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Perhaps one of the most intriguing stories are those that highlight the good works of people and lead away the attention from the negative spotlight that the media often gives us. This week presented us with one such story. Indeed, located on the front page of CNN, there was a small article, no longer than seven hundred words, detailing how authors, around the world have helped both parents and school educators talk to children about sex and general safe sex practices.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/12/living/laurie-halse-anderson-speak/index.h…
The article, ‘Speak’ author: ‘We as adults struggle to talk to kids honestly about sex’, written by Emanuella Grinberg, is not centered around the negative in our society, however. Instead of bashing the American society for their apparent inability to successfully deliver sex education advice to young teenagers, Laurie Halse Anderson,the author of the critically acclaimed novel, Speak, states that, “We’ve fallen down on our responsibility to our children by somehow creating this world where they’re surrounded by images of sexuality; and yet, we as adults struggle to talk to kids honestly about sex, the rules of dignity and consent” (Anderson).
Her solution?
Anderson suggests that writing more young adult novels that are focused on the difficulties that teenagers encounter when placed in a sexually charged situation may help teenagers and young adults to better understand that they are not alone, particularly when it involves sexual violence. This idea, at first, may seem silly when examined at first glance. After all, isn’t there a stereotype that all American children want to do is play video games and disregard books? Perhaps, but after examining the recent Twilight craze, written by Stephanie Meyer, there seems to be some truth in Anderson’s statement. By marketing a book that appeals to all ages, particularly that of a high school, there is always a certain desire to be or at least identify with the main characters (one extreme example may be the so-called “twi-hards”, a term dubbed by social media to describe avid fans of the Twilight film and book franchise, written by Stephanie Meyer). Indeed, Anderson’s idea to help change the current sexual education system in American schools may just be the thing needed to keep kids safe.