Photo: (MTV)

Last night on “Savage U,” Dan hit up Rhodes College, a small university in Memphis. The campus consists of less than 2,000 students so guys and girls find it really tough to avoid dating their friends’ exes. One of the students Dan met is scared to date altogether, but not because of  jealous BFF’s. Allison has been through a lot since she was diagnosed with HPV in high school. Watch her story below at 13:30.

+ Deets

When she was 16, Allison found out she had HPV through a routine pap smear and visit to her gynecologist. She had several related medical procedures to deal with some abnormal cells caused by the HPV. It’s been a tough road and Allison has had a lot of feelings of fear and depression along the way. “I just felt kind of alone through it all,” she said.

+The (SEX)perts Weigh In:

After listening to Allison share her story, we kinda want her as our new BFF. This chick seems so level-headed and cool, not to mention more responsible than some people twice her age!

“I wanted [the HPV] to be out of sight, out of mind. I wasn’t having any symptoms so it would have been easier to just pretend like it wasn’t there,” she said. But she DIDN’T: she followed her doctor’s recommendations, got treatment for the abnormal cells, and is now happy and healthy.

She is also talking about her diagnosis openly, and why shouldn’t she? HPV is nothing to be embarrassed about, it is incredibly common. More than 50% of sexually active people will get it at some point during their lives and most people who have HPV will never know they have it. As Dan says, “It’s the common cold of sexually transmitted infections.”

Of course we know HPV is no fun: it can cause genital warts, and a small percentage of cases do have more serious health consequences, like cervical cancer. That’s why women need to get regular screenings at their gynecologists, just to be safe. The good news is that cervical cancer is the easiest cancer to prevent with regular screenings, so it can be caught early before it develops, just like in Allison’s case.

It’s important to do what you can to protect yourself against HPV, but also to understand that most cases are mild. About 90% of cases are cleared from the body naturally within a few years.

As for the dating game, Dan said Allison needs to get back out there and let herself like someone again. “It’s scary, but you’re going to have to get back on the bike,” he said.

+What You Can Do

Get vaccinated: Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself from HPV infection. There are vaccines that can help protect both guys and girls from some of the more common types of HPV that can lead to disease or cancer. The vaccine is given in three shots and it’s important to get ALL THREE. The HPV vaccine is recommended for teens and women up to age 26, men up to 21. Get more info on the vaccine here.

Use Condoms: If you’re having sex, use a condom each and every time. Condoms can lower your risk of getting STDs including HPV. But know that HPV can also infect areas that aren’t covered by a condom so the surest way to avoid getting an STD is to not have sex at all.

Get regular screening: Women who are sexually active or 21 or older should get regular pap smears, which help detect cell changes caused by HPV that might develop into cancer if they aren’t treated. There is an HPV test for women, but it is not common and the best way to get screened is a regular pap smear. Currently there is no HPV test recommended for men.

For more information on sexual health visit It’s Your Sex Life and enjoy some of our favorite Dan-isms of the night below:

Dan’s fascination with Shake Weights: “I’ve never seen one of those in the wild!”

Dan’s take on jealous ex-girlfriends: “You didn’t steal her car, she doesn’t own that boy.”

Dan on getting over embarrassment about periods: “It’s a vagina — blood falls out of it once a month.”

Best uplifting advice of the night: “You should do what you want to do and you shouldn’t worry about other people’s judgment”

Photo: (MTV)

During the first hour of yesterday’s back-to-back “16 and Pregnant” episodes, we met Sarah — a Georgia native whose family clashed with Blake, her baby’s daddy, after he moved-in. Well, in case you missed it, he moved right back out, leaving Sarah and newborn Tinleigh behind to work toward becoming a shrimp boat captain. What has Sarah taken from the whole experience? And where does she hope her career is headed? Watch after the jump!

“I would tell myself to respect me, to do what I’m comfortable with and respect my morals,” Sarah told us about what she’d do differently. “When you’re 16, you don’t think about that. It’s not the first thing on your mind. You want to please other people sometimes.” Sarah says she was blinded by the love she felt between her and Blake, and hadn’t she, things would be a bit different. (Okay, a lot.) “When you think you’re in love, it’s a lot easier to be like, ‘I’ll do what he wants to do and not what I want to do because I think that he loves me,’” she added. So…how do you know if you’re ready for sex? There’s no real sign, but you should never feel pressured to, Lauren Mann of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy tells Remote Control.

