Let’s go all the way tonight, no regrets….Really?
Unfortunately this song is stuck in my head and if you are reading this and know the song – sorry, I may have got it in yours too.
“Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry sold over 192,000 copies in the first week of it’s release. Ironically, as I write this, she is declaring her covenant vows with her fiance, Russell Brand.
It sounds fun in a song… “go all the way, no regrets…just love…”, but let’s take a closer look. I am not even going to get into theology of sex before marriage, or the wounding it causes young souls as they connect themselves in sexual intimacy and then can’t understand the trauma when a breakup occurs (ok I went there a little).
For the sake of this blog and for the viewers who tuned into our talk show last night themed “Should sex be saved for marriage?” I promised cold hard data…I’m going to give you the sextistics of going all the way…and yep there are some serious regrets.
*63% of all STDs (sexually transmitted disease) occur among people less than 25 years of age (how’s that for a teenage dream?)
*There are more than 25 classifications of STD’s
* 1 in 5 Americans are infected with a viral STD
* HPV (Human Papillomavirus) is the world’s most common STD and can be transmitted through sexual intercourse, oral sex or skin to skin contact. It can cause skin warts, genital warts, precancerous lesions and certain types of cancer
*It is estimated over 75% of Canadians will have at least one HPV infection in their lifetime.
*Chlamydia is the most commonly reported STD in Canada 2/3 of cases are in the 15-24 age group mostly women
*Serious long-term consequences are attributed to chlamydia including infertility, chronic pelvic pain a.nd ectopic pregnancy, which can be a life-threatening medical emergency
*Gonorrhea: A bacterial infection, gonorrhea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) when it’s left untreated.
*Causes Gonorrhea is contagious through oral, genital or anal sex; the infection can also be spread from mother to baby during childbirth.
*Symptoms Symptoms may include a burning sensation while urinating and a yellowish, or bloody, vaginal discharge and typically appear two to five days after infection but it may take up to 30 days; many infected women have no symptoms.
*Syphilis another bacterial infection with more gross side effects see http://menshealth.about.com/od/sexualdiseasesstds/a/syphilis_signs.htm
* 134,o00 new cases of syphilis are occurring each year, the highest infection rate in 40 yrs. (US)
* HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) The average time between HIV infection and AIDS is 10 years
*AIDS is the leading killer of Americans between the ages of 25 and 44
NO SUCH THING AS SAFE SEX:
Well as already stated in earlier data many STD’s are transmitted without even having intercourse, so there goes the idea of “safe sex”. a condom has a 31% failure rate in preventing HIV transmission.
and when 800 sexologists were asked at a conference if they trust a condom to protect them against disease if they could have sex with the partner of their dreams and they knew their partner was HIV-positive only 1 of the 800 was willing to take the risk.
PREGNANCY IS NOT A DISEASE!
Although I hesitate putting pregnancy alongside these other consequences of “going all the way” it must be mentioned…just make no mistake it is not a disease, a child is a gift of life….one that will change your life forever.
*in the US approx 4 in 10 women become pregnant at least once before turning 20 yrs old
*A condom has a 14% failure rate at preventing pregnancy.
Sooooooo … Ms Perry I have to disagree, a real teenage dream is discovering who you are and how much you are worth and living that out passionately until you meet someone who will treat you that way by honouring you enough to wait until your wedding day to go all the way!
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I hope AT LEAST 1 teen reads this and makes better choices!
Love it! I have actually been praying for Ms. Perry and discussing her song with Hannah (my 13 yr. old) Ms. Perry knows the truth because she was raised in a Christian home and actually used to perform on stage praising God at Christian concerts. I am praying that she will turn her heart back to Christ and the truth He has already spoken into her young life. I pray that she will have the courage to walk boldly into the wind of the Holy Spirit and find the destiny that God has for her. I too have had this song stuck in my head sometimes because the tune is a catchy one. Then, I realize what I’m humming and I give my mind a swift kick:)
Nicely done!
As a married women, I hear that song TOTALLY differently. But from a teen perspective, totally agree!
I take it as feeling like a teenager in love when we are together, in which case it’s cute, and if we go all the way tonight there won’t be any regrets. But that’s only applicable for us old married people
Yes- so do we! If only the media actually shared the whole truth…what really happens when you go all the way-but that’s not very attractive.
