Sexual Education Extreme Flaws

why is it so hard

to talk about sex this is a question

that has circulated in my mind

for quite some time now and although our

everyday media has a large

content of sexual content it seems

as though when the time comes to talk

about it seriously

people become evasive this is especially

true if it involves teens

trying to learn more about sex what does

this mean

it means that for teens talking about

sex is

often avoided and stigmatized

this may cause teens to feel

uncomfortable with the topic or even be

frightened of sex

and some may think that is actually

comforting

i firmly disagree

throughout this talk i will explain why

teens feel uncomfortable talking about

sex

the implications this has on their

well-being and how we can better address

this sensitive subject

so what is it about sex that makes it

so awkward to talk about why is the very

thing that keeps the human race alive

something to be shunned

the reason we feel so uncomfortable is

because our surroundings are

teaching us to think of sex as bad

these surroundings include a variety of

influences but i’ll focus on a few here

let’s begin with the way religion has

affected our views

specifically christianity since i was

raised to christian

family and took a religion class based

on christian values

and with over 65 percent of the u.s

adult population identifying as

christians

many of you here may have heard these

lessons before

i was taught that sex makes you impure

and sick

any desire had to be purged masturbation

meant you were cursed

having sex before marriage meant you

were a sinner and

having a child before marriage resulted

in bastard status for the child

our religious organizations are not our

sole influence on our knowledge and

views of sex

these lessons are sometimes passed down

by your parents as well

the people who are supposed to support

us love us and teach us

are more often the first ones to create

taboos and spread misinformation

let’s set the scenario a child around

8 to 12 years old asks the classic

question

where do babies come from

some parents may provide a made-up story

about storks delivering babies

others a special kiss that creates a

baby in a woman’s stomach

others may reveal a truthful but

harmfully vague description of sex

you might find six changes quite

familiar

well that’s because our everyday media

has popularized the comedy of this

conversation

taking what our parents actually do and

portray it to us such as a scene from

modern family where we see characters

phil and claire struggle to speak about

sex with their children

in a comedic manner another great

example of this

lies in the movie bloggers and although

this movie takes on a more positive

approach towards sex in the

end the parents initial reactions

are key they reflect the way many of our

parents reacted in the same situation

in this movie three high school seniors

are planning to lose their virginity

but when their parents find out their

plans

they react with disgust and horror

stop they get nothing to prevent their

daughters from committing the worst

mistake of their lives

in these scenes instead of taking a more

positive approach and having an open

conversation with their children

we are taught that sex is something that

should be avoided at all costs

in reality parents are the ones who are

supposed to teach us

but sometimes they don’t always succeed

in this task

spreading misinformation creating taboos

or

potentially worse not bringing up the

topic

at all but what about those teens who

are receiving

no information from their religious

organizations nor from their parents

a child or teen who is curious will most

likely begin research

themselves they will

inevitably find pornography

a child or teen consuming this content

is likely to get the wrong message from

it

pornography is meant to be entertainment

not educational

but as you can imagine an uninformed

teen is not aware of this

and they might perceive what is in

pornography is what sex really is like

when it’s very far from that this could

lead to unrealistic expectations on

consent

pleasure and not to mention an ongoing

ignorance on stds and pregnancies

all of these are examples of the way our

surroundings create a negative

environment around sex

the mentality of religious organizations

and family structures

essentially demonizes sex it makes

us feel guilty for any desire then that

guilt can lead us to being misinformed

which can be

dangerous for a variety of reasons

ignorance on consent pleasure esties and

pregnancies

can all lead to someone being put into a

difficult situation

as an adult one that could have been

avoided

and while some may distance themselves

from the topic and the act

entirely there’s mirror bell

and start engaging in ignorant sexual

acts involving unsafe practices and

unhealthy relationships

what does this mean for the individual i

asked the family friend

if she thought that parents should be

more open talking about sex to their

kids

as a mother she agreed that keeping this

topic concealed

would be a lot more harmful than helpful

she proceeded to tell me the story of a

14 year old girl

who got pregnant and gave birth

her mother never talked to her about sex

she had

no way of knowing it would cause

pregnancy and a simple conversation

could have prevented this and her story

isn’t unusual a study by advocates for

youth

