April 18, 2005
Virginity can kill you
by Liza Sabater
When I first read this article, I thought it merited a combined "DUH! WTF"; but then, I remembered I am living in the United States. This kind of study is necessary because, even if they are stating the obvious, it shows that these pledges incite sex of the non-reproductive kind in kids all across the country --and not just among some racial or ethnic types.
I say this because, growing up in Puerto Rico it seemed almost natural for girls to not consider as sex to give a blow-job or to have anal sex. Girls would discuss lubricants and the right amount of alcohol needed to handle whatever "fooling around" that did not involve the rupturing of their hymen. Why? Because even to this day a lot of families make marriage "deals" and proof of virginity is often times requested. The process most likely involves the mother-in-law of the bride-to-be witnessing a gynecological examination.
I wish I were making this up.
This "repression of the vagina" to save the hymen for marriage is what made I lot of the girls in my social circles "fool around" but without what they thought was "real intercourse". Laugh if you may I found it odd that so many of the girls I knew had problems with hemmorroids, and not due to a lack of fiber in their diets.
Me? I was clueless. I just wanted to get rid of my virginity --but's that's topic of another post.
If virginity pledgers are engaging in risky oral or anal sex and don't use condoms when they begin to have intercourse, promoting such pledges "may not be the optimal approach to preventing STD acquisition among young adults," the researchers concluded.
Opponents of abstinence education say the study offers new evidence that sex education without condoms and birth control is folly.
"Not only do virginity pledges not work to keep our young people safe, they are causing harm by undermining condom use, contraception and medical treatment," said William Smith, policy director at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.
"Enough is enough," he said, noting that the Bush administration has asked for a record $206 million for abstinence programs in its 2006 budget.
Posted by Liza Sabater in Bio-Power, Body, Conservatism, Culture War, Fascism, Propaganda, Reproductive Rights, Sex, Sexual Politics
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Say it loud, say it proud!
Wonderful! We need more sex-positive discussions by women of a "certain age." I'm trying to do my part--and I've linked to this article. Thanks.
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Comment by: Robin at April 18, 2005 02:10 PM
I look forward to "another story." I have always thought myself to be quite unique in that I lost my virginity solely for the sake of not having to worry about my "purity." That too, is a story, and incidentally why I am so violently opposed to abstinence-only education.
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Comment by: spyder at April 18, 2005 07:14 PM
Perhaps the least acknowledged aspect of abstinence only education is the resistance of educators/teachers to respond to questions that are clearly outside the standards and frameworks of the curriculum. Since abstinence only programs do not discuss transmission of diseases, except as the most probably outcomes of "intercourse," students who might be tempted to ask about STD's and other non-intercourse forms of sexual activity are rebuffed in their efforts. Teachers feel any further discussion is unnecessary and indeed risky for their careers.
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Comment by: enya at April 18, 2005 10:31 AM