As for where she wants to go moving forward with her life, career-wise? Hint: for two years, she read almost every issue of Cosmopolitan from cover to cover! Get it, gurl. Watch her talk about those plans, sex myths and more below. Plus, take control of your sex life by taking action after the video.

+ WATCH: Sarah reflects on being “16 and Pregnant.”

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Once Audrey comes, Sabrina is really stressed out since her boyfriend, Iman, is still living in LA, and she isn’t sure if he’ll move across the country to help out with the baby.  But just when Sabrina gave up on Iman, he surprises her in Tennessee.  Even with Iman helping, Sabrina knows finishing high school is going to be difficult with a baby, but she stays committed to finishing high school, going to college, and making sure Audrey is happy. Are you committed to finishing high school and going to college like Sabrina? Don’t want having a baby to decrease your odds of achieving your goals?  Then make a plan to protect yourself from unplanned pregnancy.  Get started by talking about protection with your partner.  It might sound uncomfortable, but nothing is more awkward than silence. Check out these tips to help you get the conversation started.

Without Blake in the picture, Sarah sleeps even less and is even more stressed out.  Sarah had counted on having Blake around so she could continue going to school.  But she’s determined not to give up all of her dreams of finishing high school and going to college but she knows it will have to be different.  She opens up about the challenges of being a single teen mom saying that she “didn’t want a baby at 17 because there were a lot of things I wanted to do at 17 that are a lot a lot a lot harder with the baby.” She even says that if she had known having a baby was going to be so hard, she would have done everything she could have not to get pregnant, even if that meant waiting to have sex.  Sarah gets straight to the point and explains that waiting “would have been the best thing.”  After all, waiting to have sex is the only 100% effective method to prevent pregnancy.  And did you know that 2 out of 3 teenagers wished they had waited to have sex? And if you’re waiting, you’re not alone– half of all teens in high school haven’t had sex.  But whether you decide to wait or decide you’re ready to have sex, it’s YOUR decision to make.  If you decide to have sex, make sure you know how to prevent pregnancy. Here’s what works and what doesn’t!

Photo: (Getty Images/DoSomething.org)

We’ve all heard about pregnancy tests, but how about pregnancy . . . text?! Yup, you heard right. From May 14 through June 4, DoSomething.org is launching a unique campaign called Pregnancy Text to prevent teen pregnancy through the use of your cell phone.

The idea is to show that raising a baby isn’t easy, and that if you have a baby, it’s going to deserve a lot of attention and hard work. DoSomething won’t be giving you a baby doll to take care of (or — even worse — an egg), but it will be giving you your own digital baby. If you go to their website, you can “give” one of your friends a “baby” for twelve hours. If you give a baby to 5 friends you qualify for a $2,000 scholarship. What happens when you give a baby?

For half a day, your pal’s phone will be announcing when the baby needs attention — when it’s feeding time or time to change diapers. DoSomething.org says this campaign focuses on guys as well as girls, because it doesn’t think it’s fair when pregnancy prevention campaigns only target girls. So how about some girls out there give their BFs a digital baby?

When it’s over, DoSomething.org gives you info on teen pregnancy. ‘Cause if you have a real baby, it won’t go away in twelve hours . . . and unlike your phone, you can’t turn it off when you need a break.

Photo: Alex (MTV)

Dan Savage took on some kinky questions at the University of Central Florida on “Savage U” last night, and with nearly 60,000 students on campus there were plenty to go around. But it wasn’t all sex toys and orgasm-talk, a bi-sexual student named Alex moved Dan so much he offered her a hug! And Dan is not a hugger.

+The Deets

Alex has identified as a lesbian for years, and chose to go a college with a big, supportive LGBT community. But recently she has become romantically and sexually interested in guys again and is fearful her gay and lesbian friends will reject her for being bisexual. She has already received some negative responses from friends and is torn up as to why her gay friends can’t be happy for her, regardless of her choice. “We are bullied all the time for who we are and who we want to have sex with,” she said.

+The (Sex)perts weigh in:

Alex is following her gut and her heart and it’s clearly causing her emotional pain. She found strength in the gay community at UCF and now she worries she will have to give that up. But anyone who is a true friend will accept you for who you are, even if you are still in the process of figuring it all out.

“You are not betraying yourself…the lesbian nation, anything by coming out as bi,” said Dan. He encouraged her to embrace her feelings and to understand that there are a lot of gray areas when it comes to sexuality and labels.

“There is a B in LGBT for a reason!” Dan said. He acknowledged that there are some bi-phobic people out there, even in gay and lesbian support groups, and encouraged her to continue to be open.

