NATIONAL COALITION OFFERS THE CURRICULUM SEX AND YOUNG AMERICA

Friends with benefits. Do you know what it means? If you are the parent of a teenager, this is something you need to know.

The New York Times recently featured an article about teenage sexuality called "Friends, Friends with Benefits and the Benefits of the Local Mall." It detailed the recent dating trend among teens called "hooking up," which is described as everything from kissing to intercourse. "Friends with benefits" implies teens that hook up regularly.

Unfortunately, the concepts of "hooking up" and "friends with benefits" are not new. In fact, when we interviewed teens across the country for the Sex & Young America curriculum, we discovered that these behaviors have been prevalent in American schools for years.

"We have found 'messing around' and 'hooking up' have been accepted as normal behavior among teens for years," said Jack Samad, producer of Sex and Young America and senior vice president for Strategic Partnerships and Internet Safety at the National Coalition. "It is no longer just about catching your son or daughter watching cable TV or renting videos that may be questionable. Now teens are using advanced technology that allows them to instant message and communicate for the sole purpose of hooking up."

This type of unashamed sexual acting out is found on school dance floors as well, according to a June 21 New York Times article called "Hold On to Your Corsage. It's Dirty Dancing Time." The writer describes most of the dancing done at high school proms around New York and the rest of the country as varying in intensity, "the partnering position of choice, back to front, is at once less intimate and more sexual."

To help parents and student leaders combat these trends among teenagers, the National Coalition offers Sex & Young America on its website at sexandyoungamerica.com. The curriculum includes a combination of videos and written materials. For more information, visit our website at www.nationalcoalition.org or contact Jack Samad at (513) 521-6227.