Abstinence: harmful or helpful?

   When did sex education become all about abstinence? I was not taught about abstinence in school, but rather shown pictures of grotesque STDs and videos of women giving birth. This was all the sex education I needed—those images have scarred me for life. I was taught the facts about having unprotected sex, being promiscuous, and the aftermath associated with both cases for men and women alike. Abstinence was not a subject that was talked much about because my health teachers knew that it did no good. They knew that teaching healthy sexuality and protection would benefit us the most. Unlike abstinence only until marriage (AOUM) programs, sex education classes are directed in a way that is more informational, not fear based. While I was reading Michelle Fine’s and Sara McClelland’s article Sexuality Education and Desire: Still Missing after all these Years I was shocked by the way AOUM is taught. The students are primarily told that if you have sex before marriage you will die—you will have sex and die. This is an outrageous claim. I also think the threat of impending doom makes them curious. Moreover, aren’t things more interesting when they are dangerous? Aren’t we more intrigued by things we are told not to do? I definitely think this is the case for the most part. Another thing about the AOUM program is that the students are lied to. They are lied to about the claim of death as well as non-marital sex always leading to disease and social problems. Like the article, I believe that teaching students about healthy adult sexuality is key. Lying to the students about death, disease, and other problems is cruel and wrong. Furthermore, AOUM programs are not proven to prevent sexual relations more than regular sex education classes. There is no use in lying to students about sex, it is much better to teach them about healthy sexuality and protection—teaching fear and lies is immoral.