“The friends in your social circle who are going to react negatively — if they can’t accept you, if they can’t learn and grow — their loss,” he said.

+What You Can Do

If you are going through a difficult time, or feeling confused or judged about your sexuality or gender, talk to someone you trust. You are not alone, there are people out there who love and care about you, including Dan. Check out these great resources below for more:

It Gets Better
Founded by Dan Savage with his partner Terry, the It Gets Better Project provides support for lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual young people and their allies and also connects young people with help through the Trevor Project and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

The Trevor Project
1-866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386) (available 24 hours a day)
Are you going through a difficult time? Feeling confused, lonely or blue? If you’re a young person looking for someone to listen and understand without judgment or if you’re feeling suicidal about issues related to sexual orientation and gender expression, the Trevor Lifeline is here to help.

Amplify Your Voice
Informational resources for gay, lesbian, bixsexual, transgender and questioning young people. Sponsored by Advocates for Youth.

Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network
The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network strives to assure that each member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

For more information about sexual health visit It’s Your Sex Life and enjoy some of our favorite Dan-isms of the night below.

Best blunt advice of the night: “You really need to learn how a vagina works.”

Dan’s best reaction to fans: “I’m very bad at hugs.”

Dan reliving his wild spring break: “I spent a lot of time in my jank-ass hotel room reading.”

Dan destroying the myth that drinking bleach will prevent pregnancy:“That will do nothing except make you very ill.”

Now as a teen mom, Hope feels isolated from her friends and family, and can no longer attend college in the fall. No one wants to or should have to give up on their college dreams, so take a lesson from Hope and be firm: no condom = no sex.  It might seem like in the heat of the moment it’s hard to say no, and that’s why it’s important to read up now and know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to preventing pregnancy so that you’ll can be prepared and protected when you do decide to have sex.

Photo: (Getty Images)

Today is the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Yep. Up until last week, I didn’t know we had one of those either. According to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 3 in 10 teen girls in the U.S. will get pregnant at least once before turning 20. Here are some other facts about pregnancy, pregnancy prevention, and…Ryan Gosling.

+ 8 out of 10 teen fathers don’t marry the mother of their child.

“If you impregnate it, then you shoulda/coulda/but didn’t put a ring on it!” ‘Scuse me while I remix a Beyonce classic. According to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, only 20% of teen moms get a ring put on it. Seriously, ladies. Hold out for Ryan Gosling. He breaks up street fights, saves women from oncoming traffic, and — when you’re ready, many years from now– will make an awesome babydaddy.

+ Ryan Gosling makes American youth really horny. Both Germany and France have teen pregnancy rates four times lower than the U.S.

Although France has the city of love (Paris), and Germany’s “sex for sale” laws are quite lax, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy says that the U.S. teen pregnancy rate is four times higher than it is in either sexy European country! Must be because we have Ryan Gosling.

+ Nearly one-fourth of teenage mothers will have a second child within two years.

According to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, one in four teen moms will have a second child within 24 months of having their first. This statistic reminds me of Pringles ads in the ‘90s. “Once you pop, you can’t stop!” Sorry, couldn’t help myself.

+ Less than one half of teens in high school have had sex.

If a part of you (or someone you know) wants to have sex because “everybody else is,” you may be surprised to learn that they’re not! According to the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, fewer than half of teens in high school have had sex. Nobody’s racing here! Sex is an enormous physical (and emotional, if–like me–you were born with your hoo-ha wired to your heart) commitment; one we shouldn’t take on until we are totally ready for it.

+ Less than half of teen moms under 18 finish high school, and only 2% of teen moms earn a college degree by 30.

In high school, I could hardly dress myself and effectively separate the good Skittles from the bad ones, much less feed, dress and raise a child. After reading this statistic, I gained a newfound respect for teens who are raising children and finishing school. However, this should never become the norm. Every day should be the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Let us celebrate this odd holiday with sex ed., birth control, and by convincing every teenage girl that she should hold out for Ryan Gosling. Heck, I still am.

+ When used properly, the pill is 99% effective at preventing pregnancy.

Okay, so maybe holding out for Ryan Gosling is not the answer. According to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, the pill is 99% effective at preventing pregnancy, while condoms are 98% effective. This is assuming you use them correctly, every single time. And remember, condoms can help protect against STDs, but the only foolproof way to prevent pregnancy and the spread of STDs is abstinence and…um…things that require you delete your browser history when you’re finished.

+ MTV’s hit show “16 & Pregnant“ has been credited for a decline in teen pregnancy rates.

