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"[Yet], they're [Corporate America] going to do whatever they think works faster and with the most people, which means they will drag standards down," said New York University communications professor Mark Crispin-Miller, in the PBS Frontline documentary titled Merchants of Cool.

Such is evident from a survey, titled "Sexual Pressure," found in June 2005 on the official website of Seventeen. The survey asked teens detailed questions about their decisions regarding participation in various types of heterosexual and homosexual intercourse.

Say What?

Even more disturbing is that the magazine pitches these topics as a health issue while being quick to include a question about virginity and a claim that abstinence is the only effective means of contraception. In other words, they are sending mixed messages to a vulnerable generation.

"Has there ever before been a flood of such contradictory, confusing high-pressure 'advice' directed at teen girls that serves their interests less?" asks Sheila Gibbons, a commentator for Women's eNews.

"The ying and yang of being simultaneously irresistible and virginal fill page after page," she explained. "Impressionable teens [and pre-teens] are being whip-sawed by the mixed messages."

Some of these mixed messages are also finding their way into publications labeled as faith-based, spiritual and even Christian. For example, Guideposts Sweet 16 is a "bimonthly publication that connects with girls -- body, mind, and spirit -- and inspires them to live positive lives."

While some of the magazine contents were questionable, what AFA Journal found most objectionable was the inclusion of a website intended to aid a person struggling with cutting. Cutting is a type of self-injury (SI) inflicted by teens on themselves as a way of easing emotional pain with physical pain. The website encourages teens to find alternatives to SI that produce a similar "intense sensation." The website suggests sex as one of those alternatives.

Aside from the mixed messages about sexual content, AFA Journal also found what it sees as a misrepresentation of biblical truth in the first two issues of Realiteen, a new Christian magazine for teen girls about "real life, real faith and real fun."

"The vision behind Realiteen is to be one of the top teen girl lifestyle magazines by using their interests to drive them towards Christ," explained Virgin. "Anyone, whether she's an atheist or a Christian missionary between the ages of 14 and 17, should be able to pick it up and learn more about our Savior."

Unfortunately, after reviewing the Spring 2005 and the August/September 2005 issues of Realiteen, AFA Journal concluded the magazine mixes Christianity and worldliness in a way that waters down Christ and the truth of the Gospel.

For example in one issue, girls are taught how to give their Bibles a makeover since "it's hard enough to read your Bible, let alone take it with you wherever you go."

But probably most disheartening is the section of "Hollywood Highlights" where various celebrities share their spiritual beliefs that range from Kabbalah to Buddhism to the denial of being a born-again Christian. Not once is a biblical view of Christ given nor an explanation as to why these beliefs are pagan.

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