Carnal knowledge
Carnal knowledge: The sex and debate
By Molly Masland
Soaring rates of sexually transmitted diseases among teens are adding urgency to the debate over sex education. Conservatives claim the alarming statistics illustrate why abstinence should be the single mantra when it comes to sex ed. Liberals counter that the increase in disease is the strongest case for more detailed information. Caught in the middle are America’s kids, who are more vulnerable than ever to potentially deadly diseases.
In the debate over sex education, one thing is undisputed: The average kid today is immersed in sexual imagery. A generation that has grown up on the sordid details of the Starr Report, watched thong-clad teens gyrate on Spring Break cable specials, or read the cover of nearly any women’s magazine in the grocery check-out line is familiar with the facts of life.
But young people face a barrage of confusing messages. Along with titillating images from the media, some kids are told to “just say no” to sex. In school, others are taught how to put condoms on bananas in preparation for the real thing, and still other children receive no information whatsoever.
Transcending the cacophony of mixed messages is a host of alarming facts.
Kids are becoming more sexually active at an earlier age. Sixty-six percent of American high school students have had sex by their senior year.
And these same teens are paying the price by contracting dangerous — and sometimes deadly — sexually transmitted diseases.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and the Kaiser Family Foundation, approximately 65 percent of all sexually transmitted infections contracted by Americans this year will occur in people under 24. One in four new HIV infections occurs in people younger than 22.
“There’s a disconnect somewhere. Someone’s not getting the message. We need to find out why and help our kids be more responsible,” said Dr. Ted Feinberg, assistant executive director of the National Association
By Molly Masland
Soaring rates of sexually transmitted diseases among teens are adding urgency to the debate over sex education. Conservatives claim the alarming statistics illustrate why abstinence should be the single mantra when it comes to sex ed. Liberals counter that the increase in disease is the strongest case for more detailed information. Caught in the middle are America’s kids, who are more vulnerable than ever to potentially deadly diseases.
In the debate over sex education, one thing is undisputed: The average kid today is immersed in sexual imagery. A generation that has grown up on the sordid details of the Starr Report, watched thong-clad teens gyrate on Spring Break cable specials, or read the cover of nearly any women’s magazine in the grocery check-out line is familiar with the facts of life.
But young people face a barrage of confusing messages. Along with titillating images from the media, some kids are told to “just say no” to sex. In school, others are taught how to put condoms on bananas in preparation for the real thing, and still other children receive no information whatsoever.
Transcending the cacophony of mixed messages is a host of alarming facts.
Kids are becoming more sexually active at an earlier age. Sixty-six percent of American high school students have had sex by their senior year.
And these same teens are paying the price by contracting dangerous — and sometimes deadly — sexually transmitted diseases.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and the Kaiser Family Foundation, approximately 65 percent of all sexually transmitted infections contracted by Americans this year will occur in people under 24. One in four new HIV infections occurs in people younger than 22.
“There’s a disconnect somewhere. Someone’s not getting the message. We need to find out why and help our kids be more responsible,” said Dr. Ted Feinberg, assistant executive director of the National Association