Sex in media boosts teen promiscuity-study

[Lena_Horne]

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Sexually charged music, magazines, TV and movies push youngsters into intercourse at an earlier age, perhaps by acting as kind of virtual peer that tells them everyone else is doing it, a study said Monday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060403/ts_nm/sex_dc_5

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While I don't usually care to discuss my personal life to such an extent on these boards, I've found myself torn between the recent debates about sexual education in schools and which direction to come from. I am still a (to use the old term) "good girl" and find my personal tastes leaning toward Abstinence Education. But as far as reality goes I am an old-fashioned liberal (in the Kennedy sense) in that I believe people should have enough information to make their own choices. That said I am a somewhat reluctant but wholehearted supporter of factual Sex Education.

Unfortunately I am also part of a generation that has, shall we say, not too many qualms about reckless premarital sex as well as its consequences. When I entered high school there were at least three or four girls in the Senior class walking around visibly pregnant. Not to mention the HIV scare that came about for them when the yearly Red Cross Blood Drive was held. That's not to say my own class didn't have problems but, it perhaps wasn't as pronounced as some of the others...

What I'm trying to say is does anyone think that the so-called "Sexual Revolution" went too far?

I found myself agreeing with at least one old media point in an old magazine article at Tack-O-Rama that said to be known as a "flirt" is not a good thing.

Thoughts?

L_H

 

[Nick Charles]

I'd rather teach my own kid about sex as soon as she asks. And hope that I've instilled in her enough common sense to make a logical choice. I already have some plans involving disgusting photos of dieases and there effects on the body. A little shock can't hurt. Hopefully armed with my advice and prpoer protective tools, she will make educated , not impulsive choices. I was never a follower and she seems to be following my choice. But what the hell do I know she's only 2. Same sex desert islands anyone?:eusa_doh:

 

[mysterygal]

I've just decided to lock up all my girls into a closet until their 30yrs old
Yes the sexual revolution has gone too far. I don't think a lot of girls realize the damage their doing to themselves. The only positive side is that certain issues are now talked about. The media portrays partying and having sex as one big old good time without any of the negative consequences. Teenagers are grossly misinformed. I for one do not want the school that my children go to, to be the ones to teach my children about sex....it is the job of the parent...and also the job of the parent to keep keenly aware of what the child is watching and listening to.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

I don't think a lot of girls realize the damage their doing to themselves.

Why girls in particular? (Serious question, not provocative.)

 

[Nick Charles]

I'll say girls because I have one, and because anatomically speaking Girls are the receivers.(as gross as it sounds)
And its harder for boys to catch most things from girls than the other way around.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

I'll say girls because I have one,

Excellent point.

and because anatomically speaking Girls are the receivers.(as gross as it sounds)
And its harder for boys to catch most things from girls than the other way around.

Ah, I see. I'm not sure about diseases, but pregnancy is an issue, of course, where girls are more directly affected. I had (mis)understood the discussion was rather about the appropriateness of sex at this age in general, where I'm not sure about differences between boys and girls.

 

[mysterygal]

It's not gross, it's true. The reason why I only mention girls here is because girls take sex on a more emotional level, where guys it seems more like just something else to brag about

 

[Feraud]

What I'm trying to say is does anyone think that the so-called "Sexual Revolution" went too far?

I have always questioned the point of a "sexual revolution"? The reality is young men and women have always had sex! How does stating the obvious empower anyone? What the "revolution" has missed in my opinion is the true strength a woman (or man) displays with strong self-esteem and education.

Why girls in particular? (Serious question, not provocative.)

We should absolutely not talk about this topic in regards to one sex over the other. When we exclude our boys we are reinforcing the idea they are not responsible and encourage one-sided reckless behavior. We then continue placing the burden and blame for promiscous behavior squarely on the shoulders of the young ladies.

I do not fear the media. My son has spent the first 12 years viewing society through whatever "filters" my wife and I put into place. More importantly, our behavior as adults willl influence him in his decision making processes more than any silly music video ever will.

If we are concerned for our children's welfare it is up to the parents to do their job. Too many men and women are "opting out" of the responsibility and it is showing.

 

[mysterygal]

I totally agree with you Feraud.....boys should be taught to respect girls. I see too many parents and adults that just roll their eyes and say, 'oh, boys will be boys'

 

[AtomicBlonde]

This is one of those subjects that I have mixed feelings on... I'm politically conservative, yet socially liberal which is odd I suppose. While I personally feel that sex education is something that really should be talked about at home, and not at school... I also think that school sex ed courses are a good idea. My parents are ultra conservative and opted me out of the sex ed courses at school when I was young using the "I'll teach her that at home" excuse.. I ended up feeling silly sitting in another room doing school work while the other kids watched the vidoes or whatever... then I felt like they knew something I didnt when it was all over. But besides that, my parents have always been uncomfortable talking about such delicate subjects- so neither one of them ever bothered to tell me about the birds and the bees! So, imagine my shock when I started riding the school bus in middle school and heard what the "grown up" high schoolers had to say about it. If it hadnt been for my older brothers girlfriend in college who kind of took me under her wing as a little sister I would have been pretty clueless, could have been easily taken advantage of, or anything like that, since my parents never bothered to say anything about it. I'm glad I had her around to answer my questions and provide guidance on that subject.

I think that a sex ed program promoting absinence should be implemented in all schools... but should a teen choose to in engage in such activity, they should also have the ability to get information on and be made aware of the risks/consequences involved with their actions. Whether parents like it or not their teens are going to experiment and try new things, and should be armed with the CORRECT information about such things, and not what Susie Q said Mary Jane said Emmy Lou said about this and that.

