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What the holy fuck.
What. The holy. Fuck.
I swear to God if this guy had shown up at my junior high school (I lived in Canyon, Texas in seventh grade), I would have ripped him a new one intellectually. It's all flashes and bangs and limpid preaching and thinly-disguised evangelism. I bet anything he spews off some medically-inaccurate bullshit, like the "HIV can pass through saliva and tears" lie I have heard in some sex education courses.
I almost wish I was back in high school in an abstinence-only state so I could be That Asshole (I already sort of was, but Arizona isn't as bad) who constantly calls the teacher out on his or her bullshit, because right now, this is the only sex education countless teenagers will receive, ever, during their adolescent years--especially in rural, conservative areas where parents will not be honest, libraries are censored, and access to the internet may be lacking.
Virginity pledges don't work. Students who want to have sex will not be swayed by making a promise to some douchebag with a few card tricks, even if at that moment they are inspired. Students who truly believe in abstinence as the right choice for them will follow it anyway, without having to promise to another person they will be abstinent. It is a deeply personal choice, and it trivializes the choice that truly abstinent teens make by making a show of having everybody sign a paper or get a ring or some such theatrical bullshit. Pregnancy rates are higher in abstinence-only areas. The public school system has zero right to withhold information from students based on the religious convictions of right-wing evangelicals. The public school system has zero right to preach sexual mores to its students, to tell them that if they do not wait until marriage they have low self-esteem, no values, or any other such bullshit. They are told they are "unclean", spoiled goods with a broken seal of freshness, that they in some way betrayed their future spouses. Ultimately, that will be between the future spouse and the student. It is NOT for the school to tell students what makes a "right" marriage.
It is a crime against free will to outright LIE to students to attempt to keep them from having sex--to keep them adhering to what YOU think is right. Yes, it is true that the only way to 100% reduce the risk of a sexual mishap is to be abstinent. And that's okay. That's a choice. It's a wise and mature choice. But not all adolescents will make that choice. And if they don't, they need to be equipped to be as safe as possible. That is comprehensive sex education--choice. The choice to be abstinent or not, for whatever reason, and, if you do not, the knowledge to protect yourself and your partner(s). That is respect. That is humanitarian. That is ethical.
Sexually-active teens do NOT need to be told they make those decisions because they have low self-esteem, or are caving to peer pressure, or whatever the fuck else bullshit blame is placed upon them for what is ultimately a very personal decision. Not every teenager is Christian or conservative or celibate--and it is, by and large, conservative Christians and ONLY conservative Christians that advocate abstinence-only education. Fiscal conservatives, libertarians, otherwise secular and moderate religious folk; public health workers, social workers, physicians, scientists--they are not the the abstinence-only camp. There is some overlap, but the abstinence-only camp is the evangelical Religious Right. Period. I dislike making statements of absolution, but I feel in this case it is warranted.
And imposing conservative Abrahamic values on them is wrong. They are autonomous beings, and their sexual choices are theirs alone to make. It sickens me to hear outright ignorance spread under the guise of "common sense". It sickens me to hear these so-called advocates insinuating that teens who choose to have sex before marriage are cheap, used, weak.
I find it strange that abstinence-only advocates claim to respect adolescents enough to tell them the "truth". They are withholding information because they believe teenagers need to be protected from themselves, that they do not have the capacity to work with the complexities of a reality. This is condescending. And I think that it is insulting to the intelligence of those teens who do choose to stay abstinent until marriage that they only have the personal conviction to do so if that is all they know. So much for respect.
So what if teenagers choose to have consensual, safe sex? It is none of your concern. You have zero right to impose your values.
So what if teenagers choose to have consensual, unsafe sex? They are clearly already going to have sex. The best you can do is equip them to be safe. And if they choose not to be safe, it's their damn problem. People do grossly stupid and risky things all the time.
What if what conservatives think is true (spoiler: it's not, and every single unbiased study backs this up), that teenagers who hear the truth about sex will have more of it? So fucking what? Just because you are erotophobic, or your religion tells you it is sinful outside of a certain context, does not mean everybody views it that way. To many people it is just an act--highly risky if done unsafely, with its own physical and emotional risks, but just an act, good fun and feels great. To others it is a sacred union with great emotional and spiritual consequence. To others, it is strictly a method of procreation. All this is fine. ALL this is fine. To many teenagers, and it harm none, they do as they will. To many teenagers, sexuality is a natural and beautiful phenomenon to be shared with whom they wish, when they wish. To many teenagers, fucking is all in good fun, and they are going to do it safe or not.
