Condoms in Prom Goodie Bag
It’s prom season and you know what that means. Big money on beautiful gowns. Tuxedos. Flowers. Fancy dinner. Condoms.
Condoms?!?
Yes, condoms. At least for one school.
A school in Arizona has voted to put condoms in a goodie bag they will be handing out at prom. The bag will contain balloons, candy, pictures frames and condoms.
It’s widely known that many people have sex after prom. Sometimes for the first time. Prom is the one night some parents let their kids stay out all night. A few parents even get hotel rooms for their student and their friends. But, even with this fact, should schools be providing students with condoms?
On one hand, if kids are going to have sex anyway it’s best that they protect themselves. Many teenagers think they are ready for sex, yet don’t have the nerve to purchase condoms at the store. So maybe they would be more apt to have safe sex with condoms in their goodie bags.
But I’d rather see schools trying to find activities to sponsor fun instead of sex. Many schools have after prom parties with non-alcoholic drinks, snacks and fun games and prizes. Some of the prizes at our local schools are pretty darn good prizes, like a television. From what I’ve seen in our community these after prom parties have gotten pretty popular and kids have a lot of fun at them. I would prefer the school to spend money on a post party rather than on condoms.
What do you think?
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POSTED IN: Sex
19 opinions for Condoms in Prom Goodie Bag
Cathy
Apr 19, 2008 at 6:37 am
I think that if I hand someone a condom, it is not going to make them suddenly decide to have sex. I think that if impulsive teenagers are going too far physically, the condom in a purse or pocket is far more likely to get used than the unpurchased condom at the store.
Gayla McCord
Apr 19, 2008 at 6:00 pm
I say better to pass them out and apologize later then to not and regret it.
If kids don’t end up using them, they can just blow them up with the balloons :)
My kids think I’m weird
Apr 20, 2008 at 5:08 am
[…] article on my buddy site Weary Parent on the topic of condom’s being included in Prom gift bags opened the door for my discussion […]
Bryce Raines
Apr 27, 2008 at 10:25 pm
if you were handed a condom would you think, ” i know, im going to go have sex because i ggot a piece of rubber!!!”. no. If they were already going to have sex then atleast now they have the option of a condom, i say option because some of them may not use it, its a fact. And if the school IS giving out condoms then mabye they know something we dont..
Day-after Prom Boy
Jun 7, 2008 at 5:29 am
I went to prom literally last night. Dance of my life. Fantastic. However, an arguement like this strikes me as a frightening sign of the times.
What really struck me about it that I don’t know if parents would think of is the students who won’t have sex. If I was handed a condom after prom, I would have taken it a complete and total insult to myself. I would feel completely labeled as another sex-hungry teenager. I think I would effected enough to actually raise something about it. Students today are totally disenchanted with school, and a large source of that is the feeling of being labeled, a statistic to the school. They are viewed as another number, and it’s hard to strive for a better self when that’s the case.
If anything, I say they could be in a bowl on the way out that you can take or leave. But still, I think this is sending a message that sex is without consequence to the students from their teachers (of all people). That will add a ton more pressure on those who don’t want sex in a world where it’s expected of them.
Megan
Jun 14, 2008 at 1:46 pm
My prom is in two weeks and I think handing condoms out at my grad would be very effective and a sign that the school understands that most of their graduating students are close to being adults, and capable of making their own decisions. Putting condoms in goody bag doesn’t show that they think we’re all sex-hungry teenagers, it shows that they care and that they know that handing us a condom won’t make us suddenly decide to have sex.
Ari
Jun 14, 2008 at 8:35 pm
My prom was a month ago, and although I am not a sexually active teen, several of my very close friends are. The night of prom they were frustrated about having to buy condoms… trying to find somewhere to buy them that was open late, etc. They were even discussing having sex without them, they weren’t going to forgo it just because they couldn’t find any.
These condoms are a great idea, because we DO want teens to be safe, and teens that wouldn’t make the decision to have sex at such a young age aren’t going to just because they are handed a condom.
Lauren
Jun 17, 2008 at 7:10 pm
When I was a teen, my friends and I were given free condoms at a concert we went to. It didn’t make us decide we needed to have sex that night. We played tug of war with them.
Is Hollywood to Blame for the Pregnancy Pact?
Jun 20, 2008 at 9:48 pm
[…] I wrote a post about an Arizona school who was including condoms in their prom goodie bag. I continue to get comments on that post; several from teens. I was a little surprised (although […]
Chelsea
Jun 22, 2008 at 9:24 am
There might be more to the story than we know.
High teen pregnancy rates at the school? None the less, a good a idea despite controversy.
Say you are going on vacation to a place with lots of rain, wouldn’t you bring an umbrella?
Better safe than sorry.
And to the kids who didn’t use it, or even think of using it, say their friends missed out on the goodie bag and were planning to have sex that night.
I mean it’s not like they were handing out KY too.
Now that would be encouraging them to have sex.
Michelle
Jul 16, 2008 at 8:06 am
Honestly, as a teenager, I think that parents are the ones with premarital sex on their minds, more so than teenagers. Not every teenager is having sex with every member of the opposite sex that walks past them in the hallways. Having condoms in goodie bags may not convince students to have sex that night, but may condone that kind of promiscuous behavior generally. I say, stick with the after-prom, and provide birth-control education.
