Birth Control/Safe Sex As a Term Paper

I will consider taking the pill in the future if I am in a committed relationship and do not want to get pregnant. However, because the pill does not prevent disease, I do feel that women on the pill should use condoms when they meet new men.

Because my awareness on the topic of birth control and safe sex is currently quite strong, I have made the decision to use condoms when I have sex. I have in fact only used condoms as a form of birth control and have never experimented with other "barrier" methods. I did try taking the pill for a short while but felt it was not the right choice for me; the choice was not based on its effectiveness as a form of birth control so much as it was based on concerns about side-effects. I also know that the pill does not prevent sexually transmitted diseases, and condoms do. In fact, condoms can prevent both pregnancy and disease. However, I have had sex on many occasions without condoms. Since I am not on the pill, I could have become pregnant and/or contracted a disease, if I were unlucky.

A-based my choices and beliefs on what I have learned in school primarily; my friends and I do not discuss the issue of sexually transmitted diseases very much. My reticence also stems from my cultural background and my family upbringing, which also tended to keep such matters private. However, I am beginning to be able to talk more openly about my beliefs regarding sex because of the education I am receiving.I have noticed that speaking more openly leads to more intelligent choices, for both me and my friends. I have several friends who comfortably talk about sex and their choices regarding birth control. Many of my friends are on the pill. I have a few friends, both male and female, who unfortunately do not give sexually transmitted diseases much thought and are not concerned about condoms. On the other hand, I have several friends who do use condoms each time they have sex and are very strict with their partners about using them, which I believe is the only sensible choice.

I have learned a lot about sexually transmitted diseases in school as well as in the media. I think that media awareness of sexually transmitted diseases is just as important if not more important than formal education because so many young people pay attention to what they hear on television. Especially because so much television and film contains sexually explicit images, teenagers and young people are especially susceptible to mixed messages about safe sex and contraception. One of the reasons why I have slipped on several occasions and not used condoms is because of the mixed messages I have received not only from the media but from my cultural and family background. On the other hand, one of the reasons why I have become more aware and consequently, safer, is because media awareness and education have become stronger influences in my life......