Oh yes…pray for Katy Perry, thanks for the reminder Marta, wow what God could do if he had the heart of this young woman! PS you can go all the way tonight cause you are married!
Agreed-we marrieds get to go all the way! I’m sure married people was not on her radar when she sang this song and it is so sad that teens are lured into the fantasy that Hollywood portrays, I want to be apart of the generation that opposes that! thanks for your comments and your support and the post in FB! Love ya Nat!
I frequently listen to music and have heard this song a several times. A very large portion current music is sending the wrong message to teens like me. Unlike most people, I know that this is not the right way to act. I have already made up my mind to stay pure and no person or song can change that.
When hearing songs like this, I am reminded about how most of the people I see every day are acting this way. I know some of my friends act this way. I have explained to most of them how this is a bad idea. A few of them have changed, but I still praying for those who have not yet changed.
The other problem with these songs are that they have a “catchy” tune. Most people like a song before realizing what it actually says. After realizing what the song is saying, they like to song too much to stop listening to it. I am included in this group. Knowing this, I have decided to read the lyrics *before* listening to the song. This will prevent me from listening to something that I know I shouldn’t
Wise man Jason! I commend your stand for purity and for witnessing to others about it! Yep you’re right these songs are catchy…and it’s hard to be self disciplined and turn them off once we’ve got a taste for them!
While I understand your opinion of the matter and your facts about std’s might be bang on, I don’t agree with the your approach.
Using fear as a motivator to keep teens from having pre-marital sex is an age an obsolete tactic that continues to distance people from religion. True love does exist in the ‘younger’ years and yes that might even include sex, and yes it might even include mistakes (notice mistakes instead of regrets)
We all evolve through the experiencing of life and learning from our successes and failures.
I agree a teen in this generation needs to be more informed about their decisions, and the more inspiration and information they can acquire is part of thriving as an adult. But they look to leadership from people like yourself to focus on faith over fear. And that the pursuit of true love and a healthy relationship and not the fear of std’s and such to inform their decision making. Stick with sentiments like your last paragraph, that’s where you’re most potent and let lesser people use fear to keep the masses afraid to live real.
Thanks for your thoughts. What ignited that blog for us was the reality that the entertainment industry ignores for the most part the “ugly side” of sex outside of marriage, they paint a picture that is incomplete; they explore the fantasy and fulfillment of sex while leaving out the devastation that follows most individuals who choose to have multiple partners. We believe that is irresponsible on their part and because sex sells I think responsibility is the furthest thing from their radar.
We believe we have a responsibility to give young adults the full picture; and allow them to be as informed as possible so they can make a solid decision for purity before the temptation or to avoid the temptation!
And while I agree that inspiring a generation to live for the vision of purity is ideal I also believe that fear in the right context can be healthy….ie. my 4 year old fears the hot stove so he doesn’t touch it. If everyone were at the stage where they could be inspired to live to their potential it would be awesome…but until they get there’ if a little fear keeps a girl from giving away her virginity I’m OK with that, the results in the long run are far less devastating.
I appreciate your perspective and believe that is the ideal. Thanks for commenting.
Please don’t take the tone of my commentary to be conflictive. But I believe it’s important that all sides of a conversation need to be discussed in order to bring out the best of thinking and real consideration for what is ideal.
The goal is to inspire and encourage thinking open minded individuals. To develop the young mind to be able to consider a situation fully and respond in the most balanced way. You mention it’s your responsibility to show the full picture, but it’s easy to sway an argument either direction through the strategic use of facts in your favour.
Just in reading your comments, the youth are simply saying ” I’ll give my mind a swift kick when I hear a song like this” or that it will “prevent me from listening to something I shouldn’t.” These sentiments only band-aid the real issue. And that is a focus on the true value of love and seeking a foundation of strength. When someone is in a position of strength and confidence, songs which may conflict with belief will not shake their foundation nor keep them from enjoying it. It’s not the culture that needs to be broken down, it’s the soul of the person that needs to be built up.
You say a little fear is ok but your example doesn’t fit in context.
Life is not about holding back and saying no. It’s about saying yes to the right things. To say there is only one way to happiness and salvation is truly a ‘blindside’.
thanks for your thoughts.