K
Aug 4, 2008 at 8:52 pm
If you ever wonder “what’s wrong with this world,” day after prom boy, it’s you. You are insulted that someone put a condom in a bag. You’re insulted that you are labeled. My god, get over it. Labels are part of the normal human psych. We can’t all be special (or emo). Sorry for the personal attack, but you need a serious reality check.
As for the actual condom in bag thing, it’s pretty damn genius. I still feel awkward going to the store when I buy condoms, and I already have friends that don’t use them for various reasons, all of them stupid. (i’m 20 and in college, my friends should know better). Giving someone access to something isn’t going to make them do it. In the same sense giving someone a knife isn’t going to make them stab their mother.
bryce raines
Aug 6, 2008 at 9:39 pm
no kidding
Paul
Aug 17, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Putting a condom in everyone’s bag is a great idea. if there’s a bowl of them at the door, then people who grab them will be exposed in front of everyone for grabbing a condom. Everyone will be able to tell who had sex and who didn’t. For many who are likely to be embarrassed, this can discourage them from grabbing a condom, potentially leading to unprotected sex.
As K said, putting something in front of someone doesn’t mean they’re going to do it. If someone put out a line of coke in front of me, I wouldn’t sniff it. By the time they’re going to prom, most kids have a very solid idea of what sex is about and aren’t going to just suddenly decide to because their school handed them a condom.
Having an after-prom party to discourage sex is sad because that just encourages society’s huge fear of sex. Sex isn’t something to be ashamed of, but society treats it as if it is. There’s nothing wrong with having sex as long as it’s for the right reasons and done safely. It’s essential to survival, it’s completely natural and it’s very beautiful. But you wouldn’t know it.
Matt
Sep 12, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I completely support this. Theres nothing wrong or unjust. Just because these students do not inform their parents of their sexual exploits doesn’t mean it doesnt happen. The fact your daughter gets a condom isnt going to make her get in bed with some dude. It’s going to be their personal choice, and whether you as a parent get to know about it completely depends on how comfortable of an environment you’ve placed you’re kids in at home. As someone who fears the worst and hopes for the best I can honestly say I’m happy to see them promoting safe sex.
Julie
Sep 23, 2008 at 5:32 pm
I think it’s a brilliant idea to include a condom. It’s a well known thing that many teens drink after prom. Drink and have sex. I know several people who lost their virginities that night. And if that doesn’t mean: underprepared I don’t know what else does.
Those they want to have sex will have sex, might as well provide them with protection. Those who weren’t planning on it aren’t going to have sex just because they got a condom. They’ll giggle and make water balloons out of them instead.
That’s what my friends and I did when we got tons of free condoms when we entered University. Tested them out as water balloons. We didn’t look around for guys to use them with.
Teenagers aren’t all idiots. Most are quite responsible I kid you not.
Mike
Nov 18, 2008 at 3:21 am
Why do they need balloons if they have condoms? I digress, condoms are an extremely important resource to fight the spread of STDS, and during grad when kids are so likely to have sex is a great time to hand them out. I believe your point that we could spend the money on a dry grad ceremony, and that the school is sponsering sex to both be wrong.
First, the school could easily afford condoms by making small cuts to a dry grad ceremony. These celebrations seem to have a lot of fake champange, I say cut that out of dry grad, and put condoms in. Condoms cost a fraction of the cost of fake champange, I’ve seen them in bulk for as little as 17 cents, and the school could probably do better. Furthermore, schools are already allocated some condoms to begin with, so this isn’t nessecarly going to be tacked onto school budgets.
Condoms are just worth so much more to society then that disgusting tasting fake champange ever will be though. A study by the university of california says that for every $3.50 spent on condoms, somebody will live a year STI free. I can also point out that thats way less then a bottle of fake champange, heck, I would think of that $3.50 as a bottle of sparkling grape juice. Its hard to wrap your head around this, $3.50 worth of condoms means a year STD free, living in suffering with antiretroviral treatments costs over $1000 a year.
Now condoms come at no consequence, your opinion that schools “sponser sex” when they give out condoms is flat out unsubstantiated. The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services saw absolutely no link between condom availability in schools and promiscuity. In fact they saw a 7% lower rate of sex in schools where condoms were available, but I wouldn’t read too deeply into that. Denouncing this school for “sponsering sex” (if you still believe condoms count as sponsership) is doing nothing to prevent it, but it might lead to an increase in STDs and unwanted pregnancies.
The school is not in the wrong here, their actions will help prevent the spread of STDs, whereas I believe a contrary opinion like yours encourages the spread of them. Your belief that the money is best spent on a post grad party (Which although is a good idea in itself) strikes me as naive, when in reality the condoms cost very little (or nothing, depending on how many the school hands out regularly) and seems more founded in what you believe kids should be doing rather then what they need. Its hard to think of a more appropriate time to hand out condoms then in a post grad goodie bag, so I have absolutely no objections.
Kris
Nov 24, 2008 at 2:19 am
If kids really want to go to a party, get drunk, and have sex after prom, a raffled TV and non-alcoholic punch is not going to change their minds.
This measure is a realistic approach to solving a problem (keep in mind the problem isn’t the kids having sex so much as the kids having sex and getting pregnant), and I’m sure there are many young mothers who would agree with me.
Tom
Nov 28, 2008 at 3:38 pm
I guess it’s better than getting pregnant or having an abortion. I don’t particularly like the idea of schools passing out condoms, but since so many parents are afraid and ashamed to have an honest talk with their kids about sex and relationships, it doesn’t look like we have much of choice, do we?
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