Cara Costanzo Cac5946 CAS 137H From Negligence to Acknowledgement: The Comprehensive Approach to Sex Education

Sex is a universal part of human life that affects everything from the television shows that we watch to the way in which we view the roles of each gender, to the familial values that we hold to be true. It is nonetheless controversial: so debated that composing a research paper of this nature would probably not be feasible in a high school course. Though often tabooed, sex is deeply woven into our culture. And yet the nature of sex as well as the prevalence it has held in society have changed drastically over time. Adolescents and young adults are at the main focus of the revolution; in the medias eyes they are viewed as impressionable and therefore profitable, and they were born into an era of drastic advances and change. Teens are engaging in sexual relationships at a younger average age than that of their parents generation (Powell 1). And though the rate of teen pregnancy has declined significantly from the sixties onward, the rates of sexually transmitted infections are rising, and the general concern for the increasingly casual nature of sexual engagements has left many panicked. Sexual education programs have tailored to this fear for the welfare of the youth; they have aimed to educate students about the importance of abstaining until marriage as well as the seriousness of the potential consequences of choosing to not

do so. However, in recent years, there has been large controversy over the effectiveness of these programs in relation to the undeniable shift in sexual encounters; they may simply be unrealistic (Taylor 1067). Therefore, due to a shift in the seriousness of sexual encounters, sexual-education programs in high schools and universities have transitioned from abstinence to comprehensive-based in hopes to educate students on the importance of practicing safe sex, and thereby lessen the negative potential effects.

The nature of sex has transitioned noticeably in the past 40 years. However, the onslaught of the casual fling culture began in the 1920s, with the accessibility to automobiles and out-of-home entertainment such as the vaudeville show. With such advents, the courting process could be done without the watchful eye of parents, and sexual advances occurred more broadly in adolescents for the first time in American history (Garcia et al 60). Until this point, sex had been solely tied to marriage, as a means of procreation strictly. Sexual desire was believed to be inherent in humans, yet only so because of the original sin that everyone bears when they are born, according to the Christian faith. John E. Taylor argues that, of the time, Sexual desire [was] an unruly force that need[ed] to be controlled and shaped toward some higher purpose that br[ought] it into an appropriate relation to God. One way to do this [was] by tying sex to procreation. Because of the strong religious values of the Christian church that were woven into the foundations of American ideology, sex was secluded for marriage, and more specifically childbearing purposes only.

Though the twenties launched more promiscuous engagements in American history, the taboo against intimate relations out of wedlock remained prevalent until the 1960s as women gained wide access to contraception and abortion services; both of which were deemed blasphemous in earlier times (Garcia et al 60). With the increased acceptance of such practices came an effectual step away from religious doctrine, as both contraception and abortion negate the sanctity of life that is central to several different sects of Christianity, predominantly Catholicism. This transition began the disassociation of sex with marriage. People began to have sex out of wedlock with no intention to reproduce and therefore the link between marriage and sex was weakened. Opinion polls from the time period show that general acceptance of premarital sex had increased significantly from 1969 to 1973, when ratings had remained stagnant and quite low for the thirty years prior (Aidela 291). By 1978, the federal government funded contraceptives and abortion services through the passage of the Adolescent Health, Services and Pregnancy Prevention Act. This allowed minors to gain access to the services that adult women had been granted in the sixties. However, the bill was superseded in 1981 by the Adolescent Family Life Act, which aimed to promote education on abstinence within individual families and also severely hampered minors access to contraception and abortion services without parental consent (Arsneault 440). Therefore, the societal standard in abstinence until marriage did not die out. For, a change in the nature of sex was not only a revolution in sexual encounters, but often resulted in entire

lifestyle changes due to the transition away from the nuclear family structure that were foundational in America. Womens roles inside and outside of the home offered new definitions for the family structure that largely affected the role of sex in and out of marriage. In a study conducted by sociologist Mira Komarovsky comparing women students of the class of 1940 to the class of 1978, it was found that women were much more careermotivated than those of the 1940s (Faver 288). Not only were women who attended college more focused on putting their degrees to use, but a larger percentage of women were also attaining university-level degrees (Garcia et al 60). Because both men and women were pursuing degrees, marriage began to be postponed, resulting in an increasing number of sexual partners and an increase in premarital sex (Powell 1). Women were also not bound to childbearing within marriage, as eighty percent of wives were using contraceptives by the end of the sixties (Walsh 1). This resulted in an increasingly informal outlook on sex for many and a resultant liberation from marriage bounds. Though, for many others, the disassociation between marriage and sex were highly detrimental. For, there were still a high percentage of women who did not have university-level pursuits or career goals, and still adhered to traditional family values. For them, the redefined constructs of sex meant a loosening of mens ties to marriage and family (Taylor 1081). Therefore, a large gap existed between the traditional and the nouveau, as America entered a stage of normlessness as Jesse Bernard describes it, in which neither traditional nor alternative ideals held consistently true (Aidala 294).

