Terrorists, Teens, and Sex

Osama’s Dirty Mind

When Osama was killed, and the SEALs were hauling out the treasure trove, I read comments on a number of sites. Osama having a “goat porn” stash was the joke used over and over. Turns out they weren’t too far off. While there was no mention of bestiality titles, he did have a stash.

From the article:

Hours after the news of the porn stash, Christine Fair, a Georgetown University terrorism expert, wrote on her Facebook page, “Of course they found porn! Every damned jihadi loves porn.

The 9/11 hijackers boozed it up and got lap dances before they carried out their mission. The Fort Hood shooter was a regular at the local titty bar. I guess they just couldn’t wait for their 72 virgins.

When I read this article, I wasn’t really surprised. Pornography in Islam is haram, or forbidden. And in Christianity, pornography is about lust, exploitation, and the perverting of the conjugal act. In many religions, porn is a no-no.

Still, the porn industry is a billion dollar business. The nation leading in porn queries on the internet is………Pakistan. Here in the United States, the state that leads in the purchase of online adult entertainment is………Utah. It also happens to be one of the most Conservative states with deeply devout Mormons.

I believe that our society needs to drop the whole pseudo-puritanical BS. People are going to buy porn, “read” Playboy, and go to strip clubs. There will always be customers for the ladies of the evening. They don’t call prostitution the “world’s oldest profession” for nothing. And teenagers will experiment with sex. No matter how much we tell them to keep their legs closed, it’s hard to fight biology. If we teach kids about sex, in a comprehensive way, maybe we won’t have as many teen pregnancies. Abstinence only education doesn’t work.

Forbidden fruit is always the sweetest. Take away that, and it just becomes common. It’s no longer, exciting, dangerous, and illicit. If that factor is taken away, you can look at it more rationally. “He’s hot, we’re probably going to do it. I should get some condoms.” If more teens thought like that instead of, “Crap. I hope we don’t get caught,” I think there would be a lot less pregnancies.

It’s way past time to be more open about sex.

Not Bringing Sexy Back

US Teens, Young Adults ‘Doing It’ Less, Study Says

That’s good news. When I was a sub, I saw the results of teens “doing it.” I subbed for an 8th grade class. One of the gals showed me a picture. “That’s my baby,” she said. She blew kisses at the picture. The baby looked about a year old. Keep in mind that 8th grade girls are around 13 years old. In a freshman (~ 14 y/o) English class, I gave detention to a girl who was talking too much. “Oh hell no. I have to pick up my baby” was her response. What do you say to that? Nothing. She has to pick up her baby.

When I read the article, my first question was “why?” Theories are probably more abundant than the number of teens and young adults doing it. Some say it’s the awareness of STDs. Others say the abstinence education is working. One of the theories is that they’re just too busy – school, homework, sports, hobbies, volunteer work. Sounds like an adult reason not to have sex.

My personal belief is that education caused the drop. The article cites comprehensive sexual education, which includes abstinence as well as contraception and safer sex practices. I think TV shows may have played a role. 16 and Pregnant and Teen Moms are very popular reality shows on MTV. There was even a special on abortion, No Easy Decision . I’ve caught some of the shows. They don’t sugar coat the impact of pregnancy on the lives of both the girl the boy. If I were a teen, some of the episodes would make me think twice about having a baby at all.

I believe abstinence-only education is unrealistic. On a biological level, sex is a strong, basic drive – propogation of the species. The desire is difficult to ignore because it’s natural. Keep your legs closed and Keep your pants on is not enough.

This would be my sex education spiel:

Sex is a big deal, with real consequences, both physical and emotional. Waiting would be the best because you don’t know if you can handle it. What if you do it with your boyfriend or girlfriend and then they dump you? Or it just doesn’t work out. It can be devastating because there is an emotional connection. You can avoid it by not “going there.”

If you do not wait, you might not be able to avoid the possible emotional consequences, but you can avoid the physical consequences. You don’t want to get pregnant or get an STD. Condoms, birth control pills. Being responsible is the key.

And you know, you don’t have to deal with all that by keeping your legs closed/keeping your pants on. 🙂