Ah... abstinence only Sex Ed. Some of you may have had it. Some of you may have had more comprehensive Sex Ed. Others might have had a very conservative course, a religiously themed course, or anything in between. Regardless, there is a wide spectrum of material you may or may not have learned. And in this inconsistency is an issue.
The U.S. is up in the air regarding sex education, especially in their laws. Each state has different laws and regulations regarding the subjects and treatment of all topics sexual. However, there tends to be a trend: more conservative states tend to have more abstinence only education and have a higher chance of having a secular education. In the heat of this, we have two camps: those who want comprehensive sexual education that includes abstinence but other forms of contraception, and those who want abstinence only education with little to no mentions of contraception.
Where does that leave us, and more importantly, our youth?
Many are left uninformed or even misinformed. Right now, the U.S. is pumping out dollars for abstinence only sexual education. It went down a bit with the Obama administration, but congress still gives about 50 million dollars to abstinence only Sex Ed.
It's one (still horrible) thing to leave a teenager in the dark, but it's another to use scare tactics to make them obey you. Other tactics can bruise a woman's self-esteem and objectify them as just a vagina. And less noted, but still true: abstinence only education can dehumanize males and treat them like they have no control over their desires.
Some Blatant Lies Told to Youth in Some Abstinence Only Programs
•Gay sex will give you AIDS.
•HIV will leak through the pores of condoms (no, not just sheepskin, latex too)
•Birth control pills don't work
•Birth control pills are bad for women
This is just a sample of medically and scientifically incorrect 'facts' told in some Sex Ed classrooms (not all granted, but this should not happen, at all). Maybe that is the reason various medical and scientific groups are opposed to abstinence only Sex Ed. Oh, and let's not forget lying by omission either. One common example is that males only see the male anatomy and females only see female anatomy in some Sex Ed programs. Sad but true, this could be contributing to the idea that women pee out of their vaginas.
In other abstinence programs there is a deliberate omission of the clitoris as well. This is just some of the misinformation out there with these programs, but many go deeper and try to use psychological means to control youngsters.
The U.S. is up in the air regarding sex education, especially in their laws. Each state has different laws and regulations regarding the subjects and treatment of all topics sexual. However, there tends to be a trend: more conservative states tend to have more abstinence only education and have a higher chance of having a secular education. In the heat of this, we have two camps: those who want comprehensive sexual education that includes abstinence but other forms of contraception, and those who want abstinence only education with little to no mentions of contraception.
Where does that leave us, and more importantly, our youth?
Many are left uninformed or even misinformed. Right now, the U.S. is pumping out dollars for abstinence only sexual education. It went down a bit with the Obama administration, but congress still gives about 50 million dollars to abstinence only Sex Ed.
It's one (still horrible) thing to leave a teenager in the dark, but it's another to use scare tactics to make them obey you. Other tactics can bruise a woman's self-esteem and objectify them as just a vagina. And less noted, but still true: abstinence only education can dehumanize males and treat them like they have no control over their desires.
Some Blatant Lies Told to Youth in Some Abstinence Only Programs
•Gay sex will give you AIDS.
•HIV will leak through the pores of condoms (no, not just sheepskin, latex too)
•Birth control pills don't work
•Birth control pills are bad for women
This is just a sample of medically and scientifically incorrect 'facts' told in some Sex Ed classrooms (not all granted, but this should not happen, at all). Maybe that is the reason various medical and scientific groups are opposed to abstinence only Sex Ed. Oh, and let's not forget lying by omission either. One common example is that males only see the male anatomy and females only see female anatomy in some Sex Ed programs. Sad but true, this could be contributing to the idea that women pee out of their vaginas.
In other abstinence programs there is a deliberate omission of the clitoris as well. This is just some of the misinformation out there with these programs, but many go deeper and try to use psychological means to control youngsters.
Great points! The part about being taught all boys are pigs was true for me and every female I knew though. Not men, though, no you're right about that. Not all MEN are sex crazed pigs, but I had never met a boy in my teenage times that weren't only after sex and that would not say anything to get it -- it was the opposite for me and every girl I knew as teens. Boys WERE like that, and sadly, most men still are, and I experience it still. But thankfully have chosen a MAN.