Pono Choices is not medically accurate, age appropriate or complete on STD risks
News Release from Office of Rep Bob McDermott, January 9, 2014
Representative Bob McDermott has tried for over 45 days to get a copy of the Pono Choices sex education curriculum currently being presented to 11-year-old public school children. After weeks of bureaucratic run-around McDermott finally received a copy of the requested materials which arrived on January 3, 2014 and has completed his review of its content.
When Pono Choices was re-released to our public schools on December 13th, the Department of Education released the following statement:
“A review of Pono Choices confirmed the curriculum is medically accurate, appropriate and aligned with health education, state law and DOE policy.”
My review has concluded that significant portions of Pono Choices are NOT medically accurate, NOT appropriate for 11-year-old children and deliberately misleading on STD’s (sexually transmitted diseases).
NOT MEDICALLY ACCURATE
Instruction on human reproduction is minimized because biological reality dictates that this is exclusively the result of male/female sexual pairing, and this is deemed to be unfair and “unequal” regarding homosexuals.
The “facts of life” remain immutable facts. These definitions from a medical dictionary are pretty straight forward and specific:
Sex -
Sum of features by which a member of a plant or animal species can be placed into one of two complementary reproductive groups, male or female. In both plants and animals, sex is determined by the reproductive cells (gametes) produced by the organism. The male produces sperm cells, and the female produces egg cells.
genital /gen·i·tal/ (jen´ĭ-t'l)
1. pertaining to reproduction, or to the reproductive organs.
2. (in the plural) the reproductive organs.
Dorland's Medical Dictionary for Health Consumers. © 2007 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
reproductive organs
The group of organs (including the testes, ovaries, and uterus) whose purpose is to produce a new individual and continue the species.
Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Sexual Intercourse
The act in which the external male reproductive organ—penis—enters the external/accessible female reproductive tract—vagina
Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
Pono Choices, however, diverges from medical accuracy sharply and tries to redefine various body parts to suit its focus on recreational sex and lifestyles as opposed to biological reality.
The anus is presented as genitalia, just another sexual organ. This is another example of forced “equality” by ignoring the natural function of the rectum and anus. Therefore “political” correctness dictates that the male rectum and the female vagina are “equal” in terms of being sexual organs. This totally ignores the obvious facts of human biology and reproduction.
In this program [Pono Choices] we will define sex as:
- Oral Sex: mouth on genitals. (genitals includes the penis, scrotum, vagina, vulva, anus).
- Vaginal Sex: penis enters vagina, and
- Anal Sex: penis enters anus.
The Pono Choices definition of genital differs significantly from the accepted definition and includes non-reproductive organs as “options.”
Genitals – Refers to the male or female external or outside sexual anatomy parts.
- - Male: penis scrotum and anus.
- - Female: vulva (clitoris, labia, vagina) and anus.
Ironically, in their glossary of definitions, Pono Choice does present a contradictory, albeit more accurate, definition of the anus:
Anus – The opening of the rectum from which solid waste, feces or poop leave the body.
NOT AGE APPROPRIATE
Just what is age-appropriate information for 11-year-olds when it comes to the presentation of gay sexual practices and being pressured into making sexual orientation choices?
The premise of Pono Choices is that human sexual behavior is for recreation not procreation, therefore the teaching of the mechanics of sexual reproduction is secondary to the lifestyle choices that require the full disclosure of “non-conventional” sexual behavior.
In recent correspondence, an elementary school teacher, and Pono Choices instructor stated, “We do no teach reproduction…” and “It is a value judgment to state or believe that it’s only a homosexual behavior to engage in anal sex.”
It is also ridiculous to pretend that they are not the vast majority of practitioners.
At what point do young children, who are just beginning to learn simple facts about human reproduction forced to grapple with homosexual behavior and confusing sexual orientations?
During the unilateral special session that Governor Abercrombie called to pass SB1, the legalization of same-sex marriage, the matter of how the passage of this bill would impact public school curriculum was brought up. The testimony from the DOE, University of Hawaii and State Attorney General was to deny that this was even a remote possibility.
