BBC:
One in four teenage girls in the United States has a sexually-transmitted disease. HPV most common of all. A fig for Merck.
Comments:
Upon reading this, I had the same thought. Where’s the male culpability here?
Posted by Garret P Vreeland on 03/11/08 at 03:45 PM
And I’m sure there are dudes going, “Only one in four? I’ve got my work cut out for me...”
Posted by Cameron Barrett on 03/12/08 at 07:08 AM
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Tangent: I’m always fascinated by the lede on stories like this...that is to say, about the sexuality of the young.
The thing I keyed on was “has a sexually transmitted disease.”
You could say: “One in four....has a dream of going to college.”
“One in four.....has a substandard reading level.”
What *isn’t* said: “One in four.....contracted an STD from....?????”
Here’s what I’m on about: to say they “have” a disease escapes the implication of action and responsibility. We’re not supposed to consider *where* these STD’s are coming from. Presumably, teenage girls are contracting it from their sexual peers (read: boys), so why not a lede that says “Teenage boys infecting girls at a rate of one in four....?”