Don't like abortion? The majority of teenagers will not abstain. And the majority of teenagers who do get pregnant will abort. This is the sort of ignorance that leads to myths like "Pulling out works", or "If the woman's on top she can't get pregnant", or "She can't get pregnant if she's on her period." THIS is the major cause of teen pregnancy. Not condoms. Not the pill. At least equip them to have the safest sex possible.
Believe abortion, contraception, sex before marriage is an affront against God? Get over it. This is not a theocracy. You can preach all you want, protest, hold signs outside the schools, teach whatever you want in church or in your own homes or in private schools--but tax money should not go to fund the spread of your views.
Abstinence only education does not work. It is unethical. It is illogical. Its existence in public schools is a flagrant breach of the separation of church and state. The only argument in its favor is Biblical, dogmatic, and patriarchal. And, as a delightful bonus, many of the programs are utterly, blatantly, and disgustingly sexist, citing such faux-common sense gems of wisdom as "Women gauge their happiness and judge their success by their relationships. Men’s happiness and success hinge on their accomplishments," saying that men will stay with women who are unassertive, that men need domestic support and women financial support, that women cannot focus because their emotions cloud their thought processes, that men are sexually-starved brutes who need to be "tamed" by a demure woman. (More such lovely examples are featured in the above-linked House Oversight briefing.) Such assertions are clearly religiously-inspired, vapid, antifeminist drivel. Had anybody dared to tell me this when I was in school, at any age, I would have been expelled for my reaction. So many girls grow up in families, communities, schools that espouse these myths. I was lucky to have a family that did not. I cannot imagine the isolation that would result from having no support. Children and adolescents are insecure and self-conscious enough as it is; the last thing they need is the "academic" enshrinement of such outdated, socially-constructed gender roles as "fact".
Defund it. Write Congress, sign a petition, participate in community-based programs for kids who need to learn the truth. Pass out condoms. Pass out literature. Talk with girls about the pill. Encourage students to get tested. Direct adolescents to websites like Scarlet Teen and Sex, Etc., and support these sites with donations when you can.
We have to stand up for the right to receive and give information.
----------------
Yeah, I'm behind on checking Livejournal. Real post to come later. If there was something you posted that you really want me to see, link me to it, because I may very well miss it.
What. The holy. Fuck.
I swear to God if this guy had shown up at my junior high school (I lived in Canyon, Texas in seventh grade), I would have ripped him a new one intellectually. It's all flashes and bangs and limpid preaching and thinly-disguised evangelism. I bet anything he spews off some medically-inaccurate bullshit, like the "HIV can pass through saliva and tears" lie I have heard in some sex education courses.
I almost wish I was back in high school in an abstinence-only state so I could be That Asshole (I already sort of was, but Arizona isn't as bad) who constantly calls the teacher out on his or her bullshit, because right now, this is the only sex education countless teenagers will receive, ever, during their adolescent years--especially in rural, conservative areas where parents will not be honest, libraries are censored, and access to the internet may be lacking.
Virginity pledges don't work. Students who want to have sex will not be swayed by making a promise to some douchebag with a few card tricks, even if at that moment they are inspired. Students who truly believe in abstinence as the right choice for them will follow it anyway, without having to promise to another person they will be abstinent. It is a deeply personal choice, and it trivializes the choice that truly abstinent teens make by making a show of having everybody sign a paper or get a ring or some such theatrical bullshit. Pregnancy rates are higher in abstinence-only areas. The public school system has zero right to withhold information from students based on the religious convictions of right-wing evangelicals. The public school system has zero right to preach sexual mores to its students, to tell them that if they do not wait until marriage they have low self-esteem, no values, or any other such bullshit. They are told they are "unclean", spoiled goods with a broken seal of freshness, that they in some way betrayed their future spouses. Ultimately, that will be between the future spouse and the student. It is NOT for the school to tell students what makes a "right" marriage.
It is a crime against free will to outright LIE to students to attempt to keep them from having sex--to keep them adhering to what YOU think is right. Yes, it is true that the only way to 100% reduce the risk of a sexual mishap is to be abstinent. And that's okay. That's a choice. It's a wise and mature choice. But not all adolescents will make that choice. And if they don't, they need to be equipped to be as safe as possible. That is comprehensive sex education--choice. The choice to be abstinent or not, for whatever reason, and, if you do not, the knowledge to protect yourself and your partner(s). That is respect. That is humanitarian. That is ethical.
