Let’s face it, being a teenager is not the same as it was 10 or 15 years ago.
There is an overwhelming amount of distractions at the click of a button and in the pages of magazines. Prayerfully a recent Teen Vogue issue hasn’t landed inside your home. Why? Boldly enough the editors of this magazine decided that an article titled “What You Need to Know,” a controversial sex guide that promotes sodomy was appropriate for millions of its teen readers.
After hearing the news, I didn’t know whether to be shocked, cringe, or repeat after others, “I’m not surprised at all.”
While we won’t provide specific details of the article here, for obvious reasons, the question is, where does this end? Where does the constant need to take away our daughter’s innocence end. Yes, teens can get their hands on any magazine with this information but this is Teen Vogue-a magazine whose audience is teenage girls, a magazine that I read as a teen. I could be wrong but when I was 17 years old in 2005 I didn’t recall such material inside Teen Vogue. I wasn’t indulged in God’s word as much during my teen years or college so flipping through the usual beauty and relationship advice from a worldly standpoint didn’t bother me. Those were the articles I remember-nothing to the extreme of a sex guide.
Some parents may argue “At least they’re educating them about it.” That reasoning is unacceptable. This isn’t education when there are serious consequences. Our children should not be consuming this information.
I recently reached out to a few parents to get their thoughts on the issue. Here’s what they had to say:
“Christians must face this epidemic and walk through it with their kids to offer them biblical guidance and support through these difficult years of peer pressure and finding their identity HOPEFULLY in Christ and not in needing to be loved/accepted by others.” – Christine Carter.
Christine addresses this issue in a recent article “To the Teenager Who is Thinking About Having Sex.”
Stacy Lee Flury says, “My daughter and I (she’s 19) had this discussion. A lot of it comes from the males who are pushing it on girls. Girls respond by doing it because all they want is love and to please their guy even if they hate it. Some girls do it to experiment. What they don’t tell you in the article is how many have been physically hurt by it or have to deal with bacterial infections, and worse if there is a tear or rip in that area that can lead to STI, HIV, and other issues.“
Stacy addresses topics of this nature in her own blog “Anchor of Promise,” A Support and Educational Blog for Parents with Hurting and Troubled Teens.
Lindsey Zitzmann responds, “As horrifying as it is to see articles like this aimed at teenagers, I think we need to be aware that kids are being exposed to SO MUCH like this through peers, television, the internet, movies, etc. (even some parents!) We need to be willing to have proactive conversations with our children–even if the topic makes us uncomfortable! It’s tempting to just shut down questions with “It’s just wrong, end of story!” because it can be so difficult to know how to respond to things that make us uncomfortable (or horrified!) If we’re not willing to be the safe person to talk to, our children WILL seek out answers somewhere and this kind of information will be what they’re finding! ”
Lindsey also addresses issues surrounding children at “Loving the Wounded Child.”
While these parents continue to advocate on the dangers of this material provided in Teen Vogue, others may not agree which is also dangerous. For years, the “world” has been attacking our children and teens from every angle, whether it be from gay marriage or the evil tactics of entertainment in the pop culture world.
It’s imperative that we remind ourselves of Ephesians 6:12 ” “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
This is instead the hour to share the Gospel and bring more souls to Christ. A teen’s purity should in no way be left in the hands of adults, who provide explicit content for consumption.
– Danielle, Founder of Memoirs of a Virtuous Woman
July 18, 2017