I guess what I'm getting at is don't opt your kids out with the intention of telling them what they need to know and then chicken out and leave them getting information from other kids their age...teenagers are clueless. I should know, I was one until 4 years ago. I think its worth being a bit uncomfortable while you answer your teens questions and provide guidance than having a teen that comes to you saying she's pregnant or he's gotten someone pregnant... or has gotten an STD, or has been taken advantage of. Teach teens the facts, but at the same time teach them respect for themselves and others, and personal responsibility.

-Jess

 

[Dis]

I was pretty young when my mom told me about the birds and the bees. It wasn't a 'sit down and let's have a talk" sort of thing. It was a nonchalant thing mentioned while doing household chores. My reaction was "eeew". Mom said it wasn't something I needed to worry about until I was married.

And I didn't.

My parents also educated me in staying safe from situations where I might be taken advantage of.

I have followed a similar practice with my kids. They see it on TV but know that's a glamorized depiction.

I prefer that if someone else is going to educate my kids about sex, that they have the same values as I have. It does make a difference in the kids' attitude toward it. I never favor the approach that says "you're going to do it, here's a condom."

 

[Briscoeteque]

Speaking as some one who only recently came out of the 'Abstinence-Plus' program, I am convinced of its merits and find 'abstience only' education actually quite patronizing in the extreame. Where I come from, there was first a 'talk' in the 6th grade were we were lectured to by a doctor first with our parents, and then a question and answer period afterwards without the parents. In subsequent years I was taught about the risks associated with promiscuity, and how they can only be negated by abstience. In case I, myself, dissented to abstain, I was given facts about how to minimize these risks. Kids with a strong moral conviction on abstience were affirmed. The kids without one were informed. The kids unsure, well, they heard the scientific objective truth from the school, and if their parents cared enough, they got morals from them. Shocking and intimidating teenagers is not effective. I know, I actually still am one (although it's quite hard to believe). I will hear the facts, then make up my own mind based on the value system I have evaluated for myself, one that was influenced by my parents, and various philosophers and theologians.

That's not to say some things can be in poor taste, there were chalk drawings on the sidewalks of the quad promoting safe sex with pictures of condoms and such. I doubt that informed anyone of anything new. But learning that 90% of couples that use condoms (in a perfect manner of corse) do not get pregant is a useful fact with which I can make an informed decision on my own.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

And its harder for boys to catch most things from girls than the other way around.

Qu?©? Explain, please. This surely goes against all the theory on the spreading of STDs.

bk

 

[Benny Holiday]

Like Nick, I have a little girl who's almost 2 years old, and I worry about what societal mores and customs are going to be like when she's a teenager. I have to agree that the sexual revolution has gone too far - sex is in your face all the time these days, from advertising billboards to the local car service station with its racks full of magazines, most of them overtly pornographic.

I know of work colleagues who swap porno movies while at the same time worrying about their kids' future morality. Am I crazy or does this not make sense?

 

[John in Covina]

Are you the other sex or am I?

As Rodney Dangerfield once said: "Sex, Sex , Sex!"
"I 've had it up to here with sex! Although, not lately."

To be intimate and sexual is a complex, emotionally rooted situation that many teens are not quite ready for.

There is more than physical and emotions flowing, there is spiritual contact too.

When the promiscuity comes into play the spiritual and emotional get throw out of wack and problems ensue.

 

[G. Fink-Nottle]

What I'm trying to say is does anyone think that the so-called "Sexual Revolution" went too far?

There is far too much sex - and not enough romance. This is true in terms of the media as well as real life.

 

[Lincsong]

Have things really changed in the media since 1975? When I was a tot there were Playboy's in the barbershop where my Dad took me to get my hair cut. My uncles had them in plain view on the work bench in their garages. There was Starsky and Hutch, Streets of San Francisco, Three's Company, The Thorn Birds, daytime soaps, etc. Back in those days when there was the wired remote for the cable television, there were two lines of channel numbers and a dial to move from the top to the bottom line with about 12-15 buttons and you could move them around to try to unscramble the naughty stations. I think that this study was done about 25 years too late.

 

[Bebop]

Sex promotes itself.

I don't think teen promiscuity is a new thing and that the media has anything to do with it is probably not new either. I think every few years I hear of a "new study" that finds the media is promoting sex to youth. To whom should they promote sex? Us old farts? Young people like new things and sex is a new thing once you reach a certain age. Sex promotes itself. It does not need the media to promote it. Education about sexual responsablility and the serious aspects of sex should be promoted to teens by parents.

 

[scotrace]

Daughters

A friend who also has two (older) daughters told me that one day, suddenly, there was a boy in the house. He said he was glad that he and his wife had always been open about sex, and hoped the children had a good grounding in responsibility.
Another, much older woman advised that 'if they're old enough to ask, they're old enough to know.' One day, her daughter asked, during a zoo visit, where the babies came from. So she sat down, right there beside the rhino pen and explained it all.

I think TV and the media are different now. Yes, we had Three's Company and Dallas, but we didn't have Girls Gone Wild, MTV Spring Break, Brat dolls and Britney.
Did the sexual revolution go too far in creating a too-permissive society? Without a doubt. It's true that there has always been experimentation among dating teens, but it was probably better when boys were admonished by their fathers (and threatened with a sound beating by their date's fathers), girls feared getting a reputation, and people didn't talk about such things in mixed company.

 

[Lena_Horne]

...girls feared getting a reputation...

While that's probably still the case it's much less pervasive than it used to be. And there seems to be no shortage of girls who want that sort of attention. *shudder*

L_H