Recently, I watched a BuzzFeed video titled “Let’s Actually Talk About Birth Control.” It started off with the narrator asking a couple of high school students and their coworkers what they knew about birth control. Surprisingly, most people in the video had never learned about birth control in school or at home. One teen even stated, “I’m unsure about what birth control even is.” I could really relate to her because I was not taught about birth control either. I had never even seen a condom until I began writing for Sex, Etc.

Later on in the video, two gynecologists were brought in to answer questions. They briefly explained ovulation and menstruation, and they commented that hormonal birth control prevents ovulation. Afterwards, they opened up the floor to questions. The participants asked many different questions ranging from, “What happens if I have one cigarette if I’m on the Pill?” to “Why isn’t there a dude pill?” It was very interesting how the experts replied and even cleared up common misconceptions about birth control, such as the beliefs that birth control can make you gain weight or become sterile.

The video ended with the participants reflecting on their limited knowledge of birth control. Everyone agreed that all people needed to know more about birth control. One of the reasons why so many teens do not understand birth control is because we have abstinence-only education. But, there needs to be more comprehensive sexuality education in schools in the U. S. Teens should be taught the different types of birth control and how to use them in high school. We have the right to learn about condoms, intrauterine devices (IUDs) and other forms of birth control and safer sex methods. We deserve the information we need to prevent pregnancy; abstinence-only education is simply not enough.