I agree, I think a comprehensive sex education that includes a discussion of abstinence as well as safer sex, etc. is neccessary.

Have you seen the article linked here? http://www.livejournal.com/community/feminist/1483657.html

I hadn't; thanks!

I read the Washington Post article on abstinence education this morning with a howl of dismay. In an era where information - real, true, scientific, and helpful information - is so incredibly available, it's unconscionable that this plethora of misinformation is being forced on our children. But what is truly disheartening is that it's being paid for by our taxes. (More "blue state" taxes going to our "red state" compatriots?)

I live in one of the newly red states - West Virginia - where I have not yet heard of abstinence only programs in our schools. Since I work for the school system as a computer programmer, I believe I would have gotten word if this were part of the curriculum, but I suppose this is not necessarily true. I fervently hope not.

Recently I've been reading George Lakoff's articles concerning his interpretation of the difference between conservatives and liberals. His contention is that conservatives believe in a strong father figure, while progressives and liberals believe in an equalitarian family model, and that these models translate into a national governance view. Anything that interferes with the male dominance model, including, but not limited to, abortion, feminism, sexual freedom, equal pay, and gay marriage are targets of what we have come to call "conservatives" but are actually radicals. Abstinence only sex education supports male dominance; it is surrounded by other "moral" issues, but judging by the ugly little sexist stereotypes it adheres to, abstinence education seems to me to be just one more brick in the re-building of the patriarchal society that so many on the right believe has been lost.

I also believe that abstinence should not only be taught, but encouraged. However, as a woman who became pregnant at the age of 15 - and had and kept my child due to the tolerance and acceptance of my parents - I know that it's often a lost cause. We expect our kids to behave in a way that most adults do not, in spite of the fact that teenagers have raging hormones and are physically and emotionally geared to engage in sexual activity. Short of keeping them cloistered until the age of 18 or even 21, it is impossible to prevent sexual activity among our youth, no matter how intense, ill conceived, or misleading the campaign for abstinence becomes.

What is at stake here is not just real sex education and our ability to prevent unwed pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, but an entire way of life that includes equality, freedom, honesty, and the ability to achieve to our full potential as a nation and culture. It's somewhat encouraging that the Post printed this article. It's a step in the right direction that those of us on the left who want to stop the flow of regression must encourage and support. Learning how to spread truth and enlightenment is one of the American challenges of the 21st century.

I went through the local high school's abstinence-only education program just five years ago. I live in Texas; it was crap, pure and simple:

We had roleplaying about giving you heart to too many people (the girl and guy were each given a paperheart, and each person they broke up with tore a bit off, until when they finally met their life partners they only had a tiny scrap of red paper left) -- I love how, while trying to promote abstinence, they literally equated love with sex. I don't know about anyone else, but I think that's sending mixed signals.
Then, we watched a video that was basically 30 minutes of "condoms don't work." Which is great, because now if these kids go out and have sex anyway (which happens a lot), they'll say to hell with the condom.
The last part of the program was many, many slides of STD's. Disgusting, but their only real value was to convince everyone in the room that sex is a bad, bad thing.

I definitely advocate letting young people know that it's a wonderful idea to wait until they're sure their ready. But when they are, I'd like them to have a working knowledge of birth control.

how on earth can this be happening? I Danish and I can't BEGIN to tell you how uhbelievable this looks from a European point of view - here people would just laugh in your face if you talked about abstinence as a contraceptive. Our sex ed is focused on WHEN and HOW you choose to have sex, assuming that most teens will at some point.
I just wanted to let you know that you need to keep this anger going, and that you have the moral support of at least Europe and i guess Canada as well. This is truly outrageous. I can see the same trend starting here though, some rightwingers made a fuss about a sex ed book for primary schools and highs schools that talked about anal sex as a pleasurable thing, but we got it sorted out, and it was distributed anyway by the help of a student organization and a member of parliament, handing it out on the street. I think some heads did roll in the administration, but you need to fight this. It needs to get into mainstream media, just how bull these "facts of life" are.
Keep up the good work!

This is a great post on abstinence-only education -- the contraceptive device with the highest failure rate. I thought you would like to know that there is a great book that has recently come out on the failures of abstinence-only ed (and with cool chapters on queer youth in public schools, among other things) by Cris Mayo. Mayo is a professor of education, and her book is called "Disputing the Subject of Sex."

Oops. I just re-read my comments. I did not mean that I fervently hope that it's not true that I would know if the abstinence only education was being taught, I meant that I fervently hope that it is not being taught in West Virginia schools. Slip of the keys.

I think support for abstinence-only education is a sure sign that someone isn't doing it right. No one who really enjoys sex thinks this is a pratical program.

Did you see Frist on meet the press saying that, as a doctor, he "didn't know" if HIV could be transmitted by spit. Missing 1980 much?

I think the most disturbing thing in the report, besides the barrage of completely false facts, is the following paragraph.

"One recent study of abstinence-only programs found that they may actually
increase participants’ risk. Columbia University researchers found that while
virginity “pledge” programs helped some participants to delay sex, 88% still had
premarital sex, and their rates of sexually transmitted diseases showed no
statistically significant difference from those of nonpledgers.15 Virginity pledgers
were also less likely to use contraception when they did have sex and were less
likely to seek STD testing despite comparable infection rates."

The fact that abstinence only programs do not equip young people to engage in sex in a safe manner is horrific. These programs are placing the lives of many adolescents at risk.

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i went to an episcopal high school, in the heart of the bible belt--oklahoma. we received no sex ed. not even this so called 'abstinence only' bullshit. the sex ed i got from my parents consisted of my mom and dad repeatedly asking my second grader sister what she thought sex was, until she said, in tears, "when a guy takes off a girl's bra and rubs against her." a couple of things i do remember, however, was not being allowed to talk about condoms, let alone actually having any at the school. one of my friends dressed up as a 'one night stand' for halloween--she made her costumes to look like a table and put condoms all it. she was promptly sent home.

I know this is two and a half years late but in a Congress and Policy class at the U of MN I portrayed REP. Waxman and presented a bill fully funding Comprehensive sexuality education in publicly funded schools and reverting the global gag rule and it passed nearly 60-40, maybe when us 25 year olds are old enough to affect elections there might be some movement on this obviously important issue

I know this is two and a half years late but in a Congress and Policy class at the U of MN I portrayed REP. Waxman and presented a bill fully funding Comprehensive sexuality education in publicly funded schools and reverting the global gag rule and it passed nearly 60-40, maybe when us 25 year olds are old enough to affect elections there might be some movement on this obviously important issue

I know this is two and a half years late but in a Congress and Policy class at the U of MN I portrayed REP. Waxman and presented a bill fully funding Comprehensive sexuality education in publicly funded schools and reverting the global gag rule and it passed nearly 60-40, maybe when us 25 year olds are old enough to affect elections there might be some movement on this obviously important issue