......Sex, Lies, STI and that Angry ass Nun................

From Jessica Simpson’s virginity vow to the charming yet very cheesy Trojan condom commercials; sex is everywhere in today’s mainstream society. So, it is nearly impossible for anyone let alone teenagers to avoid this issue since it is in every form of media that they are expose to. A pornographic image of the famous adult film star Jenna Jameson is only a mouse-click away opposed to the last century where men would hide magazines like Playboy and Penthouse under their mattresses. Let’s face it, sex is and will always be a vital issue amongst teens and it is their right to be educated about the subject.

First and foremost, it is the parents’ responsibility to educate and discuss sex. Whether they choose to believe it or not, they are the most influential people in their son/daughter’s life. Age fourteen is the appropriate age to bring up this issue since most teens are going through puberty and statistics show that some adolescents are already experimenting at that age. When discussing the topic they must go beyond “The Birds and the Bees” and must touch upon the physical and emotional aspect that sex entails. Along with the benefits and possible consequences that sex can have. And parents must stress that more often than not, having sex at a young age is not a wise idea because their rampant hormones and his/her maturity level. Last but definitely not least, parents must trust their child and let him/her decide how he/she will conduct their sex life. Ultimately, it is their son/daughter’s decision.

Schools also have a great responsibility to educate America’s youth about sex. However, since President Bush has been in office, today’s teens are putting themselves in jeopardy. It’s no secret that President Bush has Christian values one of them being sexual abstinence until marriage. He is entitled to his own beliefs but it is not his place to enforce them onto others. This didn’t stop him and his administration from only funding schools that choose to advocate abstinence-only training where teens sign pledges swearing that they will save themselves for marriage. There are many flaws surrounding abstinence-only training the main one being the educators are condemning condoms stating that they are ineffectual. They also warn students that premarital sex is the equivalent to signing their death certificate. One of the educators clearly says “Then be prepared to die!” to a student asking what would happen to him if he had premarital sex. The claims listed above are utterly ridiculous and false. By condemning condoms and contraception use they are endangering these teens because instead of having vaginal intercourse, they are having UNPROTECTED oral and anal sex. It’s common knowledge that both sex acts can result in a sexually transmitted infection/disease being contracted. This is not mentioning teen pregnancy as another consequence of abstinence-only training.

In a perfect world, every one of these teens who sign these pledges would uphold them. Realistically, many will but MOST will not. Over two-thirds of teenagers will lose their virginity by the time they graduate high school. Numbers have shown that junior high students are already experimenting with oral sex. And according to Candies Event to Prevent 4 out 10 women will have experienced at least one pregnancy by age twenty. Whether the President, his administration, parents and America’s education system like it or not, teenagers are sexually active. The worse thing that we as a society can do is let today’s youth remain ignorant of contraception use, the effectiveness of them, sexually transmitted infections/ diseases and HIV/AIDS. Today’s teenagers should be armed with the proper information instead of making life-altering and dangerous decisions about an issue that they nothing about.

This is the new millennium and that angry nun from the 1950’s waving her finger at teenagers saying “Don’t have sex before marriage OR ELSE!” needs to be retired because she’s not as intimidating as she used to be. Things have changed; couples are living together BEFORE walking down the aisle and some do not choose marriage. The message that needs to be conveyed is either don’t have sex or use contraception. It’s that simple and yet, it’s very difficult to get that across when there are so many who refuse to accept it as reality. The consequences are dire because America’s future is at risk.