Being that it's Valentine's Day and all, I found a couple of appropriately themed articles for your reading pleasure. The first is a Q&A with author Laura M. Carpenter about her book "Virginity Lost." What I found fascinating was how Carpenter breaks down three different views of virginity in her book: a gift, a stigma or a learning process.

On it being a "gift": Sociologists who study gift-giving have often pointed out that we talk about gifts as if they're voluntary and entirely different from economic transactions, but are they really?

If I give you an iPod for Christmas and you give me a box of paper clips, what does that mean about our relationship?

…If you've transferred a precious part of yourself to somebody, then in leaving them, you've left behind this special thing that you could only give to one person.

On it being "a stigma": The "stigmatists" are so desperate not to be virgins that they're not willing to wait for someone who might be, you know, pleasant to do it with…

On it being "a process": The "processors" are pretty curious about sex. The processors can wait. They're not desperate. If their parents have been to college, they were likely exposed to the sociological idea that losing your virginity is a rite of passage. They went to really good schools that had progressive sex education.

Hmmm…which one were you? Having been raised by a born-again mom, I was definitely, unfortunately a "stigmatist." Update: One of my Christian readers emailed to ask what I meant by this. Quite simply, it meant I grew up thinking sex was dirty, sinful and wrong, but that it was "beautiful" in marriage (my parents divorce when I was 17). Masturbation was also a sin. The message hammered over my head was "don't do it." Since I never became a Christian or accepted my mom's beliefs, all of this just gave me more reason to rebel.

The interview also has some good teen pop cult stuff on virginity like how Donna Martin became the one character we all remember from "90210."

Speaking of teen "gifters," or at least the religious kind, they are celebrating V-Day as a "Day of Purity." According to today's L.A. Times, reg. required, "hundreds of teenagers across the country will join Hall in wearing white this Valentine's Day to signal a commitment to abstinence."

And finally, it seems that Canadian college students, being all enlightened and Canadian, are practicing one form of safe sex — virtual sex. According to Reuters, "of more than 2,500 university and college students polled across Canada, 87 percent of them are having sex over instant messenger, webcams or the telephone, according to results of a national survey released on Monday."

One word that came up in my Tagged.com survey for the book was "cyber" used as a verb to signify having cyber sex. Like "Yeah, I've cybered before." I hadn't heard that before…

I'm constantly amazed at how quickly Christian teen media has literally been able to copy every youth trend and produce its own version. There are lots of youth ministers who subsribe to the Ypulse Daily Update…Ypulse reader Andrea sent me an email about a new Christian manga called "Serenity." From her email:

"Buzz Dixon, animation and comic book veteran (Disney, Marvel, Hanna Barbera) and president of Realbuzz Studios, is reaching teen girls through the distinctive Japanese style - magna comics - adressing real life issues from peer pressure to sexual temptation with a faith-based perspective. In the first of a six-book series, SERENITY: BAD GIRL IN TOWN (Barbour Publishing) endorsed by Spider-Man cocreator Stan Lee, the lead character is being raised by a single parent and must confront her anger, distrust, relationships and other issues."

Teens for Jesus Christ features teen produced articles on a variety of topics, not just religion. It's a community where teens can create blogs and reach out to people with similar religious ideas. Some of the most popular articles range from gossip to forgiveness. The site has a clear religious message, but many teens are responding

I think I spent most of my teenage years rebelling from religion. My dad was your typical Jew, making sure I went to Hebrew school and services, especially on the High Holidays. But I never could tell whether or not he actually believed in it…My mom was a born-again Christian Jew (aka Jew for Jesus, Messianic Jew, etc.) who had her awakening when I was 5. I gave my mom's version of evangelical Christianity a shot (in my mind) when I was 9 by asking, "Are you there God? If so, prove it!" to the ceiling at night.

When nothing appeared, I pretty much all out rejected it with the exception of when I was really afraid. Then I'd pray to just about anything to save my soul from the terrifying images of hell, demons and damnation that my mom's version of Christianity helped to embed in my unconscious. I still can't watch movies like "Carrie," "The Exorcist" or even Demi Moore in "The Seventh Sign." In my teenage rebellion, I would have identified more with Marylin Manson (who had very Christian parents) than the young man at the center of this Sunday's New York Times magazine essay called "Getting Religion" (reg. required) about his experience as a born-again teen. The catalyst for the essay was a trip to the Greater New York Billy Graham Crusade. From the article:

"All teenagers are dogmatists; a teenager with a Bible is simply a more intense teenager. I relished being a prophet without honor in my own homeroom. Not long after I was saved, I took an old sweatshirt and wrote 'Property of Jesus' on it with permanent Magic Marker and wore it to class. I then asked a friend to make me a large leather cross, which I wore around my neck every day, just so people knew where I stood. I prowled the school halls with a leatherbound Scofield Reference Bible tucked under my arm, looking for victims. I even took on teachers, whose skepticism struck me as a sign of spiritual degeneracy. I disarmed them with a little Scripture, skewered them with the sharpened tip of my logical modus ponens, shaking their foundations and preparing them for salvation. I was doing them a favor."

In a separate but related item — check out Jeff Lange's article about the Christian music fest "Night of Joy" held at Disney World (part of Disney's "Narnia" marketing efforts?). Turns out it was more like a "Night of Anarchy." Funny stuff.

I've received a couple emails from readers interested in guest posting (Yay). It will probably take me a couple weeks to figure out an editorial strategy for this…

I also received two interesting press releases yesterday. The first is from Ypulse reader Jennie who is involved with promoting the Revolve Tour (this is the Christian teen event making stops around the country). One thing I found interesting was that they are choosing to make eating disorders one of the main topics discussed on their tour. From their press release:

"The Revolve Tour will tackle one of the toughest issues that teen girls are facing – eating disorders. According to the Health and Sciences department at UCLA, adolescent girls and young women are the most vulnerable to anorexia and bulimia. Speakers, including chart-topping vocalist Natalie Grant, will share their personal stories of struggle with this issue."

Another release hit my inbox from Ypulse reader Caitlyn promoting Doritos Fresh Films contest. The winners have been chosen and Caitlyn says there were 525,383 online votes. Check it out. From the release:

"Winners of the Doritos Fresh Films program are crowned the Freshest Filmmakers of the Year at a Hollywood Premiere Party on September 8th at the Ivar. Partners Doritos, SonyMusic and Apple also provide prizes to each filmmaker, including their own Apple editing system."

The Tampa Tribune published a piece about the Christian Retail Show, which featured a couple of paragraphs about a company called Relevant Media that is expanding their efforts at spreading "the Word" to the youth market. From the article:

"Among the 410 companies with booths at the Denver gathering is Relevant Media Group of Orlando. Founder and President Cameron Strang felt both suppliers and retailers weren't delivering to his age market, so five years ago, at age 24, he formed a company that publishes a magazine, 18 books annually and a Web site - all geared toward customers ages 18 to 34.

His gamble paid off: The magazine just hit 65,000 circulation, the Web site gets 350,000 hits a month, and the book division continues its cultural connection with titles such as 'Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2' and 'Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst.'

At this week's show, Strang is announcing two more divisions, an online music video channel called 'Relevant TV' to debut in fall and Radiant, a monthly magazine targeted to women 18 to 34 and coming out early next year."

Ypulse reader and colleague Robin sent me this fascinating article in Rolling Stone called "The Young and the Sexless," which takes us inside the "cool" sector of the Christian celibacy scene. This is the part of the scene where young people look and act like hipsters (they may even be Christian rockers), but have pledged to remain virgins until they are married (if they slipped, they're "recycled virgins"), reject masturbation and have to confess any use of pornography. They're the new "monks," turning hedonism on its head and waiting impatiently for the rock star sex they plan to have with their future Christian wives. This kind of sums up the article:

Like the fundamentalists of old, today's Christian conservatives define themselves as apart from the world, and yet the modern movement aims to enjoy its fruits. To the biblical austerity of chastity, they add the promise of mind-blowing sex, using the very terms of the sexual revolution they rally against. And that's just the beginning. Sexual regulation is a means, not an end. To believers, the movement offers a vision grander even than the loveliness of a virgin: a fairy tale in which every man will be a spiritual warrior, a knight in the service of the king of kings, promised the hand and the heart and, yes, the sexual services of a "lady." That is the erotic dream of Christian conservatism: a restoration of chivalry, a cleansing of impurity, a nation without sin, an empire of the personal as political. "Power," as Pastor Nelson of the Journey promises, is the guaranteed result of "passions properly pursued."

