We panic about child abuse, then tell 13-year olds how to have sex

[Kyle]

Curiously, what are your reasons, as a gay man, to stay abstinent?

Sex is natural. It's a simple and easy way to make a connection with another person and sometimes we even manage to experience pleasure from it. Why should teens be discouraged rather than being taught to do it in a safe manner :s.


~~from phone

[Jazz]

whats the link between child abuse and sex ed exactly? the article didnt explain it at all

[Kyle]

Google images "13 year old sex" for an in depth analysis of this article


~~from phone

[Empired]

Not teaching kids about sex doesn't make them stop doing it. Loads of cases of unmarried teenage pregnancy were covered up in the 1950s and earlier. The girls who got pregnant often had absolutely no idea what was going on, and weren't even expecting a baby until it came.

And your idea of teaching them that sex is some kind of disease is ridiculous. I may not be completely comfortable with how much detail sex education lessons go into, but purposely teaching children incorrect information is unforgivable in my opinion. It would be morally wrong to consciously deceive children in the name of keeping them 'pure'.

edit inb4 someone mentions santa claus and the tooth fairy

[The Don]

No I'm pretty sure ignorance is ignorance, continuing to educate people is education. You can't stop hormonal teens from exploring themselves and each other, but you can let them know the proper way to do it and give them the option to stay safe - pretending that they somehow won't discover sex if they're never told about it is the reason that the Bible Belt has the largest teen pregnancy rate in the US.

Love how Dan completely ignored this part of your post.

[-:Undertaker:-]

And you think the way to do that is by adults pretending it doesn't exist, right

If a child is prone to sexual activities, then they should be taught to abstain from it and respect it as something for older people/a committed relationship rather than teaching them that it's okay to have sex in your teenage years when they're not fully developed as well as being naive to people who could abuse them sexually.

If you feel a need to teach children about sex, then teach them not to do it.

Curiously, what are your reasons, as a gay man, to stay abstinent?

Moral reasons mainly but also health reasons considering how dangerous the activity is.

Sex is natural. It's a simple and easy way to make a connection with another person and sometimes we even manage to experience pleasure from it. Why should teens be discouraged rather than being taught to do it in a safe manner :s.

Hey I haven't got a problem with most sex just as I haven't got a problem with people going out getting bladdered or smoking like a chimney, I do have a problem however when it involves children. Children haven't got the mindsets of adults.

Not teaching kids about sex doesn't make them stop doing it. Loads of cases of unmarried teenage pregnancy were covered up in the 1950s and earlier. The girls who got pregnant often had absolutely no idea what was going on, and weren't even expecting a baby until it came.

And your idea of teaching them that sex is some kind of disease is ridiculous. I may not be completely comfortable with how much detail sex education lessons go into, but purposely teaching children incorrect information is unforgivable in my opinion. It would be morally wrong to consciously deceive children in the name of keeping them 'pure'.

edit inb4 someone mentions santa claus and the tooth fairy

I didn't say it was a disease, I said the likes of Tom on the sexual revolutionary side of this argument treat sex as a disease as though you catch it (hormones) and it is GOING to happen where as i'm arguing sex between children doesn't have to happen if you teach them that just as you and I learn to control our sexual drives.

It's what separates mankind from the animals.

[David]

but purposely teaching children incorrect information is unforgivable in my opinion. It would be morally wrong to consciously deceive children in the name of keeping them 'pure'.

edit inb4 someone mentions santa claus and the tooth fairy

religion?

[Empired]

I didn't say it was a disease, I said the likes of Tom on the sexual revolutionary side of this argument treat sex as a disease as though you catch it (hormones) and it is GOING to happen where as i'm arguing sex between children doesn't have to happen if you teach them that just as you and I learn to control our sexual drives.

It's what separates mankind from the animals.

Oh so you did. Still, how do you propose we teach children to 'control' themselves?
@David; most schools don't teach children to believe in a certain religion (other than religious schools obviously) but teaches them about them. How are we deceiving children by saying 'some people believe this', 'some people read these books', 'some people worship one God, some people worship many'?

[lawrawrrr]

how does this stop adults abusing children though? If children know what sex is and what's OK and not then how would they know if an adult is acting inappropriately? They won't know what's normal.

Just because you teach kids about sex it doesn't mean they're going to go out and do it! The majority don't, it's a minority who do it, and if they're not taught how to do it safely there's a much bigger chance of spreading diseases as well as teen pregnancy. It's a natural function to have sex, yeah people can suppress it (and some can live without it, ignoring those natural urges, I do also believe some people simply don't have those urges), but if your natural urges give way and these teens just do it, they might not know it is actually possible TO be safe, or unsafe.

[FlyingJesus]

If a child is prone to sexual activities, then they should be taught to abstain from it
...
If you feel a need to teach children about sex, then teach them not to do it.

Why? Pre-puberty for sure, and I'm not claiming that it should be actively pushed for and encouraged for anyone no matter what their age/situation, but just saying "nope don't do it it's bad unless you're making a family" is ridiculous

I didn't say it was a disease, I said the likes of Tom on the sexual revolutionary side of this argument treat sex as a disease

Quite the opposite, a disease is an abnormal condition

and it is GOING to happen where as i'm arguing sex between children doesn't have to happen if you teach them that

Forcing your specific morality on people while pretending to be an advocate for personal freedoms again tut tut