TEEN GYRLS AND STD'S SAFE SEX? OR
ABSTINENCE?








Sound Off: Half of Black Teen Girls Has an STD???
Posted Mar 18th 2008 3:15PM by Angela BronnerFiled under: BlackSpin, Lifestyle, health
By Angela Bronner, BlackVoices.com



Last Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control released a study that found that one in four young women or 3.2 million teenage girls is infected with a sexually transmitted disease.
The kicker is, according to the study, nearly half of African American girls (or 48%) in this age group has least one of the following: the human papillomavirus (HPV), chlamydia, herpes, or trichomoniasis, with HPV leading the charge.

Yes, that's right, according to the CDC -- one out of every two African American girls ages 14-19 has an STD. The report, sponsored by the CDC and conducted by the NCHS (National Center for Health Statistics), took a national sample of 838 young women. The study did not include the STDs syphilis, HIV or gonorrhea. In a word, this is alarming.
Does this mean that if there are 20 tenth graders at a bus stop, say, the cheerleading squad at an all black high school -- that 10 of them has HPV?

In a word, no, or not necessarily, according to Dr. Stuart Berman, Chief of Epidemiology and Surveillances, STDs at the Centers for Disease Control.
"Put in context, you take a sample, but a sample done in a smart way, so you can extrapolate the data," Dr. Berman explains. "What this study says, is that this is a problem for the country. It's your kid, my kid, the neighbor across the street."

Berman further cautions not to take these results and stigmatize teens, young black women, or by default, young black men, who are most likely their sexual partners.
"These things can be stigmatizing but [loose sexual behavior] is not the reason [for the higher rates]," he says. "Once the community risk is higher, even if your behavior is not higher, the chances are greater."

The doctor says social and economic factors such as access to care, low or no health insurance, incarceration, and racism, all add up.
"There's an aggregate of a whole bunch of community factors, each doing a little bit, making it a little more prevalent," says Dr. Berman. The key to making any inroads into this problem, says the good doctor, is to have frank, and honest discussions with our kids.

"A lot of kids think, 'He she looks healthy,' 'I'm in love' 'He or she doesn't have any symptoms' and therefore are not at risk. Who is talking to them?"The two most common STDs in the study -- HPV, and chlamydia -- may not show any symptoms.
The most contagious of these infections, the human papillomavirus, HPV, or genital warts, is responsible for 70% of all cervical cancers. Black women are at least 50% more likely to die from cervical cancer than white women.

HPV and chlamydia are in fact treatable; also, that there is now an HPV vaccine against the virus. The CDC also reported on results from pilot programs in New York City and California, where the agency found that if you test for STDs where young women get care for other gynecological issues such as pregnancy tests, emergency contraceptives (and I would add abortions) – all of which assume unprotected intercourse -- we can begin to stem the tide.
The agency recommends annual chlamydia screenings for sexualy active women under age 25 and vaccination against HPV for young women and girls between the ages of 11 and 26.

"It's like that show 'Hill Street Blues," says Dr. Berman, who laughs as he says he is dating himself with that reference. "We have to tell our kids, you have to be careful out there."
Sound off.

Many young women feel so alone, when they go through life's issues. I am here to tell you that your not alone. There is help out there and people care. If your being molested or abused. Tell somebody, a counselor, a best friend, a minister. Find somebody and report it. Your not alone. Your unique, your special and your truly loved! Enjoy..

Tareyah



I had the wonderful opportunity to Interview the Founder/CEO of Black Girl Fame!! Please read the below Interview, This is is a powerful young lady!! Tareyah, I am so happy with what she is doing for our young women in the Entertainment Industry. Girl Power~~

Tell me more about Black Girl Fame?

Black Girl Fame is a website which supports and promotes young, underrated and Black famous entertainers. The site currently features over 65 girls and we're still growing. What prompted you to start the company/site? I wanted to see more support for young Black entertainers. I knew that if I wanted to see a change I had to do something to make it happen. So, I decided to start Black Girl Fame.

Is it only you or is there a partner?

Well, I'd like to say it's a group effort. I have a team of administrators who work on the site with me and there are many members and parents who help out with the site by contributing news, articles, pictures etc. I am the founder and Super Administrator but the site couldn't have achieved the success it has thus far without the help of all I've mentioned.

How long have you been doing this?

I started Black Girl Fame as a small message board in November 2004 then decided I wanted to go further with it and make it into a website. The site opened in April 2005 and I've been doing it since then.

What kinds of feedback have you been getting as far as the obstacles that Black girls encounter trying to be in the Entertainment business?

Well, it's harder for young Black girls to get quality roles that represent them in a positive way. There aren't many roles, especially lead roles written for them and when there are, the majority of them are built around stereotypes. There's also a lot of competition as there are so many girls and so few jobs.

What kind of services do you offer?

My site helps to gain a lot of exposure for these girls. We introduce new talents and we post regular updates about them and their upcoming projects so that everyone can know what they're doing. We have profiles on the girls which people use to learn more about what they have done and just who the girls are in general. We also provide things like banners that our visitors can use to promote the girls on other websites so that we can hopefully create a bigger fan base for these girls. We have a forum and a really great community among our members.

Have you been able to get famous actresses to support you in your endeavor on what your trying to do?

Actually, since a lot the girls featured on my website are really young they don't directly help out but their parents offer a lot of support. They donate money to help keep the site up, they refer other talents to us and the girls themselves promote our site. It's also the parents who help us keep the site going by contributing news, pictures and things like that; they are very supportive of the motives behind the site and are usually very pleased to learn that their daughters are part of it. I am blessed to have a lot of support! If so who? We've been very fortunate to have contact with so many of the girl we feature. They include; Keke Palmer, Tiffany Evans, Rhyon Nicole Brown, Chelsea Tavares, McClain Sisters ("Daddy's Little Girls"), Parker McKenna Posey, Ashley Monique Clark - and the list goes on.

What are your passions/dreams?

My passion is supporting my people! I have so many goals that I want to accomplish but my main focus at the moment is getting a better education for myself. One of my many dreams is to start a Non-Profit Organization geared towards helping young Black people do something more positive with their lives and become more successful. I'd like to teach them things about the entertainment business as well as teaching them to support one another along the way. Those are just a few of the things I want my organization to offer.

What do you hope to accomplish from this?

There are many things that I'd like to accomplish from the site. I want to encourage other Blacks to support Blacks. I feel that it's the only way that we can really make a change. If we don't support our own people, no one else will. I've seen firsthand that a lot of times, instead of supporting one another Blacks hate on and try to bring each other down. I feel like this is the main reason why our people aren't making any progress. I think it's time we stop blaming others and take a look at ourselves. It's sad to say, but it's true. Also, I'd love for my site to be used as a tool for casting agencies, where they can come to find out more about new Black talents and eventually I hope that by the girls getting more support and exposure there will be more jobs available to them.

What's next for Black Girl Fame?

Well, I've already started branching out from Black Girl Fame, as we recently opened up our site for boys. It's still fairly new but I hope that one day it will be as successful as Black Girl Fame. As for Black Girl Fame, I just want the site to continue to grow with new talents and become more popular with visitors around the world. Any suggestions/advise for girls out there trying to enter the Entertainment industry? KEEP GOD FIRST and NEVER GIVE UP! I've learned from many of our girls that you have to stay focused and really love what you're doing to make it in the industry. It takes a lot of heart and hard work, but if you want it bad enough, you will make it. I would also say that when your work pays off and you are making your way, I will be here to support you on your journey in the best way I can with my two websites.