Teenwire's Graphic Porn Connection
WARNING: This entry exposes what Planned Parenthood's Teenwire Web site is presenting to children. The images and text from Teenwire are offensive and are presented here only because I believe it's necessary in order to give a full impression of what Planned Parenthood, which received a quarter-billion from taxpayers last year, is teaching.
This entry is a visual companion to my July 19 entry "Teenwire's Porn Connection," which detailed how Teenwire, Planned Parenthood's official sex-education site for children age 13 and up, makes it easy for teenagers to buy pornography and sex paraphernalia online.
So, kids, here's how to get from Planned Parenthood Teenwire to an online pornography superstore in just a few easy clicks:
We'll assume you already know how to find Teenwire articles like "Porn Vs. Reality."
Gee, you don't think the site's art department is trying to sexualize teenagers, do you? Of course not! Planned Parenthood believes children should be taught that sex "has intellectual and emotional as well as biological dimensions"—they say so
on their site for grown-ups. Far be it for them to tell one thing to their donors and another to teens. That's why Teenwire goes out of its way to depict sweaty, oiled, hard, nude bodies—it's social realism, goldarnit. Besides, Teenwire is confident that if it didn't use an authentic pornographic image, its readers would know the difference.
Scroll down on Teenwire's "Porn Vs. Reality" piece and it instructs the kiddies to click a brightly colored link to an instructional article on pornography on the outside Web site Scarleteen.
Unlike other links from the site, clicking on the Scarleteen link will not bring up a message saying, "You are now leaving Teenwire." In fact, the Teenwire page remains on the screen—the Scarleteen link opens directly into a new window.
But why read the article when you can visit the "Scarleteen Shop"? (I've highlighted the link.) Just one click and...
You're on a page with information about how to order condoms and lubricant, plus a link to Scarleteen's "partners" (which I've circled).
Before I continue, remember that from here on, teenagers are
already in a shop where they can purchase condoms, dental dams, and lubricants, receiving them in unmarked packages, without any advice or instruction from a parent or health-care professional. The teens can also purchase Scarleteen editor
Hanne Blank's book "Big Big Love: A Sourcebook on Sex for People of Size and Those Who Love Them," featuring "detailed and realistic information on...partner-finding, sexual positions and activities, [and] resources for toys."
But what's behind that "partners" link? Clicking it leads to...
...a big fat link to "Toys in Babeland," a "sex toy store" with "top quality products." That should be enough to pique a teen's curiosity. Again, remember that the younger range of Planned Parenthood Teenwire's audience starts at 13. Anything you see from here on could easily be discovered by a 13-year-old child via Teenwire. The child would have every reason to believe the pages and the products they advertise are safe and healthy, since they come recommended by Planned Parenthood's site.
And so, clicking on "Toys in Babeland," your 13-year-old daughter discovers...
...this. Leave it to Planned Parenthood to "educate" teens.
Just so there's no confusion: I realize that Teenwire does not directly link to Toys in Babeland. But in linking to Scarleteen, a site—founded by erotica writers—that sells Toys in Babeland's products, Planned Parenthood shows blatant disregard for children's health and safety...not to mention the laws of 42 states.
Toys in Babeland, you see, contrary to the vast majority of states' laws, does not require its customers to show proof of age. So Teenwire gives its readers an easy way to buy all manner of pornography and sexual paraphernalia, without an adult's ever having to know. Hey, kiddies, can you spell l-a-w-s-u-i-t?
But don't think Teenwire is entirely insensible to its readers' need for adult guidance. Just as Teenwire refers its readers to Scarleteen's course in, ahem, art appreciation, so Scarleteen refers its readers to Toys in Babeland, where one click on the bottom of the main page (the one pictured above) brings up a site map filled with links to "How-To" courses:
But even this is no more offensive than a typical Teenwire
"Ask the Experts" column. No wonder Planned Parenthood has proudly directed 13-year-olds to Scarleteen for the past two years.
1:14 AM
