Teen Sex

teen sexBrooke Shields regrets not having sex earlier. Apparently, the model/actress/spokesperson for postpartum depression and foe to Scientology  did not do the deed until the age of 22. I'm thinking that although she is a litttle bit older than me, that this was a little above average in the age depression for losing the big "V". Of course, these days, the age for sexual activity seems  to be decreasing at a rapid pace. Younger than you can iamgine, teens are saying yes to sex, anal sex, oral sex, and some sort of form of prostitution that I am not sure even existed back in the days when I was in high school.

In a recent Canadian documentary, teens talked about all kinds of sexual behavior as if it was "no biggie", which is a little different than back when I was a student. Back in the day, there were quite a few sexually active people, but I think it was probably more than a third of students than half who had engaged in oral sex. As an example from my high school, the class "genius" who is now a PhD was getting harrassed on a daily basis because he didn't know what a clitoris was. I'm thinking that kids today are not likely so sheltered my classmate was.

From the article above: "Evidence of this casual attitude may be seen in the fact that more than half of all teens 15 to 19 years old have engaged in oral sex, according to a comprehensive 2005 study by the Centers for Disease Control's National Center for Health Statistics."

According to the documentary maker, many of the girls who "trade sex" do so for clothes, money, or even the right to stay in a relationship. The latter reason may not be so different from the past, just stated in a different manner. The girls that are most at risk are not the typical "at risk" youth, but more likely the girls perceived to be more popular or better-looking than their peers. 

I did find some other statistics about teen behaviors in an MSN article from late last year:

* On average, girls are losing their virginity at 15 years of age.
* 14 percent of teens who are having sex say they’re doing it at school.
* 52 percent of survey respondents say they do not use protection when having sex.
* 24 percent of teens with STDs say they still have unprotected sex.
* One in five girls says she wants to be a teen mom.

The statistic from this article that is the most troubling to me is not the fact that some teens are having sex at school (I think the where is not the important factor), but the fact that 52% of teenagers are not using protection when they have sex and that "one in five girls says she wants to be a teen mom". This to me indicates a large failure in the Bush administration's abstinence education policy and a strange warping of values. While I believe that the decision to have or not to have sex is dependent on the individual, these statistics demonstrate that many sexually active teens are not quite mature or educated enough to have sex responsibly.