The latest cover of GQ should outrage every parent in the United States. With two young female "Glee" actors wrapping their legs around a handsome young gentleman, their message to the millions of American teens who watch their show is clear: sex is where it's at. Putting aside the fact that the photo is tawdry, that it represents something which may very well may be illegal, it is downright dangerous.
As a physician who has taken care of teens for 25 years now, let me give you a run down on some facts about teens and sex. There are 9 million Americans 21 and younger who contract a new sexually transmitted disease every year, according to the CDC, 1:5 Americans older than 12 tests positive for Herpes Type 2 (New England Journal of Medicine), teenage girls have a much higher risk of getting cervical cancer than women in their twenties and teen girls who get pregnant are far more likely to end up in poverty when they are older. And those are just a few of the gruesome facts that physicians like me around the country see on a daily basis. The above and many more are cited in my book, Your Kids at Risk, if you doubt their validity. Since drug companies kicked into gear and developed Gardasil to help our girls, we now immunize girls as young as 9 years old against HPV, (an STI), to help reduce their chances of getting cervical cancer.









