Abstinence
In a BBC article, First Lady Laura Bush said: "It sort of irritates me when I hear people act like abstinence is not a real choice because it is, and it is 100% effective."
Excuse me, but you're an idiot. While staying abstinent is 100% effective for reducing AIDS and HIV, abstinence is not sustainable. Look at the statistics and its clear that pledging to stay abstinent does not decrease level of sexual activity one will have. Studies have shown that high school students who take "virginity pledges" are more likely to have premarital sex and even more likely to engage in oral and anal sex. The increase of oral and anal sex is so they can remain virgins, vaginally. I'm sorry but if you're taking it in the butt, you're no longer a virgin.
The claim that abstinence is 100% effective is like saying that quitting smoking is 100% effective in reducing smokers. Sure, if you quit you won't smoke, but that doesn't mean you won't relapse.
Promoting abstinence is noble for high school students but it should never be the sole educational tool. Sexual education is vitally important for our youth. The misconception that teaching our youth about safe sex does not automatically correlate to teens running off to have sex as soon as possible. I was taught about safe sex, stds, and other sexual education topics in junior high and I never had sex until my sophomore year of college. I wasn't running off to have sex. I made an educated decision and used my education to reduce my chances of problems - I used a condom and she was on the pill.
Purely promoting abstinence is a losing cause. Human beings are sexual creatures and are biologically programed to have sex. It's ingrained as much as University of Michigan fans are programmed to be assholes.
The topic of abstinence in this article is in regards to the horrible AIDS/HIV epidemic in Africa (oh if you remember my penchant for conspiracy theories, there's one that AIDS was developed by the CDC and CIA to kill black people... no I don't believe it). Groups have been promoting abstinence in Africa for decades and the epidemic has only gotten larger. Something needs to change. I think it should be proper sexual education and promoting safe sex. These people will continue to have sex and only with proper techniques for safe sex, will the epidemic decline.
posted by Aventius @ 6:47 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
Dave, while I agree with the larger point that abstinence cannot be the sole method of sexual education, I take exception with a number of things you have written.
First, it's a fact that when practiced properly abstience is 100% effective against HIV and pregnacy. Even am intercourse protected by pill/condom combition will not be 100% (the effevtive rates are reported at approximately 99% and 90-97% (depending on brand) depending on brand).
Which brings me to my second point - when these rates are reported, they only take into account when the method is used CORRECTLY. If the condom is put on incorrectly, it doesn't count. If a girl misses a pill one day, it doesn't count. That being said, if some using abstinence has sex it doesn't count towards the effectiveness of the method. If you want to compare being breaking their pleges to abstain, you should also take into account the people who can't remember to take their pill everyday or mess up whatever other method of contraception they are utilizing.
With all of that being said, it is not wise to restrict sexual education to abstience. Not diseminating the information makes sex taboo. People are misinformed and, even if they enter into wedlock as virgins, will not be fully aware how their antomy works or what options are there.
My second point on this topic is that sexual education needs to be even more comprehensive than it already is for most people. How many people realize that 2/3 - 3/4 of sexually active girls will contract HPV?
I would also debate the finding that people making abstience pledges are more likely to engage in premarital sex (oral, anal. or vaginal). However, I'd like to see whatever study you are refering to before I would make that argument.
Teaching abstinece is a good thing - more people could use the message that waiting to have sex until they are old enough to make mature decisions about it (if not until they are married) would lead to less abortions, teenage mothers, and out of wedlock births. But, lack of information will only lead to ignorance.
Tonight at the Pit: "Everybody Gets Laid"
Oh I agree that abstinence is 100% effective when done correctly. It just never is. I agree that abstinence should continue to be promoted. Just not without proper sex education. I'll try to find the study I was talking about. I read it in Newsweek or some online news site.
Haven't seen that movie in years... thanks Biz.... PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC!
From the Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48509-2005Mar18.html
Teenagers who take virginity pledges -- public declarations to abstain from sex -- are almost as likely to be infected with a sexually transmitted disease as those who never made the pledge, an eight-year study released yesterday found.
Although young people who sign a virginity pledge delay the initiation of sexual activity, marry at younger ages and have fewer sexual partners, they are also less likely to use condoms and more likely to experiment with oral and anal sex, said the researchers from Yale and Columbia universities.
As for condoms and the pill not being 100% either, you're correct. I'm not denying this. I'm saying the abstinence pleges are not 100% effective either, despite that abstinence in true form would be 100% effective.
Abstinence pledges only delay the "initiation of sexual activity"... its similar to my case. I didn't want to have sex in high school. I had great parents who took the time to explain to me the dangers of sex in high school and expressed great interest in keeping me safe and to not have sex.
Additionally, I was lucky to attend what most in Dover, PA would consider a "liberal" school that taught "liberal" sex education. It was highly educational and helped me to make better decisions.
annonymous... shoulda just saved yourself the time and just wrote your last line "But, lack of information will only lead to ignorance." When the US goes to South Africa to try to prevent the spread of AIDS, you think they are teaching the people how to have safe sex? No, they are teaching them about abstinance... Clearly, in an ideal puritan paradise, this would be 100% effective, but lets be honest, who's going to listen to this? I mean I'm sure most red states would just assume these people are just being punished for their sin of "premarital sex" with AIDS and are going to hell so why help them anyway. Why teach something that works 100% of the time if only 10% of the people use it when you could teach something that works 80-90% of the time that 70-80% of people will use? That is the bullshit in abstinance, losers and God squad kids practice it (losers, not by choice) and that's about it.
Here is a clip from the Washington Post.
...
"President Bush has enthusiastically backed the movement (abstinence education), proposing to spend $270 million on abstinence projects in 2005. Congress reduced that to about $168 million, bringing total abstinence funding to nearly $900 million over five years."
Why don't we just be practical instead of religious for once in this fucking country! 1 billion dollars on trying to keep people from having sex is as pointless as paying 1 billion dollars to try to keep a meatball hoagie out of a fat person's mouth.
900 million dollars? Are you fucking kidding me? 900 million spent to stop what our basic instincts tell us to do... Whats next? Another 900 million to stop masterbation because it gives you hairy palms?
Sex is actually good for your health. Think of the calories you burn, the endorphins you release, and the mental boost.
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