Oh boy(s)...

So...

I happened to catch some of Tyra Bank's show the other day, and was it heart-wrenching. Tyra had a bunch of teens, one as young as thirteen (13) who confessed to having numerous sexual partners. The discussions, which included most of the girls talking about sexual activities in public, their parents bed, without contraceptives and even multiple partners, included commentary from shocked mothers and pep talks from the host.

Interestingly, the mothers generally knew their daughters were sexually active. It was the sheer amount that seemed to scare the daylights out of them.

But one thing stood out to me. The script was not too far off the beaten path. Some of the girls seemed nonplussed, all the mothers were mortified and the studio audience feigned shock and indignation.

As always, load the ladies on stage, force them to confront their self-destructive behavior, and, if you are able to make them look stupid enough (and their parents overly naive), television ratings will follow.

One question: where are the boys?

Now, forgive me for donning the naive hat myself for a qucik second. Yes, I have heard all the arguments that state that society has conferred the duty of being the gatekeepers of sexual morality at the feet of the Softer sex. Still, until we begin to confront the issue in our boys and young men, it will always be a problem.

The high-five culture has to stop. Promiscuity in boys should not be celebrated or, even worse, ignored. When do we start reminding our boys to treat women like rubies? I propose you put the boys up on stage, and show them the insecurity and devastation their actions cause, and superimpose the images of the girls they treat shabbily with pictures of their mothers and sisters. Then, tell the studio audience to look at them with the same type of uncomprehending shame.

Till then, these shock shows will be blips on the radar, and the problem continues: we are raising boys who are not learning how to esteem women.