While Prom Night may be little more than a distant memory to most of us, for this year's crop of seniors and juniors (and in some rare cases, sophomores and freshmen), Prom 2008 is right around the corner. 

And while you'll hear all about the perfect dress, and how expensive (and stupid) corsages are, and whether they can rent a stretch Hummer, let's be real - what you're really worried about happens after prom.

To that end, check out our semi-regular feature "Stay Out Loud" on our sister site StayTeen.org.  This short essay section features different topics important to teens and this month's feature on Prom Night is written by Becca, a member of our Youth Leadership Team.  

We'd love to know what you think!

I know, I know, provocative stories and breathless headlines about rainbow parties and middle school broom closet liasons almost always win out over staid research.  Even so, those interested in a heaping helping of sober should read a new analysis from Guttmacher about intimate teen sexual behavior. 

Primary finding?  When it comes to teens and oral/anal sex, things may not be as bad as many had feared but probably not as good as many had hoped. At the very least, the notion that a significant proportion of  virgin teens are out and about in the land protecting their virginity by substituting oral sex for intercourse seems to be a far-fetched notion.  Instead, not surprisingly, these activities tend to---as the social scientists might say---co-occur.

Back in September 2005, the National Campaign released a similar analysis of the icky stuff, check it out here.

It's like deja vu all over again at The New York Times.  For the second time in the past several weeks the grey lady is red in the face over virginity.  Today's entry: purity balls.  (See previous postings on the topic here and here.) 

Leaving aside everything else one might say about these father-daughter purity balls, I am left wondering--like so many others---where are the purity balls for fathers and their sons.  Don't these father-daughter gatherings underscore the sexual double standard still alive and still well---the double standard that tells young women to say "no" and young men to be "careful." 

Check out some polling data on this topic here (charts 5, 15, and 16)---65% of teens and 61% of parents of teens agree that parents send one message about sex to their sons and an altogether different message to their daughters.  Not too good.

The lovely ladies of ABC's "The View" talked teen pregnancy on Thursday with actors from "One Life to Live" and The National Campaign's own Marisa Nightingale.  Kristen Alderson, who plays 16-year-old Starr Manning on the daytime drama, and Brandon Buddy, who plays her 17-year-old boyfriend Cole Thornhart, talked about their pregnancy storyline - what they've learned, the reaction they're getting from readers of their blog and how they hope its helping others deal with the challenges of teen sexuality.  Marisa contributed some excellent words of wisdom to the segment as well, encouraging parents to talk to their kids about sex and relationships. You can see the whole thing here.

Gentle reminder time friends. 

Although the official 2008 National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy has come and gone  (by the way, anyone have any ideas for a pithier title?), remember that May is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month (again, title ideas anyone?) and the snappy National Day online quiz will be up and operating throughout the month. 

Please alert family, friends, neighbors, and enemies.  Take the quiz, you'll be glad you did.

Please, all of you, read this article from the New York Times.  It is, apparently, an award winning essay and there are more to come from the same competition that led to this one.  I love its pace and candor, and Marguerite Fields needs to immediately write more and start her own blog.  

For more information and to see what others around the country are doing to support the National Day, visit our National Day page the TheNationalCampaign.org.