people in this world. There’s been a lot said about being safe on the internet but you cannot be too trusting of anybody these days. The friendliest looking people could be the most messed up! Do not give a murderer or a rapist an opportunity to get close to you. Stay your distance. Here are some tips:

1. If you are in the mall and feel that you are being followed, have security walk you to your car.
2. If you are in the parking lot and see somebody strange or someone who appears to be doing something to someone, Call 911. Even if you’re wrong, if you’re right, you’ll never regret making this call.
3. If you see someone strange around school grounds, alert the principal, your parents and the police. ALL THREE. Don’t leave it up to the principal to do something, or your parents or the police. Let every adult you know and trust be aware that you’ve seen a stalkerish, stranger on or nearby school grounds.
4. Do not give people your real names, phone numbers or home addresses on the internet. I don’t care how sincere they appear to be. You don’t know ‘em and neither do I. Fake names only!
5. Do not meet up with anyone that you’ve connected with on the internet by yourself or without your can of mace! Seriously, you have to always think safety first!

I know I sound like I’m 100 today, but every time I see how someone’s life has been cut short, it makes me sick. And I want to think of ways to share information on how to be safe. So, be safe, people!

In the latest episode of Every Corner, a teen shares how her life was impacted by gang violence. I used a blackbox over the teen’s face to protect her and her family’s identity. After watching, please take a moment and rate the video.

I understand some people’s need to be a rebel for the hell of it, but a 14 year old in Pittsburgh, PA who pulled out a gun and demanded a police officer to surrender their personal vehicle must take the cake. Of all the people to attempt to carjack? Is this a sign of the times or what? According to the reports, this teen and four others SERIOUSLY thought they could carjack this police officer. But as soon as she opened her car door, they ran. Uh, dumb. Then, she caught up with the 14 year old and back up police officers caught up with the rest.

According to the Associated Press,

The juveniles have been charged with robbery of a motor vehicle and criminal conspiracy. The 14-year-old boy has been charged with illegal possession of a firearm.

This is one of the reasons that carjacking is so stupid, you don’t know what you’re gonna get when you pull a gun and try to jack somebody. What if that person you decide to jack, has a gun and can aim better than you? You wouldn’t be counting on that would you? People, people, people. Let’s get it together. When we decide to act fearlessly, let’s leave stupidity out of it!

I just came across a story out of Haywood, California in which a teen downloaded nearly 1 million kilobytes of data and his father received a phone bill for $21,917.59. Well, of course, the father didn’t have the money to pay the bill. But the great news is Verizon Wireless actually credited the account! Did you read that right?

Yes, Verizon credited the account.

So for all of you parents and teens out there who are going over on your cell phone/data usage- you should quote this story and the link to the story below.

If they can credit nearly $22k, they should be able to credit some of yours also.

Let’s face it, data usage charges are OVERKILL anyway. Give us a flat rate and keep it moving!

TeenRacksUp22K - the link to the original story that inspired this post.

Please let me know if you try to get some credit on your data usage. Let me know how it goes.

Yesterday, I received word that the San Diego Black Film Festival has selected my film, Can She Be Saved? to be screened at their film festival in 2010. The film festival is January 28 – 31. I plan to be in the house with bells and whistles. There are a lot of people that supported me becoming a filmmaker and some key people that really helped make this project be as phenomenal as it is. You all know who you are: My little sister from Hampton, My Auntie in Syracuse, My headfakin’ partner in Atlanta who went to the other HU–thanks for the support. See you on the red carpet. I will be posting photos!

Here’s the trailer in case you haven’t seen it yet.

I’m so proud of Nick Cannon and Nickelodeon for hosting the TeenNick Halo Awards tonight and giving teens awards for their community service and dedication. It is hard enough being a young person so when I see young people go the extra mile I think they should be given every accolade possible–including free rides to college, cars, shopping money, etc. I think teens who are helping their community should be rewarded and awarded. Below is a clip on Brryan Jackson whose own father injected him with HIV.  Brryan after learning that he had HIV, did not go and hide, he decided to create the program Hope is Vital to educate and promote awareness for HIV/AIDS.  He was given a Halo Award tonight and he deserves it. If that kid isn’t wearing a halo, I don’t know who is. Check the clip below.

The next clip is from Halo Award Winner Darrius Snow who created the Atlanta-based BTEAM (Bankhead Teens Encouraging Action by Motivating Others), a community youth outreach program. His clip is below.

Would you believe a video letter to the president that was made 13 years ago is still valid today? The same problems that these teens talk about in this video 13 years ago, we’re still struggling with in America today! Unbelievable.  Check this video and tell me what you think?

Teens: I urge you to make a video to the President Obama! Tell him what you think, and I’ll post it on my site!!!

Wendy Rogers

After reading the article about Wendy Rogers, the 39 year old female Boy Scout leader who was recently found having sex with a 15 year old teen–a boy from her Boy Scout Group, no less– I had to speak up. Grown women having sex with boys is pathetic. Grown women have no right to exploit a teen’s inexperience or lack of maturity. Even if the boy consents, the act of a grown woman having sex with someone younger than 18, is sexual molestation. The boy cannot really consent to having sex with a grown woman because:

Unless you’re an adult you don’t really know what you’re offering when you give your sexual consent. Therefore, a 15 year old boy really has no idea what he’s getting into.

I’ve had male readers tell me that its a big up for a male student to have sex with his teacher. It makes the kid cool. But to me, that’s only a small part of the picture.  Say for example the kid consents and the woman actually has a husband or grown boyfriend who finds out. Perhaps this husband or boyfriend wants to prove a point to the boy. What happens then? Can a 15 year old boy defend himself against a grown man? Does the boy call his father to help him?

Say the grown woman wants to have a kid and gets pregnant by the 15 year old. The 15 year old has never even thought about having a child, but the grown woman ends up pregnant. What then? Is the 15 year then supposed to snap into daddy mode because his older girlfriend was worrying about her eggs expiring?

When people think that no harm has been done when a grown woman has sex with a boy, they’re wrong. Forcing a child to become an adult and have to make adult decisions before they’re mature enough to do so is wrong. Give that child the opportunity to be a child.

I’d love to read your comments on this.

To read the original story that inspired this post, click here.  BoyScoutLeaderGoneMad

Finally someone has said it. I’d like to thank the Examiner.com for this one sentence:

Teen pregnancy rates have increased dramatically thanks to the abstinence-only education programs that were funded by former President George Bush.

Whether you agree or not, teens should be made aware of all forms of birth control. There are very few things in this life that we are taught to be only one way about. In school you can get A, B, C, D, or F’s. It’s not like if you don’t get an A then you’re kicked out of school. You can prefer Coca Cola to Pepsi. You can like a roller coaster or prefer a log water ride. You can like living in the South, or North or like West Coast Living. You can be a Baptist, Jewish, Catholic, Muslim, etc. So why we would think that teaching young people that the only thing that they should know about birth control is abstinence only? It doesn’t make sense. Life is multiple choice so why shouldn’t their knowledge about birth control be the same?

I look forward to your comments. To read the full story on what The Examiner said about Sex Education, please go here:

http://www.examiner.com/x-5445-Politics-in-Education-Examiner~y2009m12d8-Study-finds-parents-are-waiting-too-long-to-talk-to-their-teens-about-sex