Careful
Well I learned something new today.
Abstinence-only education funding has a long history of bipartisan support. There are three ways that the programs are funded in the United States…CBAE has the most stringent rules. To receive money from the fund, a sexual-education program must teach an eight-point set of guidelines, which include lessons such as: “Sexual activity outside the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects.”
That’s the something new that I learned – I was unaware that sexual activity outside the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects. Were you aware of that? Is it common knowledge?
Well to tell the truth I have to admit that I still don’t know it. Sexual activity outside the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological effects? That it would not be likely to have inside the context of marriage? Is it? Like what? And what is it about marriage that prevents such effects? Or does it prevent them? Are the nice people at CBAE just not telling us that sexual activity inside the context of marriage is just as likely to have harmful psychological effects? Or more likely? Are they being tricky?
Who knows. Therefore, to be on the safe side – rent a movie instead.
I married at twenty nine. More than two decades on, I’m still waiting for those negative psychological effects to kick in from the previous hochmagandy.
But, you see, it’s already too late, the path to rapture is closed off to you by your previous sin, and what you experience as reality is but a pale, flat, grey simulacrum of the life available to those who embrace premarital celibacy and its brain-preserving effects.
Or something like that…
I only had one sexual experience outside of marriage. I did marry her in the end, but our experience outside of marriage was wondrous, beautiful, life-giving and (dare I even use the word?) holy — besides exciting, irresistible and earthy.
I have been amused and horrified to learn about abstinence only education first hand, because it’s already started for my two 5th graders.
Here’s how it goes at this level. (I just found out because there was a screening of upcoming movies, with a guidance counselor explaining the rules.)
First these 10-11 year olds are shown a movie about “bodies” which goes over such issues as body odor, menstruation, sanitary pads, and body odor for girls; penis size (not kidding), erections, body odor, nocturnal ejaculation, and body odor for boys. (Sponsored by deodorant company…I’m not kidding).
What happens if a kid asks about…um, er…sex? Guidance counselor may not answer. Required response is–go ask parents. What if they bring up the slightly less shocking topic of tampons? Must not discuss. Masturbation? Scream! No.
After that movie, they are shown a horrifying movie about AIDS, with the speaker pictured outside a hospital. After explaining the horrors, she says, roughly 20 times–don’t have sex before marriage. What is it about marriage that stops sex from giving you AIDS during marriage? No clue.
There you go–abstinence only sex education. And to think my kids are in the care of the Texas school system 7 hours a day. It bothers me.
Sexual activity outside the context of marriage has no harmful side effects, unless you happen to be the Governor of New York and you get caught.
Marriage stops sex from giving you AIDS by magic.
Not having Eric MacDonald’s apparent good fortune, I feel compelled to add another little matter to OB’s list of alternate issues the abstinence nutters fail to address: I’d have to say that one problem (among many) with my long-since-ended marriage was lack of sexual activity in the context of marriage leading to – *ahem* – harmful psychological effects.
This sort of stuff is so counter productive, when I was a young tyke I would treat warnings about risky behavior as a dare to go out and engage in that behavior, I cant imagine that this sort of education wont have the same effect.
You mean I could have this much sex and feel *even* better? Stuff the rugby, I’m off to propose to my better half at once!
Don, obviously you have ignored one of the main effects – not being qualified anymore to self-diagnose yourself as to your mental health!
True, I’m the last one I’d trust to judge my mental health.
But I can’t help but suspect that if I had spent the decade prior to my marriage in a state of celibacy, I would have developed some serious psychological issues.
That I do not know but you had had a serious risk at being born again!
And why. To be celibate again!
Was it Wilde who said that celibacy is the only true perversion?
Of course, that was before the imternet.
My apologies, I did it again: thinking about whom I was replying to & putting that name in the author box.
Sorry!
I need more time to do this stuff. I’d better have remained celibate, more so now I know it’s possible to combine it with sex. Lying priests!
Abstinence-only sex education makes sense: wearing a condom while abstaining from sex would be pointless and silly.