Even I was a “16 & Pregnant” skeptic until learning that, in a report by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned pregnancy, 82% of teenagers credited the show with helping them understand the challenges of young and unexpected parenthood. Do you think “16 and Pregnant” is a good or a bad influence on youth? Share your opinions in the comments section below!

Photo: (Agenda Magazine)

May 2 isn’t just the day after May Day. It’s also the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. The teen birth rate has gone down recently and some attribute it to the “16 & Pregnant/”Teen Mom” effect, but there are still hundreds of thousands of teens having babies each year. But hey, we’re not here to point a finger! We just want to give you more deets on the power of protection in bed, the sofa, wherever you are getting down — IF you’re getting down. We spoke with Farrah Abraham of “Teen Mom” to get the lowdown on what she thinks of the day and the impact she sees from the show.

“I think it’s very important,” said Farrah about National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. “I’m reminding people on the topics of contraception, protection, getting tested, going to your gynecologist and always taking care of your body.” Wondering where to get great info on teen pregnancy, contraceptives and other sexual health stuff? Check out It’s Your (Sex) Life. They even have a section called The Real Deal which lists the most eye opening facts about teen pregnancies like this one: “A sexually active teen who doesn’t use a contraceptive has a 90% chance of becoming pregnant within a year.” DAMN.

We also asked Farrah about teens who have been impacted by “Teen Mom.” “I was at the bank recently and I ran into some girls who said the show made them realize that they shouldn’t become a teen mom,” said Farrah. “On a daily basis I’m seeing girls who have learned from my situation and from all the other girls on ‘16 and Pregnant’ and ‘Teen Mom.’” Do you watch the show as much as these girls that Farrah bumped into at the bank? Well test your knowledge with the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy quiz. It’s a video quiz with adorable paper dolls adorned with yarn hair (seriously, they’re cute) who are gearing up for prom night.

So there you have it, National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Take the quiz, learn more at It’s Your (Sex) Life and to paraphrase Madonna circa 1989 (Lourdes wasn’t even born yet!)” Express Protect Yourself.”

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Teen Moms Share Pregnancy Prevention Advice [Video]

Photo: (Teen.com)

Maci Bookout never thought she’d be a teen mom, and even after she got pregnant, she never thought she’d have to be a single parent. Now she’s taking care of her son Bentley, splitting custody with his father Ryan, all while trying to get her degree. If she had one message to share with teens today, which is the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, it’s that being a teen mom takes a ton of sacrifice, and there is nothing glamorous about it. Read our exclusive interview with Maci in which she talks about the most common misconception about her life as a “Teen Mom,” her summer plans and her biggest struggles with Ryan.

ACT: What’s been the most challenging part of being a teen parent that you didn’t expect?

MACI: In the beginning, my biggest struggle was losing my teen years. I didn’t get to do everything that my friends who didn’t have children got to do, like going to prom and graduating from my regular high school and getting to go out and going away to college.

But after Ryan and I split up, my biggest struggle has definitely been to share my time with Bentley with his dad. I feel kind of selfish because I am grateful that his dad is still around and that he actually has a father figure in his life, but at the same time I never would have pictured motherhood with my first child being only half the time, because I have to give him away every other weekend and let him go on vacations with his dad. Holidays are always a rollercoaster. Things like that are definitely the biggest struggle for me and it’s really emotionally challenging to deal with. I never would have thought this is how my life would be when I got pregnant.

ACT: What is the biggest misconception people have about your life as a teen mom?

MACI: Probably the fact that they think that because I was on “Teen Mom” — or any of the girls for that matter — that we are celebrities now and that we live this glamorous life. They think that because we were on TV it took away the struggles of being a teen parent and it’s not the case at all… I still live a normal everyday life, I go through the same struggles as any regular teen mom. I am a single mom, me and Bentley’s dad aren’t together, I have financial problems. I’m trying to get through school, pretty much anything a teen mom goes through I still struggle with the same thing.

ACT: Today is National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. If you could create a slogan for the day what would it be?

MACI: I have always liked “Buy condoms today or buy diapers tomorrow.” It’s kind of blunt but I feel like in our generation you have to be blunt or no one’s going to take you seriously.

ACT: Have you heard any response from fans of the show or other girls in your life about how your story has affected them?

MACI: There are girls who are 16, 17 up to 25, and even as young as 12 and 13 who say, “Now that I’ve seen your show I’m going to not have sex” or “I’m going to protect myself while I’m having sex.” And then there are girls who are teen moms or young moms who say, “After watching you guys on the show I’ve gone back to school and realized that it’s possible to be happy.”