“There is no reason we would be discussing gay sex in schools and there’s certainly no reason that would happen in the general school curriculum.”--Tara O’Neill, Associate Professor, University of Hawaii, Civil Beat, November 5, 2013
The truth, however was that gay “normalization” material was ALREADY in schools through the Pono Choices pilot program.
According to a 2011 report, Sexual behavior, sexual attraction, and sexual identity in the United States: data from the 2006-2008 National Survey of Family Growth, published by Division of Vital Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage reporting their sexual identity as homosexual ranged from 2% to 4% of males, and about 1% to 2% of females. The percentage reporting their sexual identity as bisexual is between 1% and 3% of males, and 2% to 5% of females. Clearly, this type behavior is an anomaly among the general population.
Pono Choices presents same sex attraction, not as an anomaly, but as a healthy, wholesome, normal behavior, as if it were a common occurrence despite the statistics. One example in Pono Choices, three sexual scenarios are presented, two are heterosexual and one is homosexual. Both heterosexual scenarios represent negative behavior, with the homosexual scenario presented as a “healthy” scenario. Imagine for a moment if, God forbid, the homosexual behavior was presented anywhere in the document in a negative light; It is not by the way.
Pono Choices presents homosexuality as occurring in one-quarter of the time, a gross exaggeration of the real world numerically probability (which is between 2 -3%). This deceptive presentation is designed to “desensitize” the student and portray same sex relationships as “normal”, thus undercutting the parent’s moral values.
Another Homosexual representation is as follows: Carla and her partner Sara have been secretly dating for seven months because they don't want people at school to bully them for being lesbians. Eleven-year-old Lesbians! Huh…what am I missing here? Also, Carla and Sara are presented as “victims”.
Another sneaky and problematic passage is where “Person A” is talking about three couples who have had sex and one of the couples (based on their names) is a male same sex couple. Again, a one third representation is grossly inaccurate and misleading to young and impressionable young eleven-year-old children.
MISLEADING HEALTH EDUCATION
Pono Choices incorrectly defines the anus as a sex organ, and lists “mouth on anus” among its definitions of normal sex. The dangerous E. Coli bacteria is always present in feces. The Hawaii Department of Health treats E. Coli as a serious matter when talking about sanitation and contamination of food or water. On several occasions the State Department of Health has yanked food products off shelves for any trace of this dangerous bacteria. The City’s Board of Water Supply has shut down municipal water supplies for the same thing. Nowhere in Pono Choices coverage of health risks is this serious health risk discussed.
Pono Choices presents unprotected male/female sex and male/male sex as “equally” risky. This is also totally false and misleading. Male/male anal sex poses an approximately 1800% greater risk of HIV transmission. The “politically correct” portrayal of associated risk is completely distorted in order to encourage the perception of “equality” for the various behaviors.
This is problematic on many levels: First, male homosexual behavior is unhealthy at best and lethal at worst; According to the Center for Diseases Control Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) represent approximately 2% of the United States population, yet are the population most severely affected by HIV. At the end of 2010, an estimated 489,121 (56%) persons living with an HIV diagnosis in the United States were MSM.
Pono Choices again tries to “level the playing field” by misrepresenting the associated risk of HIV and homosexual sex when it quizzes the students on relative risks:
- Penis in vagina (with condom) low risk
- Penis in vagina (without condom) high risk
- Penis in anus (with condom) low risk
- Penis in anus (without condom) [not discussed]
The fact that unprotected male homosexual anal sex presents a 1800% greater risk of HIV infection than unprotected male/female sex is simply not part of Pono Choices version of reality.
Is Pono Choices sex education, or lifestyle indoctrination? And, has political correctness trumped medical correctness in the process?
###
PDF: Pono Choices Powerpoint Presentation
SA: Pono Choices draws fire from a lawmaker for its depiction of homosexual behavior
CB: Chad Blair's Anal Obsessions