liz_marcs | We really need to start yanking this "abstinence only" bullshit out of our schools...

Current Mood: riled

We really need to start yanking this "abstinence only" bullshit out of our schools...

via the ever-fascinating

andrewfarago unearthed a 1970s Spiderman comic book that was co-produced by Marvel and Planned Parenthood. (Beware: Large scans may be hell on dial-up; the scans themselves are work safe)

I'll give you a moment to let that sink in.

Once upon a time (30 YEARS AGO! WHAT THE FUCK!?!), it was possible for Planned Parenthood to team up with a major comic book publisher that specialized in producing materials aimed specifically at children for the sole purpose of distributing correct and factual information about birth control, prevention of STDs, sexual health, and to provide a list of places where the reader could go to get more information about these subjects.

What's even better: the people who prevented the distribution of such information or lied about factual information pertaining to sex and sexual health are portrayed as...wait for it...the bad guys who were a threat not just to public health, but to an individual's personal safety and freedom.

*nods in a pleased way*

Yes. Upon review of the past 30 years where my half of the human race has been consistently degraded and talked about like we're children who lack the capacity to make even the most basic healthcare decisions for ourselves, I can categorically say that it sounds exactly right.

This stand-alone special issue was (of course) done when Stan Lee was still "the man" at Marvel. I mean, can you see Marvel actually even considering doing this today? Hell with that. I can't picture Planned Parenthood trying something like this now for fear that it would stir up the hornet's nest that is the U.S.'s special brand of homegrown religious terrorist.

[And if you think I'm joking about homegrown religious terrorists in the U.S., I live in the bluest of blue states. My Ob/Gyn when I lived in another town was located in a women's health center. Not Planned Parenthood or any other similar service; a regular medical office building that happened to be full of medical practices that specifically catered to women's health. In my Ob/Gyn's office there was bulletproof glass between the waiting room and the rest of the medical office because of regular threats of violence or bombing. Keep in mind: This is in the People's Republic of Massachusetts and these threats were leveled against a general Ob/Gyn medical practice.

Think I'm being harsh? Then lemme ask you: What do you call it when religious fanatics threaten violence, harass patients and healthcare providers, shoot physicians and nurses, bomb buildings, and otherwise disrupt women's access to healthcare by any means necessary because — their God forbid — some woman somewhere might be *gasp!* having sex somewhere and enjoying it just like a man does? Yeah. I thought so.]

Have I mentioned before in this journal that Stan Lee is made of pure win? I'm sure I have.

Now I need to bump it up: Stan Lee is not just made of pure win. He's made of pure awesome!

The comic book not only is chock full of information about birth control and the prevention of STDs, it stresses the importance of getting the right information about sexual health. One page alone in this puppy probably contains more factual information than most American high schoolers sitting in classrooms right at this very second know.

The only quibble is the attitude towards homosexuality isn't the most enlightened. But considering when this Spiderman comic book was published (remember: 30! YEARS! AGO!), the attitude towards homosexuality is downright enlightened.

Seriously, man. Go check out the Spiderman/Planned Parenthood team-up for yourself.

Then start weeping. Or get angry. Either way, if you need a clearer illustration on why it's high time we start pushing the hell back on our modern-day Know-Nothings, you could do a whole lot worse than point to this as one example.

ETA:

harmfulguy and

the_red_shoes note that Death Talks About Life, by Neil Gaiman with art by Dave McKean, which demonstrated proper condom use on a banana in the broader context of AIDS-prevention was released in 1994. (Please note: 13 years ago!)

I actually own this. Although it was sold as a stand alone (apparently), I'm very sure that this was also inserted in the back of one of the Sandman issues or one of the spin-off Death minis. I'm not sure. But I definitely do own this.

I'm not dismissing Death Talks About Life, by the way.

My point is that the Spiderman comic I discussed above would never, ever see the light of day today. The U.S.'s current repressive atmosphere of all things considered somehow outside the norm — or at least the norm as defined by a very narrow slice of the population — would make it a prohibitive commercial risk.

By contrast, Vertigo then and now is considered D.C.'s "adult comics" arm and was sold in some very limited venues (i.e., specialty comic shops and not — for example — general news stands). Furthermore, the insert was not published in conjunction with a major organization considered by some to be Satan's representative on earth. Seriously. Try imagining Death Talks About Life published in conjunction with Planned Parenthood, or ACT-UP, or any other organization that is focused on distributing accurate information about sex and sexual health. I don't see that happening, do you?

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I seem to remember another sex education comic, from DC's Vertigo imprint, probably about fifteen years ago. It even showed Death demonstrating proper condom use on John "Hellblazer" Constantine's... banana. Really.

That was "Death Talks About Life," I'll bet.

Aye, that's the one.

I actually own it.

It wasn't just sold as a stand-alone (I wasn't even aware that it was), it was tucked in the back of either an issue of Sandman or in back of one of the Death minis. Let's just say I remember when I picked up the issue, a few of us started laughing about Death waving a banana in John Constantine's face. Heeee!

