About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

86 Wash. U. L. Rev. 1241 (2008-2009)
Abstinence-Only Education Fails African American Youth

handle is hein.journals/walq86 and id is 1251 raw text is: ABSTINENCE-ONLY EDUCATION FAILS AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUTH INTRODUCTION Studies consistently reveal that approximately half of all adolescents engage in sexual intercourse before graduating high school,1 and many legal scholars have analyzed the correlation between youths' sexual activity and abstinence-only sex education.2 Studies also consistently reveal that the percentage of Black American3 adolescents engaging in sexual intercourse substantially exceeds that of their White American4 counterparts,5 but few legal scholars have analyzed the relationship 1. See, e.g., NAT'L CTR. FOR HEALTH STATISTICS, CTRS. FOR DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION, , TEENAGERS IN THE UNITED STATES: SEXUAL ACTIVITY, CONTRACEPTIVE USE, AND CHILDBEARING, 2002, at 5 (2004), available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr 23/sr23_ 024.pdf [hereinafter TEENAGERS]; Jacqueline E. Darroch et al., Differences in Teenage Pregnancy Rates Among Five Developed Countries: The Roles of Sexual Activity and Contraceptive Use, 33 FAM. PLAN. PERSP. 244, 247 (2001); see also infra note 5. 2. See infra notes 6-8. 3. Consistent with scholarship, this Note will capitalize Black, recognizing Blacks as a distinct cultural group. See Kimberl6 Williams Crenshaw, Race, Reform, and Retrenchment: Transformation and Legitimation in Antidiscrimination Law, 101 HARV. L. REV. 1331, 1332 n.2 (1988). This Note will also use the term Black, Black American, and African American interchangeably to describe Americans of African descent. Although some Black Americans do not identify themselves as African American, a 2005 survey found that the Black American population was nearly equally divided on whether they preferred the term African American or Black. Lee Sigelman et al., What's in a Name? Preference for Black Versus African-American Among Americans of African Descent, 69 PUB. OPINION Q. 429, 433-34 (2005). For a brief history of the development of terminology referring to Black Americans, see id at 429-30. 4. Although many scholars do not capitalize the term White, relying on the argument that Whites do not constitute a specific cultural group, this Note will capitalize White because, at least in the context of this Note's topic, Whites constitute a specific cultural group as they are often directly compared with Blacks. Compare Marion Crain & Ken Matheny, Labor's Identity Crisis, 89 CAL. L. REV. 1767, 1771 n.15 (2001) (We do not capitalize 'white' because whites do not comprise a specific cultural group.), and Kimberle Crenshaw, Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color, 43 STAN. L. REV. 1241, 1244 n.6 (1991) (I do not capitalize 'white,' which is not a proper noun, since whites do not constitute a specific cultural group.), with Colin Crawford, Strategies for Environmental Justice: Rethinking CERCLA Medical Monitoring Lawsuits, 74 B.U. L. REV. 267, 269 n.5 (1994) ([T]his Article will ... capitalize 'White,' on the grounds that, in this context, the White majority-and particularly White business and industrial interests-proceeds on a set of cultural assumptions with which the environmental justice advocate must deal.), and Brant T. Lee, Critical Race Theory: History, Evolution, and New Frontiers: The Network Economic Effects of Whiteness, 53 AM. U. L. REV. 1259, 1260 n.1 (2004) (1 capitalize 'White' and 'Whiteness' throughout, on the premise that these terms are not natural, objective descriptions of a biological characteristic but instead represent a socially and culturally constructed identity category, much like religious or national affiliations, and therefore should be capitalized.). Additionally, the terms White and Caucasian will be used interchangeably in this Note. 5. Charles Barone et al., High-Risk Sexual Behavior Among Young Urban Students, 28 FAM. 1241

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most