Sexually-active teens do NOT need to be told they make those decisions because they have low self-esteem, or are caving to peer pressure, or whatever the fuck else bullshit blame is placed upon them for what is ultimately a very personal decision. Not every teenager is Christian or conservative or celibate--and it is, by and large, conservative Christians and ONLY conservative Christians that advocate abstinence-only education. Fiscal conservatives, libertarians, otherwise secular and moderate religious folk; public health workers, social workers, physicians, scientists--they are not the the abstinence-only camp. There is some overlap, but the abstinence-only camp is the evangelical Religious Right. Period. I dislike making statements of absolution, but I feel in this case it is warranted.
And imposing conservative Abrahamic values on them is wrong. They are autonomous beings, and their sexual choices are theirs alone to make. It sickens me to hear outright ignorance spread under the guise of "common sense". It sickens me to hear these so-called advocates insinuating that teens who choose to have sex before marriage are cheap, used, weak.
I find it strange that abstinence-only advocates claim to respect adolescents enough to tell them the "truth". They are withholding information because they believe teenagers need to be protected from themselves, that they do not have the capacity to work with the complexities of a reality. This is condescending. And I think that it is insulting to the intelligence of those teens who do choose to stay abstinent until marriage that they only have the personal conviction to do so if that is all they know. So much for respect.
So what if teenagers choose to have consensual, safe sex? It is none of your concern. You have zero right to impose your values.
So what if teenagers choose to have consensual, unsafe sex? They are clearly already going to have sex. The best you can do is equip them to be safe. And if they choose not to be safe, it's their damn problem. People do grossly stupid and risky things all the time.
What if what conservatives think is true (spoiler: it's not, and every single unbiased study backs this up), that teenagers who hear the truth about sex will have more of it? So fucking what? Just because you are erotophobic, or your religion tells you it is sinful outside of a certain context, does not mean everybody views it that way. To many people it is just an act--highly risky if done unsafely, with its own physical and emotional risks, but just an act, good fun and feels great. To others it is a sacred union with great emotional and spiritual consequence. To others, it is strictly a method of procreation. All this is fine. ALL this is fine. To many teenagers, and it harm none, they do as they will. To many teenagers, sexuality is a natural and beautiful phenomenon to be shared with whom they wish, when they wish. To many teenagers, fucking is all in good fun, and they are going to do it safe or not.
Don't like abortion? The majority of teenagers will not abstain. And the majority of teenagers who do get pregnant will abort. This is the sort of ignorance that leads to myths like "Pulling out works", or "If the woman's on top she can't get pregnant", or "She can't get pregnant if she's on her period." THIS is the major cause of teen pregnancy. Not condoms. Not the pill. At least equip them to have the safest sex possible.
Believe abortion, contraception, sex before marriage is an affront against God? Get over it. This is not a theocracy. You can preach all you want, protest, hold signs outside the schools, teach whatever you want in church or in your own homes or in private schools--but tax money should not go to fund the spread of your views.
Abstinence only education does not work. It is unethical. It is illogical. Its existence in public schools is a flagrant breach of the separation of church and state. The only argument in its favor is Biblical, dogmatic, and patriarchal. And, as a delightful bonus, many of the programs are utterly, blatantly, and disgustingly sexist, citing such faux-common sense gems of wisdom as "Women gauge their happiness and judge their success by their relationships. Men’s happiness and success hinge on their accomplishments," saying that men will stay with women who are unassertive, that men need domestic support and women financial support, that women cannot focus because their emotions cloud their thought processes, that men are sexually-starved brutes who need to be "tamed" by a demure woman. (More such lovely examples are featured in the above-linked House Oversight briefing.) Such assertions are clearly religiously-inspired, vapid, antifeminist drivel. Had anybody dared to tell me this when I was in school, at any age, I would have been expelled for my reaction. So many girls grow up in families, communities, schools that espouse these myths. I was lucky to have a family that did not. I cannot imagine the isolation that would result from having no support. Children and adolescents are insecure and self-conscious enough as it is; the last thing they need is the "academic" enshrinement of such outdated, socially-constructed gender roles as "fact".
Defund it. Write Congress, sign a petition, participate in community-based programs for kids who need to learn the truth. Pass out condoms. Pass out literature. Talk with girls about the pill. Encourage students to get tested. Direct adolescents to websites like Scarlet Teen and Sex, Etc., and support these sites with donations when you can.
We have to stand up for the right to receive and give information.
----------------
Yeah, I'm behind on checking Livejournal. Real post to come later. If there was something you posted that you really want me to see, link me to it, because I may very well miss it.