In any case, I've ETA'd it and credited both of you for reminding me of it.

It was in several of the Vertigo titles, I think, not just Sandman. And I'm pretty sure they did something rather less explicit for the mainstream DC comics around the same time; as I recall it, one of the Teen Titans has sex with someone and mentions it the next day, and everyone calls him an idiot when he says he didn't use protection.

Or it may have been one of the JLA characters - Booster Gold seems a possibility.

Yeah, it was in Sandman and two other "edgier" comics, but the DC kids stuff had a different one-page insert.

d00d, I got props!

I certainly didn't get it as a standalone -- it's in the v back of my copy of Death: The High Cost of Living, I think. I'd heard about it before buying the book, but never been able to find it before that. From what I can find out from Teh Intra-Netz, apparently it was a giveaway "minicomic". DC Comics originally published it as a supplement -- I think it was a six-to-ten-page insert -- to Sandman, Hellblazer and Shade, although none of those titles were available at newsstands (a different, one-page advisory was added to DC titles aimed at readers younger than their mid-teens). I think also Sandman at least was seen as a lot more "edgier," sort of, than Spider-Man -- not something your ordinary suburban kid would be able to pick up at the local strip mall, or whatever. And it wasn't part of the story, integrated right into the comic, which I think is the gutsiest part of what Lee did.

It must've been bound into the issues of Sandman et al, right? But there are some ebay &c sites that seem to suggest it was also a 6- or 8- or 10-page "minicomic" that was given away free -- those seem to sell for about a buck (wow, I'd expect them to go for a lot more, given how wildly popular Gaiman is and how limited they apparently were. But of course they're freely available in the back issues of the comic and one of the books, so....). I wonder if the insert itself was given out independently of the comic.

I remember it was a stand-alone "sub-chapter" tucked in the very back of the comics (as I collected both Sandman and Hellblazer at the time, it's possible that I actually own two comics with copies of this).

I don't remember ever seeing a free give-away, but going by a couple of sites that I checked, it appears that it may have been distributed as a stand-alone. It wouldn't surprise me if maybe the distribution as done through community orgs (i.e., a population that normally wouldn't be going to a comic book store).

But, yeah, the distribution of the Vertigo titles is (or at least was in 1994) restricted to certain outlets (i.e., specialty hobby or comic book shops) or by subscription. Vertigo is now distributed in slightly more venues (for example, books stores like Borders now carry some Vertigo titles), but yeah — it's still tough to find Vertigo on your local newsstand.

Okay now this is getting REALLY esoteric on my part, but I wonder if it was bound in with the rest of the comic, or if it was a -- what do they call it, tip-in? tipped in? -- so the comic shop owner could take it out if it was considered too controversial. STOP ME BEFORE I GOOGLE AGAIN

Interestingly enough, apparently Gaiman was first approached to do a comic for a charity benefit -- maybe copies were given to Planned Parenthood and the post can circle around in a nice loop! ....no, probably not.

Yeah, I can find Sandman in Borders and B&N now, I think, but not a lot of the other Vertigo titles -- unless they're movie tie-ins like some Hellblazer, or From Hell -- but I think that's mainly because they're so popular, and the ethos has been absorbed into the culture a bit, if that makes sense. (Altho a lot of the modern mainstream news media still does not seem to know wtf "goth" is, judging by the insta-reports I see whenever school shootings happen.)

Nope. It was bound into the signature itself. I remember that very clearly, because we all had to page to the very back of the comic book to see it.

The comic shop owner couldn't remove it without damaging the whole book. If he/she removed the last 8 or 10 pages of the book, that meant that the first 8 or 10 pages of the comic book would fall out because they weren't attached to anything.

Ahh cool! So that's nice. (It does sound like there was a limited run of the mini-comic itself that would've been handed out, but not like that's a collectible....)

Stan Lee is fucking awesome.

Unfortunately, the World of Today just pretty much fucking sucks, as you point out. Goddammit.

Stan Lee truly is the man!

Very cool.

It most certainly 'tis.

And infuriating. Yup. Cool, but infuriating.

As a conservative, I hate how fiscally conservative issues have been so tied with religious conservative moral values and how hiding the truth and banning information has become acceptable. I don't understand how facts about birth control, STDs, etc encourage sexual activity in our children. It doesn't. If anything, it helps teenagers make smarter, informed decisions.

Children that want to practice abstinence will do so, and information won't encourage them to do otherwise. It's the values that they gain from the figures they look up to (their parents, for instance) that determine their attitudes towards sex and drugs and other similar things.

Besides, schools are for education. If parents don't like it, then they could get some sort of "pass" for their children so they don't have to attend or something like that. Geez. (Then again, my mind boggles about where the children would get their sex education from. To make the presumption that one's sexual partner is free of disease or that a couple will only marry at the point in their lives where they want children seems really naive.)

