Society Must Condemn Teen Sex

You know that times are a-changin’ when the teen pages of the newspaper are racier than the adult pages.

For years now, my newspaper has run ads for topless and who-knows-what-else entertainment facilities around town. And our entertainment section has a feature or two that spotlight the latest sexual antics of the Hollywood glitterati.

Sometimes, readers go so far as to call or write to complain that the lingerie ads are too revealing and suggestive. Sometimes, I find myself agreeing with them.

But nothing prepared me for what I found recently in our Alternative News section, which states that the stories are “written mostly by and for Valley high school students.”

Now, I’m no prude, but right there under the bold headline, “A night of promise,” was a story written by a teen correspondent asking, “Should sex be a part of prom nights?” I was surprised, to say the least, by some of the answers to that question given by teens.

One of them, a high school junior who actually had the shameless audacity to identify himself, stated that if he spends hundreds of dollars on a girl, he expects to get something back. “Sex on prom night,” he said, “is a total bonus.”

Another student, who had the good sense to ask that her name not be used, said, “My boyfriend and I probably will have sex on prom night, but it won’t be our first time. I think it will make the night even more wonderful.”

Yee gads!

Another student took a more reasoned approach. He said the idea of having sex on prom night ought to be discussed beforehand. “But it shouldn’t be a major issue because prom night is just supposed to be a good time. If the good time is in a hotel room, that’s cool, but if not, that’s OK, too.”

To be fair, it should be noted that the notion of sex being as much an expected part of prom night as rented tuxedos, formal dresses and corsages was not shared by all those who were interviewed.

One junior said that “most guys expect to get sex on prom (night), but for me, having a beautiful night with a girl I like is enough.”

Yet the impression I got is that teens talking about the subject of sex these days is as casual as some of them seem to consider the act.

I know I sound like some fuddy-duddy here. After all, we’ve heard for years that it supposedly is healthful for kids to be fully informed about sex and to talk openly about what’s bothering them. If a guy is boorish enough to think he is owed something for spending money on a date, why isn’t it healthful for him to admit it upfront?

Moreover, notwithstanding the “Ozzie and Harriet” image, kids of yesteryear had the same kinds of troubles in trying to control their sizzling hormones - they just didn’t talk so openly about it, you say.

But that’s the point, isn’t it?

The subject of teens openly having sex used to be taboo, and the act itself was not socially acceptable, much less glorified in the media and elsewhere.

Is it any wonder that kids who have no second thoughts about publicly baring their intimate thoughts (and much more) don’t think enough about the consequences these days of premarital sex, which, besides resulting in an epidemic of illegitimate teen births and all the problems they bring, can be fatal?

We can debate all we want over funding for this or that well-meaning government program aimed at reducing teen pregnancy. But the problem isn’t a lack of condoms.

The problem is the absence of responsible societal condemnation.