This is the dilemma that Generation Y, or Millennials (those born from 1982 and onward) face in terms of sexuality. Throughout the twenty-first century, the convoluted standards of both traditional and alternative sexual standards leave adolescents without a definitive model from which to form a self-identity (Powell 13). Adolescents are no longer bound to rigid standards defining what they can and cannot do. However, there are still immense influences that persuade adolescents to view sex in a casual sense. The media has long played a part in determining images of social desirability; they have created a highly sexualized consumer market that often places women in roles that are attractive to male consumers. Therefore, women, particularly adolescents, feel inclined to embrace a specific type of sexuality, one that is often times removed from emotional intimacy with the partner and rather a purely physical act. Ariel Levy argues in Feminist Chauvinist Pigs that although the wave of feminism that took hold in the sixties gave women the freedom to embrace sexuality, it is still typecast into a distinct form by the media that is often simply unattainable and unfulfilling (Powell 13). And men have been pin holed as well; images of suave, experienced males dominate the media. Though in reality, it is found that women must be appealing, yet downplay their sexual experience while men must exaggerate it to adhere to media-imposed images (Powell 45). The combination of licentious media images and diminishing traditional standards has produced a definite shift in sexual behaviors and attitudes in Generation Y, often deemed the age of raunch (Powell 1). Adolescents are on average having sex at younger ages, as more than half of teenagers aged 15-19 in

developed countries have had sexual intercourse (qtd in Walcott et al 828). There is not only a distinct transition toward the prevalence of premarital success, but also a change in the meaning of the relations emotionally. For, it has been reported that between 60 and 80 percent of North American college students have had a hookup experience and 70 percent of sexually-active 12 to 21 year olds had uncommitted sex within the last year of the study (qtd in Garcia et al 60). The increased rate of sexual encounters has led many to question the effectiveness of abstinence-only sex education programs within high schools and universities. It is heavily debated that comprehensive programs are any more effective in reducing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases however, and many worry that providing information on contraceptives and other responsible sex practices will implicitly prompt adolescents to engage in sexual activity. Taylor argues that there is a large divide between Republican and Democratic views on the issue; Republicans families tend to view sexuality as a facet solely for marriage, and support the governments instilling of the morality of abstinence. Conversely, Democratic families often emphasize a delay in marriage in order to focus on academic and career pursuits that lead to a denial of abstinence as unrealistic, and a promotion of contraceptives as a social responsibility. Because the Republicans held the majority in Congress when Title V was implemented in 1995, the approach that focused strictly on abstinence promotion was taken. Federal funding was only granted to schools that implemented such programs. However, recent studies show that only 23 percent of schools offer this curriculum (Arsneault 445) and as of 2009 only 25 states accepted the federal

funding versus the 54 that originally did so (Taylor 1064). And though programs are employed throughout the country, rates of STIs are growing; it is estimated that one in every four sexually active teenager will contract a sexually transmitted infection (qtd Walcott et al 828). Due to the believed ineffectiveness of programs that only discuss abstinence, in 2010 Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which delegates no funding to abstinence-only programming, and instead focuses on more comprehensive measures. However, a rider that held funding for abstinence programs was included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more commonly referred to as the Obamacare bill, that was passed in 2010 (Taylor 1065). Funding for abstinence programs will be provided until 2014 and may continue after indefinitely. The effects of the newly implemented comprehensive programs have yet to be apparent, although many are confident that they will not promote an increase in sexual activity, as the elevation is already prevalent in society. They are hoped to instead promote safe sexual practices for those already involved or likely to become involved in premarital sexual relations (Taylor 1071). The pressure to conform to socially desirable standards and images of sexuality has existed since the birth of the country and have transcended from devout modesty to overt liberalization. The federal government has assumed the responsibility of guiding adolescents in a manner that upholds traditional values by removing some of the responsibility from parents of educating their children about sex and delegating it to the public school system. Though many disagree with the abstinence programs because they believe they force ideals onto students in an

unconstitutional manner, comprehensive programs do the same. The difference is simply in the relativity of values being promoted; morals are no longer viewed as unitary and therefore the singular advocacy for abstinence can be frowned upon. The comprehensive approach to sex education therefore represents a drastic shift in acknowledgement of premarital sex. Though some may not agree with it, they have accepted that it is prevalent and needs to be dealt with in a responsible manner. It has yet to be known exactly how the change in curriculum will affect the behavior of adolescents but it is nonetheless significant in its confrontation of known irresponsible behavior and in its aim to rectify it. And in this sense, the transition is key to our nations acceptance as well as the youths understanding of sex.

Words: 1998