Should children be watching ads for impotence drugs? Or would it be better if there were more ads for birth control? That is the issue raised earlier this month by the American Academy of Pediatrics, who advocated for impotence ads being shown only after 10 pm. “We’d like to see more birth control ads,” Dr. Strasburger, a pediatrician at the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque, said, “and less ads for erectile dysfunction drugs because it makes sex seem like a recreational activity.” He also said that ads for birth control would not increase promiscuity. Perhaps not, but the only TV ad for birth control that I can conjure up in my mind is one that tells you that it can cure pimples! Television ads are a terrible way to get information, any way you look at it. They are simply too biased, too bright, too persuasive. The ads for erectile dysfunction make it seem like it’s men who are always supposed to initiate (dated view); that women are always glad the guy has taken a pill (a myth); and that there’s only one way to take care of ED (there isn’t). The ads aren’t all bad: They have raised awareness of sexual concerns and made it permissible to talk openly about them. But the pediatricians are right on one count: Television ads aren’t the way for children to learn about sex. If you are a parent, they need to learn it from you! And if you don’t know how to talk about it so that your kids get the idea that sex is a normal, healthy activity, there are books and professionals who can help.

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