What is this Country (not) Coming to?
By Judi B. • Nov 30th, 2006 • Category: View from the Top by Judi B
Last I checked, adults could make their own decisions. And, they do: The National Center for Health Statistics says well over 90% of adults ages 20-29 have had sexual intercourse. Because, last I checked, sex was a basic part of life. And no, I didn’t say reproduction, because that’s not what I’m talking about. I said life — as in living. As in feeling attractions and having relationships and being normal, healthy and happy… whether you are straight, gay, bi, queer, a man, a woman, a gender-queer, etc. and so on. You know… being an individual with rights.
But wait! Am I missing something here, because right now the government seems to be saying exactly the opposite and if I didn’t know better it’d seem as though a bunch of conservative and out-of-touch old straight white dudes are trying to tell EVERYONE else what to do when it comes to sex: Now the government is targeting unmarried adults up to age 29 as part of its abstinence-only programs, which include millions of dollars in federal money that will be available to the states under revised federal grant guidelines for 2007. Um, wow. So, basically, if you are a heterosexual committed married person who is ready to actively reproduce, you may have sex, but EVERYONE else… go wither up in a corner and pretend that sex doesn’t exist. Did someone just turn the clock back to… oh, I don’t know… prehistoric times? Oh, wait a minute, I’m pretty sure the Cro-Magnon were humping like bunnies. I guess I mean… well, when exactly was it when people started trying to control other people? (I’m sooo bad at history!) Do I sound sarcastic? Well, here’s someone else say it much better than I can:
“They’ve stepped over the line of common sense,” said James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that supports sex education. “To be preaching abstinence when 90% of people are having sex is in essence to lose touch with reality. It’s an ideological campaign. It has nothing to do with public health.” source. Common sense and reality… that’s what I meant to say! I mean, does it feel like common sense to the people that are making these decisions? Do they really believe that adults shouldn’t (and won’t) have sex? Do they think that this kind of “education” will overturn the human drive to be touched, loved and intimate with each other? Do they really envision a world where adults quit touching each other, and shrivel at the thought of pleasure, empowerment and embracing each other?
Here are a few words of advice from people who know what they’re talking about:
Joycelyn Elders and David Satcher told a news conference in San Francisco that a broad effort was needed to promote the “sexual literacy” of Americans to counter unacceptable levels of sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies, especially among teens and young adults. So, will the government look at the FACTS and listen to the wise words of two former U.S. surgeons general, or will it continue to live in a fantasy land where (non-sexual) fairies giggle and sprinkle abstinence dust on the world? I mean, I love fairies too, but please. |
Judi B. >> a cake eater and the ex-editor of GV Magazine. Her idea of a perfect day would involve: mimosas in bed, Huevos Rancheros with real red chili, a phone call from her mom, a trip to the dog beach, and cocktails with friends while watching America’s Next Top Model. She shares her life with her hot librarian girlfriend and their two brilliant pit bulls. She has over 80 neck-ties.
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