Monday, January 14, 2008

Is virginity the last taboo?

While trying to find a reasonable answer to my question on how do you deal with teen pregnancy or the plausibility of it, I came across this article on the Observer Woman ( where I must admit, I find a lot of inspirational, educational and controversial articles).
The article talks about Christian women that have chosen to not engage in sexual relationships until marriage ( or after a sexual experience at a young age, have decided to abstain from sex until marriage). The women in the article are portrayed as a new generation of strong successful women that are committed to their faith and its principles to a degree that they can resist the pressure that society puts on them to have sex ( in one case, even the parents' pressure).
While I am extremely respctful and supportive of personal choice, there is something about the overarching argument of this article that does not sit well with me. These women seem to define ( and even justify) their choice through their faith: I choose to not have sex until marriage because this is what my religion says. This statement translates to me that " I feel good about being religious, and what my religion offers me, and therefore I will do what my religion mandates." Maybe it is just me, but I wish I could see more "I chose to abstain from sex because I believe so and wish to do so", and not so much of "I was lucky to survive an accident, so I should be a good Christian and not have sex".
How does this relate to teenage sex and pregnancy? Well, with the recent movements in the US to get teenagers to commit to abstinence, I believe you can make the connection.
While I most certainly do not think that 16 and 17 year olds should be getting pregnant, I believe that there should be a better way to protect teenage girls especially from becoming parents/ going through an abortion at a young age. My suggestion - better sex education in schools, more conversation and less silence on such an important issue that affects the lives of teenagers in such a consquential way.
Finally, while I dread the idea of my nineteen year old sister having sex, I believe she should be educated about her sexuality and know her options.

1 comment:

Molly said...

I think the main problem I have with using religion as a justification for abstaining is that there is an inherent fear in it. I wont have sex because God doesn't like it and I don't want to piss God off. Don't have sex because you're afraid of God, don't have sex because it's YOUR choice. Not God's.