So, Ginx has been talking a bit about this stuff. And, I found this article today. It is official.... The American Academy of Pediatrics is revealing that abstinence education and media depictions of sexuality have created a situation where 1 in 4 American teenagers have a sexually transmitted disease. Nice, yet another disgrace added to the litany of abuse given to the population from George W Bush. The AAP wants informed sexual education programs to be given to the kids.... Will never happen. Of course, most Christians will easily omit the abstinence section of this study, and completely blame the media for these findings. Nevertheless, normal people forsee that abstinence breeds deviance, and I personally thought that all along. My own father encouraged me to be sexually responsible and open; he opened the door for me to access birth control free of judgment and restraint with his full support. That brilliant piece of reverse psychology kept me a virgin till I left his home around the age of 19 or 20. Had he made me take a pledge to remain a virgin till marriage, I would have been a dirty, dirty girl with many stories to tell. Thoughts?
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/72167
I've never taken an abstinence pledge. We had a lot of teaching on sexuality in my church's young adults group. It was more a case of having choices and consequences laid out before us, and having learnt from the experiences of others, then being left to decide for myself what path I'd take.
ReplyDeleteYou know, how one chooses to explore one's own sexuality is a personal matter. My primary issue with abstinence is that it does not inform young adults properly. You need to take responsibility and protect yourself from disease, and clearly 1 in 4 is alarming. HPV is very serious. If one chooses to remain a virgin- fine, but, if you engage in other acts, make sure you are careful and take the necessary precautions.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as though your church took a more responsible position.... I believe that the evangelical section is more hardline about the abstinence approach. I read an article, gonna see if I can dig it up, that mothers are not consenting to vaccinating their daughters for HPV because the girls had taken the pledge. That is just stupid.
ReplyDeleteIt is stupid. The idea goes like this...
ReplyDeleteGiving their daughters the vaccine will be like giving them a license to be promiscuous.
How one gets from point A to point B in this instance, I've not been able to figure out.
Yeah, I get that.
ReplyDeleteHad someone encouraged me to remain a virgin until marriage, I would have been a very different girl. I loved and respected my father, and I knew how hard it was for him to open the door like that. Because he did it, I really did not want to hurt him. So, I just did not go there until it would not affect his life and I could take care of it. 1 in 4 is really serious, and will affect the birth rate of the country. Now, people will be getting married to "virgin" brides and grooms with a history of STD. Insane.
Make something seem very disirable erotic and taboo.And some more folks will be quickly drawn toward testing the boundary.
ReplyDeleteYes... That is why 1 in 4 are sick.
ReplyDeleteAnd, they are engaging in more high risk activities in an effort to maintain their virginity.
There are people who think that.
ReplyDeleteNot only that, they also think that oral does not count, and that is how HPV is spreading. Being an ass clown may protect your vaginal virginity, but it is a risky act. There is plenty more tearing involved, which means that body fluid transmission exchange is higher. I read somewhere that these mothers do not even want their kids to be taught how to properly use a condom. That is scary.