migblog

who ever said that mtv turned to bull crap? i never thought i'd be seriosuly debating myself (!) about whether or not this country should implement abstinence-only versus comprehensive sexual education programs. sexual health, something that i know concerns all of us, even though you don't want to admit it or if the subject's too touchy, but it's there and we have to. sexual health, from mtv. mtv. i thought i was going to be watching some kick-ass music video or some really stupid rerun of either trl or the music video awards from last year. and lo and behold, it actually struck a chord and made me wonder.

i'm a virgin myself. no big surprise there, eh, folks? considering i've only ever had one real relationship my entire life, it's nothing to me. but then i remember that i'm in a society where so many stigmas come along with so many different things. "you haven't had sex yet?" "i lost my virginity already. so?" "i'm waiting until marriage -- does that make me a prude?" "i've had sex. it wasn't what i expected, but i did it."

so let's talk about sex. (baby, let's talk about you and me, let's talk about all the good things and the bad things that may be...) this country needs to realize that abstinence-only programs may work in some areas, but not everywhere else. if you teach a child to say no from the beginning, it'll keep on with them for the rest of their lives. well, a lot of people don't seem to think so. if they're not given the facts, the options they have and the knowledge that comes along with having sex, they're just living this lie that kids will make the right choice and abstain. but we all know that's not going to happen. i mean, we have laws against murder, and the consequences of that will surely lead you to a different path in life. but that doesn't stop some people from committing the crime in the first place.

i'm not saying that sex is a crime; in fact, sex is a wonderful thing. some people just don't realize that teenagers, we are affected by this. we're going through that phase of 'everyone's doing it so why can't we', of making our own decisions while trying to stay in the realm of being a good child. we're expected to make our own decisions in life eventually, and these people who advocate abstinence-only programs i think are wearing these goggles that prevent them from realizing that. with or without the education at their hands, people are going to have sex, and knowing the difference between staying safe and having a good time against having a good time and getting sick, well, that's one more thing we need to be people who are aware of what's going on around them. no matter what you do, there's always that looming decision of sex and all that comes with it. better informed decisions, rather than people telling you not to do something -- that's what ends up being most helpful to the individual in the long run.

i'm spent.

posted by Open Source Food @ 10:13 PM