I found this article in The New Yorker insightful and telling.What do I mean by telling?
Having myself worked in prevention of sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents, thereby overlapping pregnancy prevention, and those lethal abstinence only programs, I was among those liberal Blue Sexers.
I never could understand how we could place so much emphasis on abstinence based programs that failed to work, and ignored handing a 16-year old a condom. In fact, of those programs I worked with only one advocated and endorsed this approach and it was the Catholic Charities.
It's like giving your teenager the keys to the car without driving lessons. Human sexuality is as natural as breathing, hence, it is unlikely that the sexual drive can be harnessed. If it can't be harnessed, and probably shouldn't be, isn't it more appropriate to educate adolescents and adults, alike, to use caution, condoms, and good sense about the partners they chose.
Now, this article doesn't edify, but rather continues to mystify me because I just can't or perhaps won't get it.
Thanks for the article. I work mostly with Evangelicals in my psychotherapy practice, some of whom have daughters in abstinence pledges, and many more whose marriages are products of the struggles described in the article.
ReplyDeleteI found it disturbing, but very edifying.
Glad it was edifying--sorry to hear it was disturbing.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't easy working or for that matter living with people. (see smiley face)!