To each their own. In a separate but related article originally published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (reg. required), critic Christopher Kelly laments the lack of honest portrayals of teen sexuality in film. He lists some movies I'm going to quickly add to my Netflix cue including: Mysterious Skin (out now), Me and You and Everyone We Know (opening July 15), The Last American Virgin, Edge of Seventeen, and Fat Girl; and re-watches of Little Darlings and Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

I would add to this list: All Over Me, Gas, Food, Lodging and Manny & Lo. Any you would add?

The St. Louis Dispatch wrote about a magabook (just made that up, but it would be a book that is designed to look like a magazine — think Biblezines or Bibles that look like teen magazines) by conservative Christian author Vicki Courtney called "Teen Virtue." From the article:

"From a quick flip through its bold and graphic pages, it would appear that "TeenVirtue" (Broadman & Holman Publishers, 150 pages, $14.95) is a trendy magazine. But it's a book. There are no advertisements, interviews or alternative viewpoints. Just Courtney's philosophical musings and ultra-conservative advice. (She's anti-gay, anti-abortion and anti-bellybutton exposure.)"

The idea to make the book look and feel like a teen mag allegedly came from Courtney's teen daughter. Courtney believes teen mags like "Seventeen" and "Cosmo Girl" "lead young women astray."

This part of the larger trend in Christian Teen Media to co-opt the look and feel of pop culture while infusing whatever media they're using with a Christian message.

Here's what some teens interviewed had to say about "Virtue":

Taiesha Carson, 14, of Hazelwood, was intrigued by "TeenVirtue" until she hit the gay chapter.

"Ohhhh, that's mean," she said, visibly flinching.

Her friend, Tenesha Barley, 20, of Jennings, was standing nearby sporting eight tattoos and three body piercings. She didn't particularly care for the general tone of "TeenVirtue."

"It's the person inside that makes a person good or bad," said Barley, a blood collector for the American Red Cross. "(TeenVirtue) shouldn't be downing people like that. It makes people think the wrong thing in this day and age in 2005."

Ceci Murray, 14, of St. Charles said Courtney's anti-gay rhetoric might make some teens boycott the book.

"When (they) want to say this is wrong or that's wrong, it's kind of creepy," she said. "Teens want to make their own decision. It turns them off."

Wow. Is it the iPod era? I'm sure Apple would love the title and design of this report on Gen Y (.pdf) examining issues of identity, community and meaning from youth ages 18-25 across racial and ethnic lines. The survey was sponsored by Reboot, a non-profit Jewish organization that believes "every generation must grapple with the questions of Jewish identity, community and meaning on its own terms."

This report is a must-read. The following headers before the key findings tell you why…[hint: Gen Y may be religious, but they are not conservative...]

Most diverse generation in history.
Denominationalism on the decline and pluralism on the rise.
Faith expressed in highly personal, informal ways.
Social circles diverse.
Religious teens are more self-aware.
Religious young people more active in politics, community.
But STDs, jobs, grades come before God.
Generation Y is disengaged from politics.
Progressive social views dominate.

Youth Marketing Mega Event Conference Day Two Morning Dispatch reported by Jennifer Waits: Today was the first "official" day of the conference and they pulled out the big guns before lunch, with a presentation by trend guru Irma Zandl and a Q&A with Kevin Liles (subbing for the absent Russell Simmons who is announcing the launch of a new music group today), Def Jam and Warner Music big wig and the author of the Milli Vanilli hit "Girl You Know it's True."

Irma Zandl has been tracking cultural trends for years and did a very detailed presentation on ten marketing tips and also shared some current trends like "Uber: Go-for-Baroque," which is like a 1980s resurgence of ostentatious wealth processed through hip hop culture and the elevation of bling. She also talked about the growing influence of Middle America ("Heartland Values") and of gaming culture ("Frag Fest"). The more DIY Liles says he's less about formal trend tracking and research and more about trusting his gut because he "lives it" (he's immersed in hip hop culture and is releasing a book on how he went from being an intern to the corner office in the music biz). Liles began his talk sort of berating Zandl's trend predictions ("the chinchilla coat was 7 years ago"), but at times gave a nod to her insights.

Newsletter subscribers, go to YPulse to read a complete summary of Irma Zandl's 10 tips for marketers and the 3 trends from her Hot Sheet that she discussed.

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