teen health website

If the goal of education is to dismiss myths, dispel ignorance and impart knowledge, then sex education has a moral obligation to give out all the facts and tell the whole truth about sex. The purpose of speaking openly and candidly about sex is not in order to encourage teenage sexual activity, but to help teenagers cope and have them enlightened when they choose to have sex later in life. Irrational fears that early sex education will encourage premature and irresponsible sexual experimentation are misplaced. Research found that the lowest rates of teenage pregnancies and abortions are found in countries with the most open sex lessons in schools, the most widely available family planning services and the most liberal sexual attitudes.

Sex is an ever prevalent image in our society. Everything has sex in it, especially in our pop culture, where everything from soda Ads, to hair commercial and phone ads consists of sexual images.

Take a quick look at this image, and try to guess what kind of ad this is:

A)Hair dye
B)Lipstick
C)Watch
D)Sunless Tan
E)Make-Up

If you guessed C, then you are correct. This is a Swatch Watch ad. The naked woman covered in barely there body paint that oozes sexuality is supposed to be trying to sell you a watch that just tells time. A great example of images that dominate our society, and are mostly targeted towards teenagers, the most prominent consumers. Images like that blatantly advertise sex, and that is just a little piece of something that surrounds us.

This is a society and pop culture that is blatantly dominated by sex, and sexual images. One would think that the teenagers of today who are well aware of sex, will receive an in-depth sex education and will know methods of how to protect themselves, but that isn’t so. The average teenager doesn’t receive sufficient information. Take a quick look at the kind of health education that you receive in school. It consists mostly of teaching you about abstinence until marriage. These are programs that must be taught by the schools because they have popular, prominent and powerful supporters in our legislative branch. Supporters who see the teaching of more than just abstinence will demoralize our society and encourage teens to have sex.

There is something wrong with that belief and with a program like that. Its trying to avoid the issue and provide one cure for all. It’s ridiculous to enforce this system and ignores that fact that we live in a blatantly sexual society, everything has sex in it, and quote frequently used in advertising is "sex sells". Its laughable to believe that teenagers will stop having sex, teens will have sex as long as there is air, isn’t it better they do it aware of what they are doing and armed with the right information.

To further understand the importance of sex Ed, I decided to talk to my friends and some other teenagers just to get their take on the kind of sex ed they receive. I found it shocking that the information they received on sex education wasn’t from their health class, but from reading articles, TV and friends. Their sexual knowledge came from experience and their friends imparting their knowledge on them after their sexual experience. In this case teens don’t often know what to do in case of emergency , such as a condom break, and live unhealthy sexual lives into their adulthood. They are idiot savants when it comes to adequate information about sex.

It would be unfair of me to interview one spectrum so I decided to go to other end, and see another point of view, guardians and some teens. There is a reason most parents support abstinence only programs, and that is to help their teens . Some parents and teens believe that there is already enough stress being a teenager, throwing in all this information about sex, will makes things only more difficult. There are also some parents who don’t just use religion as a reason to support abstinence only programs and scare tactics, but believe that giving in-depth information about sex will encourage them to have sex. They believe that if a teen is unable to vote , drink or smoke or do a host of adult things why should sex be any different. In their view, sex is a burden on adults, how is a teen still under legal guardianship be expected to handle it.

Whatever side you support, I stand to the left on this issue. I understand the logic that if you can’t vote, smoke or drink or do other adult things, why should sex and sexual education be any different, but who expects that logic to stay in this day and age. Its laughable to expect someone to deny their sexual urges until their late 20s which is when most marriages occur. Its shocking to find teens who live in a sexual society who know little about sex, Isn’t better to be safe than sorry?. Doesn’t it reflect greatly on our society to have teens who are sexually savvy, and know more than just the consequences of sex. I am not encouraging teenage sex, if they haven’t thought about it and aren’t aware of the risks involved, I am encouraging safe sex.

Safe sex doesn’t just mean that you have a condom, it means you know how to put it on properly, it means you know how to take birth control pills and means that you are well aware of the different forms of contraception such as the female condom. Safe sex means its not only that the guy that is expected to be sexually savvy in knowing to buy condoms and how to put it on, but that the young lady is comfortable enough to purchase the condoms, and look into other forms of contraception without feeling shame.

Teens are having sex and its not shocking, it’s a fact, you can‘t pretend ignorance to that. You can’t pretend ignorance to the fact that of those who are sexually active, only 79% use condoms a number that will increase if more than just abstinence is taught. Sex is a private thing shared only by the participants, who is the government to hold a such a high moral stand and teach only abstinence. Its impossible to control the actions of teenagers but it is possible to help them make the right decision, through proper education and that means teaching openly and frankly about sex.

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