Let's talk about sex
Caroline May
Issue date: 11/18/09 Section: Opinion
Guest Columnist
Let's talk about sex. If you feel the need to gasp, giggle and/or blush, please take the necessary precautions first by not reading while chewing gum or consuming a beverage that can be spewed on the person sitting in front of or beside you.
I know it's a scary, embarrassing, uncomfortable topic, but we as a society should not shy away from talking about sex honestly. The United States' policy is abstinence-only education, and the Alabama Sexuality and Education Law and Policy states that abstinence is the expected social standard for all unmarried school-age persons. But this abstinence-only-until-marriage educational policy is brought into question by statistics from Alabama's own Department of Public Health.
According to Medical News Today in an article entitled "STD Rates in Alabama Among Highest in Nation," "Chlamydia, gonorrhea, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and syphilis are the most frequently reported STDs within Alabama. The state's positivity rate by age is consistent with national disease trends. The age group most affected by chlamydia and gonorrhea is 15 to 19- year-olds, followed by 20 to 24-year-olds."
Given that the age range most affected by chlamydia and gonorrhea is the same age range receiving censored sex education, it seems clear that abstinence-only education has not done much to combat these diseases.
What concerns me further is that students within these age ranges are not concentrated solely in the secondary school systems, but also in our colleges and universities. Though Alabama states that all unmarried student-age people should be held to the social standard of abstinence until marriage, it is unrealistic to assume that all unmarried students, especially college age students, refrain from sexual activity until marriage. Also, the social standard set by Alabama Sexuality and Education Law and Policy discriminates against those whose sexual orientation does not comply with U.S. or Alabama law concerning marriage.
The job of those at educational institutions is to prepare young adults for life. We are taught to just say no, but I feel that as young adults we should be given complete education about our bodies, not in an anatomy class, but in a sex education class.
At Samford we are taught to be critical thinkers and to make informed decisions, but without being given all the facts concerning sex, that's not possible. I think that abstinence-only education only increases our fear of talking about sex in an open forum. And our fear of how we'll be looked at for talking about such a scandalous subject as sexual contraception makes it all the more likely couples will not talk about how to protect themselves in a sexual relationship.
So, I say let's talk about sex. Knowledge is power, and, right now, young people are powerless.
Caroline May is a senior sociology major from Gaylesville, Ala. She can be reached at
cemayr@samford.edu.
Let's talk about sex. If you feel the need to gasp, giggle and/or blush, please take the necessary precautions first by not reading while chewing gum or consuming a beverage that can be spewed on the person sitting in front of or beside you.
I know it's a scary, embarrassing, uncomfortable topic, but we as a society should not shy away from talking about sex honestly. The United States' policy is abstinence-only education, and the Alabama Sexuality and Education Law and Policy states that abstinence is the expected social standard for all unmarried school-age persons. But this abstinence-only-until-marriage educational policy is brought into question by statistics from Alabama's own Department of Public Health.
According to Medical News Today in an article entitled "STD Rates in Alabama Among Highest in Nation," "Chlamydia, gonorrhea, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and syphilis are the most frequently reported STDs within Alabama. The state's positivity rate by age is consistent with national disease trends. The age group most affected by chlamydia and gonorrhea is 15 to 19- year-olds, followed by 20 to 24-year-olds."
Given that the age range most affected by chlamydia and gonorrhea is the same age range receiving censored sex education, it seems clear that abstinence-only education has not done much to combat these diseases.
What concerns me further is that students within these age ranges are not concentrated solely in the secondary school systems, but also in our colleges and universities. Though Alabama states that all unmarried student-age people should be held to the social standard of abstinence until marriage, it is unrealistic to assume that all unmarried students, especially college age students, refrain from sexual activity until marriage. Also, the social standard set by Alabama Sexuality and Education Law and Policy discriminates against those whose sexual orientation does not comply with U.S. or Alabama law concerning marriage.
The job of those at educational institutions is to prepare young adults for life. We are taught to just say no, but I feel that as young adults we should be given complete education about our bodies, not in an anatomy class, but in a sex education class.
At Samford we are taught to be critical thinkers and to make informed decisions, but without being given all the facts concerning sex, that's not possible. I think that abstinence-only education only increases our fear of talking about sex in an open forum. And our fear of how we'll be looked at for talking about such a scandalous subject as sexual contraception makes it all the more likely couples will not talk about how to protect themselves in a sexual relationship.
So, I say let's talk about sex. Knowledge is power, and, right now, young people are powerless.
Caroline May is a senior sociology major from Gaylesville, Ala. She can be reached at
cemayr@samford.edu.
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