Then you'll love this article from Kung Fu Monkey called I Miss Republicans.

Agreed. The hijacking by the "moral values" crew has made it tough. I think true conservative values most certainly has a place at the table.

I mean, I may be socially liberal, but I sure as hell hate paying for programs that either don't work or cost a lot more than they should. Someone needs to balance the checkbook, and I trust blue-true conservatives with doing the, "Hold on, there sport..." when necessary.

That said, the regular RINO hunts are disheartening because so many good conservatives have been lost in party purges.

But like you, I'm boggled that this basic information is not only banned or hidden from children, but also banned or hidden from federal Web sites aimed at adults. Clinical study after clinical study looking at "abstinence only" vs. "full-on sex ed" shows that "full-on sex ed" kids are more likely to delay their first sexual experience, are less likely to get pregnant, and are less likely to get an STD.

You would think just the "delay" part alone would have parents signing on to full-on sex ed.

Right now I'm very glad that Massachusetts has decided to turn down the federal money that would've forced the state to allow abstinence only sex ed in the schools.

That article is pretty great. I've read a number of essays and a couple of books on the topic of "where has my republican party gone?". I find it all very frustrating, which is why I generally dislike politics.

I'm definitely an "old school Republican". I want the Party of Lincoln, not the current "Party-of-Lincoln-my-ass" that it has become (especially how the Republicans no longer are supporting minority rights). We moderates have been shouted down in the Republican party and I hate it. For two presidential elections, now, I've voted for the Democratic party ticket, not because I liked the candidate (well, I liked Gore), but because the idea of voting for the Republican candidate was detestable. The current party leadership isn't bringing conservative values, it is bringing religiously radical ones. *stress* *fret* *irritation*

I have a newf found respect and admiration for Stan Lee. Seriously.

That been said, I live in a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY and I knew all that stuff at age 12. Like, seriously, they'd tell me this in school, for realz. Add to that, I went to Catholic "Abstinence Is Good" School. And yeah, I got pregnant at 15, but not because I didn't have information, if anything, I knew that whatever method I used was not going to be 100% safe.

So it is a little saddening [if that's even a word] to learn that thirty years ago Planned Parenthood made more sense than it does now.

It boggles the mind.

Seriously. I went to a private Christian missionary school (in a third world country, even), and we still got at least three different sets of classes on sex ed: sixth grade, eighth grade, twelfth grade. I mean, sure, they spent a lot of time on "And look at the potential failure rate for these methods of preventing pregnancy! Look at all the scary STDs! Scary! Don't have sex!" but they at least covered birth control, STDs, and the mechanics.

Similarly, the same private Christian missionary school managed to do a nice thorough discussion of evolution in the biology class. It frustrates me to no end that public schools in the United States are being pressured to pretend these things don't exist because some loud political faction isn't happy about them.

It frustrates me to no end that public schools in the United States are being pressured to pretend these things don't exist because some loud political faction isn't happy about them.

It frustrates me that a lot of people don't think like you. That they are so set on them being right and the others being wrong is the end all, be all of politics.

I'm turning 19 on the 27th and I've only had one 30-minute sex-ed class. It was taught by the gym teacher who told us not to do it because we'd get pregnant. I don't remember any talk of STDs. There was a lot of awkward silence because most of the class was supposed to be us asking questions and none of us wanted to talk about sex to the guy who made us run laps for saying the word, 'sucks.'

That means, sadly, that most of what I know about sex and safe-sex is from fanfiction and fandom. I'm gay and its only because of fandom that I know what dental dams are. Its scary to think of all the unprotected sex I had because I didn't know and, for some reason, thought that you couldn't get STDs from oral sex. I'm clean, but it makes me angry to think that the people who were supposed to protect and guide me didn't.

That means, sadly, that most of what I know about sex and safe-sex is from fanfiction and fandom.

Wow, and here I thought I was alone in this fucked-up boat.

Nope. I think there are more of us than you would think which is, as you said, fucked up.

This "bury our heads in the sand and maybe the problem will go away" attitude is very frustrating. The only words of comfort I can offer is, that old pendulum has to swing back eventually. Meanwhile, we have to do what we can to raise awareness.

I have to say I'm shocked about the threats to your doctor. I live in the reddest of red states (Texas) and either I'm completely oblivious (far from impossible) or I haven't seen anything like this.

So much love. For the comic. For everything you said.

I linked you.

Excellent essay. I remember the Death Talks about Life bit very well. The sex-ed state of affairs is maddening. I guess our boys will learn everything they need to know from us (the facts, at least -- I'm sure they'll pick up all sorts of hearsay from their friends at school).

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We really need to start yanking this "abstinence only" bullshit out of our schools...

Bananas

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Spider-Man's onto your baby-making conspiracy, Prodigy!

Re: Spider-Man's onto your baby-making conspiracy, Prodigy!

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