shows that about 750 000 teens become

pregnant each year

82 of those pregnancies being unintended

the misconception that talking to teens

about sex will make them more likely to

partake in sexual activity

could not be farther from the truth in

fact

deborah hauser president of advocates

for youth

cites research showing that

comprehensive sexual education

can actually help teens delay sexual

initiation

while also encouraging the use of

condoms and contraceptions

when they do become sexually active

i hope that by now all of you have

accepted or at least

open to the idea that keeping sex a

secret

is very detrimental

so then how do we get rid of this

perception

i would argue that education in schools

might be able to help

but even then sex ed in schools is

greatly lacking in vital information

there’s simply way too much missing to

provide for effective learning

to begin with sex ed is usually tied

into a general health class

this means that it only takes up a small

portion of the course

and is usually taught by someone with

little training or inclination to

discuss sex with teens

this situation in itself is bound to

have a lot of issues

but let’s look at what is often

discussed in this brief unit

abstinence only you know what i was told

in my sex out of class

just don’t have sex

barely any talk about using

contraceptions

or other resources just don’t do it

well guess what that won’t stop the over

50

of teens who engage in sexual activity

before they turn 18.

abstinence until marriage curriculums

basically tell teens not to do something

and expect that to be enough i’m sure

all of you can see the problem that

sadly this is pretty much present in

every success course

with over 37 states requiring

information on abstinence

compare this to only 12 states they

require information on contraceptions

and only seven they require the

information to be medically accurate

with such irregular standards it becomes

apparent why most teens will receive

proper sexual health education

there is so much more blatantly wrong

with this brief unit

they also don’t talk about consent

something that seems so crucial to talk

about is not even discussed

consent is the first tinker to consider

consent is the first thing to consider

when

planning to engage in sexual activity

sex without consent is rape and from and

preventing such situations from

happening

can be very beneficial

further sex had classes should also

elaborate on the stages of consent

just because you agreed once does not

mean you’re open to or comfortable with

everything yet

and communicating such concerns should

be normalized

further if he could teach consent to

teens

we may be able to lower the incidence of

sexual assault and rape that occur in

our country

an article by grace tatter states that a

recent study from columbia university’s

sexual health initiative to foster

transformation project

states that comprehensive sexual

education can actually help teens even

after high school

by creating a more comprehensive

approach towards consent

they’ll be less likely to commit and be

less vulnerable to

sexual violence

another big issue with sex ed is the

complete

and utter lack of lgbtq plus inclusion

teens that fall on the sexual spectrum

are already not included in many areas

but basic sexual health should be

prioritized

by disregarding teens that lie on the

sexual spectrum

we are causing this to miss out on

important medically accurate information

that is essential for good sexual health

an article by the center of american

product pro an article by the center of

american progress

states that all teens deserve education

that empowers them to make healthy

informed decisions on their

relationships and their bodies

if we continue to disregard teens that

are lgbtq

we are causing them potential harm in

their sex life later on

further sex ed classes also fail to

discuss intimacy pornography

sexual assault polygamy polygamy and

monogamy

the differences between love and

infatuation

in addition kings and fetishes are far

off this list

richard weissbor an american

psychologist

agrees that sex ed in this country is

abstinence only or disaster prevention

how to not get pregnant and not get

sexually transmitted diseases

it’s not about respect and care in a

loving relationship

in vice buddha study 65 percent of his

respondents

wish they had received more guidance on

the emotional aspects of romantic

relationships

and their health and sex out of classes

in short

these classes offer almost nothing to

properly educate teens

finding quality guidance and information

on sex in this country

is difficult we must change the way we

teach sex in order to give our youth a

better chance at success

maybe we can find ways to encourage

religious organizations

and schools to promote inclusive sexual

education

what we can absolutely control however

is the way

we talk about sex within our families

friendships romantic relationships

i encourage all of you to open the

conversation on healthy sexual practices

with your children

students peers and anyone who seeks

guidance

do what you can to promote a world where

all of us

have open access to resources and

information

a world where we are not afraid to speak

of our sexuality

why because self-worth and sex

is not implicitly understood

we must explicitly help others to

recognize

the boundaries and beauties of sex

thank you

you