In a sad twist of irony, a new study reveals one in four teen girls have one or more STDs—one week after Lil Wayne’s condom ad hit the net.
The study—released Tuesday by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention—comes from a national sample of 838 young women during 2003 and 2004’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
26 percent of the teens tested positive for an STD. More shockingly, African American girls represented half of the positive tests, compared to just 20 percent for white teens.
The percentage correlates to about 3 million girls across the country.
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Despite the high percentage of African American infection rates, one expert says the figure is not due to African Americans engaging in more risky behaviors than their white and Mexican American counterparts.
Dr. John Douglas, director of the CDC’s division of STD prevention told the Chicago Sun-Times that “African American girls are probably more vulnerable to STDs because of higher infection rates among blacks as a whole and less access to health care.”
Human papilloma virus, or HPV, was the most common in the study, with 18 percent, followed by Chlamydia (4 percent), trichomoniasis and genital herpes (2 percent).
HIV and syphilis were not included in the study.
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While Hip Hop culture has often seen rappers rhyme about the joys of intercourse, fellatio and other activities, songs about protection and the consequences are often in the minority.
Cam’ron’s 2002 release, Come Home With Me featured “On Fire Tonight,” a somewhat comical approach to contracting an STD. “It be the girls with the pretty face, and the pretty rides, pretty thighs, but what about they insides,” he rapped before revealing, “I took the condom off, now I’m on fire tonight.”
Other artists, including Salt N’ Pepa (“Let’s Talk About Sex” and “Let’s Talk About AIDS”) and Ice Cube (“Look Who’s Burning) have addressed prevention and consequences.
BET and MTV have also led national campaigns about safe sex practices.
