For centuries, people have found the topic of sex to be a controversial one and are often unsure when the correct time to address the topic of sex is.
However, what everyone is afraid to say is that: sex is inevitable. Sex sells. Sex is part of life.
We have lived with a stigma on sex and depending on our beliefs, it shouldn’t be dabbled with until marriage.
Although it’s fine to show off a woman seductively selling shoes in a magazine ad or allow our young adult children to watch sexually suggestive shows like Jersey Shore, we can’t fully digest the actual process of talking about sex.
Can anyone recall a time throughout their schooling experience where they sat down to talk about what sex really was, what the pros and cons were or even simply how to decide if we were ready or not to consider having sexual intercourse?
Yes, we all may have gone through that brief middle school sex education class where the teacher practically walked on eggshells discussing the female and male anatomy and what to do when it was time for a girl to get her period.
But a real, thorough talk about sex? Not just about what happens physically, but the psychological aspect of sex? People would claim outrage if that were to happen.
I grew up in a Catholic household where having sex wasn’t an option. Instead it went without saying that our focus was school and sex was for those in marriage.
However, what people are failing to realize that just like school is a huge part of everyone’s daily life, so is sex.
Sex is bound to happen at some point or another regardless of our parents’ wishes.
The real problem is not sex, it is that since we are so against talking about it, too many people like teens go into sex without a clue of what to do. A lot of people tend to think
“Well I watched porn” or “I heard Kim Kardashian talk about her experience, so I think I know all I need to know.”
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2017 there were nearly 2.3 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis reported. This number surpassed the 2016 report of STDs by 200,000.
If we stepped up and really talked about the topic of sex, maybe we wouldn’t have as big of a 2018 STD outbreak or a high teen pregnancy rate.
It’s sad to admit, but I too am part of those people who aren’t necessarily scared to engage in sex, but I would die of humiliation and gawk at merely the idea of asking my partner about his sexual history.
Politics is a lot like sex. Everyone partakes in it, yet it still remains to be the big elephant in the room no one wants to discuss.
We need to stop shying away from sex talks and instead start educating our children at a younger age.
In no way am I telling you to explain the inner workings of sex to your seven year old child, but I do believe that we should explain that everyone has a body and the ways in which it works.
Establishing a body talk sooner will show people that it is OK to question your body and how it works, which means that when we do begin to think about sex it won’t be something that many people try and jump into without any knowledge.