Women in their 30s and 40s who have daughters and sons have told me, “If your show wasn’t on I would have never talked to my kids about sex, but now we can sit down and watch ’16 & Pregnant’ and ‘Teen Mom’ and it opens up a conversation for us.” So it’s a wide range of all different people from different ages.

ACT: What’s coming up next for you, what are your plans for the summer?

Maci: I’m finishing up my semester in college right now, I have finals this week. Summer is a typical summer with Bentley. Go to the pool, riding his bicycle outside, he started tee ball a few weeks ago so that’s been really exciting. Really just hanging out! Our last season is premiering in June so that’s sort of bittersweet. I’m just taking it day by day to do what I want and keeping Bentley happy.

Photo: (MTV)

Dan Savage was back on his home turf of Chicago for Savage U last night and it was a sex and relationships dish session like you won’t see anywhere else. The story that really moved him (and us) was shared by Maria, a University of Illinois at Chicago student dealing with a herpes diagnosis. Watch her talk to Dan at the 11:30 mark:

+The Deets:

Maria got tested while she was in a long term relationship and confessed she felt like crying in the doctor’s office when she found out she has herpes. She and her boyfriend did end their relationship, but Maria stayed strong, is openly sharing her story and wanted some advice from Dan for the future.

+Her question

“When is a good time to tell my next partner that I have a disease?”

+The (SEX)perts weigh in

Maria is doing so many things RIGHT: To begin with, she got tested, which is the only way to know for sure if you have an STD since many show no symptoms. She got treatment and told her partner and is taking responsibility to tell her partners in the future.

Dan recommended disclosing the info after two or three dates, and said it could be her “superpower” in the dating scene. For real, anyone who can’t handle honest talk about STDs isn’t worth the time anyway.

And although there are no rules about when or how to tell your partner that you have an STD, it’s important to disclose before things get intimate.

Maria was so brave to share her story on TV, but in the real world why is it so hard for us to talk openly and honestly about STDs?? They are really common — one out of every two sexually active people will get an STD by the time they turn 25. The good news is that all STDs are treatable, and many are curable.

+What you can do:

The only way to protect yourself from getting an STD 100% of the time is to not have sex. A lot of people wait to have sex, and not having to worry about STDs is a major benefit.

If you are having sex:
-Use condoms! When used consistently and correctly each and every time you have sex, condoms are the only method that can help reduce your risk of getting infected.

-Get yourself talking about STDs and testing with your bf/gf. It isn’t always easy to start a conversation about STDs and testing, but these tips can help you get started.

If you have an STD that has no cure, like herpes, there are treatments available that make the symptoms manageable and steps you can take to reduce the risk of spreading the disease to your partner. Get more info on herpes and other common STDs here, all STDs are treatable and many are curable.

STDs don’t define who you are or what you’ll do in life: Dan said he’s sure there are guys lining up to be with Maria and we have no doubt that’s true.

Here are some of our other favorite moments, and Dan-isms, of the night.

Best sex advice that applies to all areas of life:
“You shouldn’t be doing anything that you find painful.”

Best pep talk:
“Your vagina ain’t dirty and it ain’t full of nickles and lost keys” – Dan talking about the need for women to get over being self-conscious about their genitalia.

Best call-out of the show:
“Why aren’t you using condoms!! Where are you?!?” -Dan searching in the audience for the anonymous couple who admitted to having sex without condoms.

Dan’s best geographic reference:
“It’s like the Hawaiian Islands! It’s a CHAIN of hickeys.”

Eric is working and going to community college so, even though he’s helping as much as he can, Myranda still can’t get more than 3 hours of sleep a night when Kaylee comes. As she puts it, she’s going “stir crazy” being alone in the house when she misses her friends and being in school.  She even admits she would take all of this back if she could and opens up to say that she thought it would be easier when Kaylee was born. She wishes that she would have waited to have sex so that she could give Kaylee a better life than she can right now. And Myranda isn’t alone. Did you know that almost 2 out of 3 teenagers who have had sex wish they’d waited and that half of all teens in high school have never had sex? Here are ways to talk about waiting to have sex until you’re ready.

And how did this all happen? Well, Myranda decided that she was going to go off the pill for a month because she ran out and didn’t think she would get pregnant. The pill only works when you take it correctly and consistently– that means EVERY DAY. And what about Eric? He tells his friends that he didn’t wear a condom because he was thinking about himself and not about everything else that could happen.  But thinking pregnancy won’t happen to you doesn’t protect you. So, what does work for preventing pregnancy? Find out here!