Obnoxious Bitch
Saturday, December 06, 2003
Just in case it gets deleted from the board it’s posted on…
The trouble with sex education
The primary problem with what’s been called “sex ed” throughout American history is that we have trouble speaking plainly. I hear people saying that “we tell them too much,” but IMO not only don’t we tell them enough, but what little we can bring ourselves to talk about is more allusion and circumlocution than straight-up facts and clinical terms.
Until we (and I’m speaking of us as a culture) grow up and get over our adolescent attitude and puritan shame about sex and start treating our reproductive systems with the same respect as we have for the rest of our body, people will get in trouble, get sick and die because they’re either ignorant, in denial or ashamed.
The only guarantees come with abstinence. Period. However, here in real life teenagers (and adults) do not always abstain. So they need to be educated in what ELSE will minimize the risks. Those options include condoms and safer sex, which offers a RANGE of activities that keep everyone safe *and* happy. Not only are few people willing to come forth and present those options in a straightforward manner, but those who do are shouted down and vilified for “encouraging licentious behavior.”
Joycelyn Elder had the right idea, and for daring to suggest teaching our kids about ONE *very* common safe sex practice, she was branded a heretic and kicked out of her job. How ridiculous!
We’ve made some progress since my grandmother’s day, but we’ve got a LONG way to go. We’re doomed until we are allowed to educate people - all of their lives - in the proper care for the health of their “naughty bits” (euphemisms are the American Way!) with the same level of maturity, honesty and plain speech we offer about caring for their lungs, hearts, kidneys and teeth. People have sex, that’s a fact. They need to know when, why and HOW to do it to keep themselves healthy, without making everything about it seem shameful.
Our Attorney General felt Lady Justice was immodest… that’s a *really* bad sign for the future of sex ed in America.
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