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Sex education for teens
by Sister Usha and Brother Osiris
The following is a formal policy statement by Divinely Female.
The United States has a schizophrenic attitude toward sexuality. The various states have a bewildering array of laws restricting sexual activity and distribution of sexually oriented writings. These are based to a large extent on the traditional Christian moral values to which many Americans profess adherence. Yet, at the same time, the country seems obsessed with sex. Popular culture in the form of television, radio, books, magazines, and music is filled with sexual images and sexual references. Polls show that the traditional Christian value of sexual activity only within the marriage is adhered to by only a small percentage of the population.
There is an old saying in the US that "What you don't know can't hurt you." Sex is one subject in which ignorance is not bliss, that what you don't know can kill, or can adversely affect a person's life for decades to come. Pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS are the most obvious dangers associated with sex. For most people, sex is very intimately connected with emotions of love, hate, jealousy, and self-esteem. Sex under the wrong circumstances can also leave a person emotionally scarred. These scars affect future relationships and can thus perpetuate themselves throughout the person's entire life.
We wish to focus attention here on laws concerning sex and teenagers. Teens are particularly vulnerable to the dangers connected with sexuality. Their homonal sex drives tend to be very powerful, yet they lack the experience to know how to deal with potential problems. Sexual activity among teens in the US and many other countries is very high despite attempts by governments and religious organizations to place restrictions on it.
Most of the laws concerning sex and teens are designed to protect teens from the inherent dangers of sexuality. We certainly support that goal. There are many older people around seeking to take advantage of the naiveté of young people to satisfy their own sexual urges. Teens are unprepared to deal with this successfully on their own and need protection.
On the other hand, some laws exist which restrict teaching teens about sexuality. Some of this is in our opinion misguided. Sex is a natural and joyous part of life. Everyone should experience it to the fullest extent possible. Teens are at the stage of their life in which they need to learn both the joys and the dangers associated with it. They cannot learn everything they need to know about this from their peers. Some of it must come in the form of loving guidance from people with more experience. Some advocate that teens be discouraged from having sex. We disagree. To us, the question is not whether or not they will have sex. The question is whether they will do it responsibly or irresponsibly.
We have already said elsewhere that we do not advocate that members of Divinely Female break any laws; indeed, we will take disciplinary action against members violating our guidelines on illegality. Laws vary from region to region; members should investigate the laws in their own locales and strive to follow them.
Subject to applicable laws, this is what we believe teens should be taught: