Let’s Talk About Sex, Brought to You By Chesney

Sex is inevitable. Students are going to choose to have sex even if we are given a scary lady who stands in front of the classroom preaching about abstinence. It is natural and it is perfectly okay if you choose to have it or not, but what is not okay is for improper sex education to be brought to us.

I remember my freshman year in health class I was given a booklet with a contract that the students were asked to sign stating “I make a commitment today to myself, my family, my future spouse AND my future children that I will live a lifestyle of sexual integrity from this day forward. I choose to wait until I am married before I have sex.” I found this ridiculous because the state cannot control when an individual decides to partake in sexual acts. Naturally, I did not sign it because the state should not dangle shame in my face if I were to partake in sexual acts.

Not only that, but the booklet only showed the negatives of other forms of birth control aside from abstinence until marriage and used the idea of pregnancy as a fear tactic. How is this fair? How is it fair that a majority of students are fed guilt and shame about sex?

If we want to talk about what is unfair, then I will happily dive in deeper. How is it fair for students that are a part of the LGBT+ community to be dismissed? The LGBT+ community is already behind when it comes to what is socially acceptable, so why do a majority of states continue to push the community on a back burner when it comes to sex education?

Indiana State Senator Dennis Kruse said it best: “Our state standards of human sexuality are very good in Indiana but we have teachers who are going beyond the standards and are getting into what I call more sensual, more nitty-gritty stuff, almost to the area of pornography. We thought ‘wow this is creeping in now’ so we better do something so that it doesn’t take over the curriculum.”

How is talking about heterosexual intercourse not pornographic but homosexual sex is? This is not a justifiable reason to avoid the topic of LGBT+ in class.

Due to all of this, students are being forced to resort to Google for sex education, which will only lead to even more misinformation, which is why platforms such as Planned Parenthood and Clarity are needed. Getting rid of these helpful programs due to not supporting abortion is an irresponsible action because they offer so much more support, help and education than what is handed to us by society.

We should not have to fight for real sex education to be present and we certainly should not have to fight to keep the few resources we have. These places offer wellness checkups, emotional support and so much more for any individual who wants to come in. What does the state’s sex education curriculum offer?

The reality is, teenagers are having sex. I walked the school halls hearing fellow peers talk about sex for years. With the growing LGBT+ community and the inevitability of teenage sex, now is not the time to turn a blind eye to this utopia where everyone waits until marriage. Now is the time to offer a proper sex education that is both comprehensive and supportive. It’s time to wake up America, because we need sex education now more than ever.