From: eyc@acpub.duke.edu (EMIL CHUCK)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,alt.politics.clinton
Subject: Re: Sex education at home Re: Abortion story
Date: 23 Aug 92 21:12:43 GMT
Followup-To: talk.politics.misc
Organization: Duke University; Durham, N.C.

lazarus@wixer.cactus.org (Michael Lax) writes:
$eyc@acpub.duke.edu (EMIL CHUCK) writes:
$>	My interpretation of the Religious Right's view is that they
$>oppose the state educating children about sex education without the
$>consent of the parents. I don't wholeheartedly agree with them, but I do
$>understand about how teaching teenagers how to put on a condom in a
$>class sometimes has a trivializing effect, not to mention the fact that
$>this doesn't address birth control failure.
$
$I am curious how teaching how to put on a condom doesn't address birth
$control failure?  Given that one of the _leading_ causes of condom failure is
$not know how to use it properly (this includes adults, too, BTW).  Little
$things, like pinching the tip to get the air out - it'll BREAK if you don't.
$Make sure it's rolled all the way down.  NOT keeping them stored in hot
$places like your back pocket or your car's glove compartment.  Or big things,
$like checking occassionaly to see if the things not broken.  Or pulling out
$before you ejaculate; I know that sounds like the rythym method, but it can
$be done without ruining the moment (and it's easier to do this with a condom
$than without).  THIS is the stuff the Religious Right and their friends the
$Republicans don't want our kids to hear - and this "stuff" will save their
$lives.

I don't specifically know how condoms in sex ed is being taught. But I
think that adults and especially teens don't take these lessons to use a
condom properly very seriously. I understand that those who are trying
to advocate its responsible use are trying to destigmatize it from the
shadows of society, but it seems to me like it's getting too
trivialized. It's not certain that condoms will not allow HIV virions to
pass. I don't even remember ever being told what the failure rate is for
certain birth control methods when I was in high school, much less how
to use them. And of course, all birth control methods are not fail-safe.
And particularly in this AIDS epidemic, birth control may save their
lives on one hand (abortion) but not necessarily on the other (HIV).

Sex ed classes in schools don't help the students other than the
logistics of having sex. To change "having sex" to "making love"
involves a talk with the parents. That's why (I think) the Fundys are
livid about free distribution of condoms; it seems like the state is
advocating "It's all right to have sex. This condom will keep you safe"
and nothing about the emotional implications of sex.

$>	Children should become educated by their parents with regards to
$>sex because they have the perspective of looking at sex as a sign of
$>love and committment rather than pure anatomy or birth control. I
$>understand it is not easy to discuss, partially because parents fear
$>that the knowledge they accord to their children will be applied too
$>prematurely. This is becomes a family matter of trust.
$Well, you tell that to Ozzie & Harriet.  What about parents who abuse or
$molest their children?  What about parents who are so blinded by their
$religion they _won't_ tell them?  What about parents just nervous, afraid, or
$just embrassed (not to mention uneducated)?  And what about parents with gay
$and lesbian children?  Ever wonder why the suicide rate amongs gay and
$lesbian teens is _THREE_ times as high as straight teens?  "Trust" and
$"family values", especially when the narrow (minded?) definition the
$Republicans give them, certainly make nice sound bites, but they do little
$help people or save lives.
I'll admit that sexually abusive parents and religiously pious parents
exist. For the former, they obviously have no clue about sex as a loving
act. But the schools won't teach them how to "make love." Religiously
pious parents who care more about their ticket to heaven than their own
child(ren) probably don't trust their daughter alone with a boy in the
room, even if that boy is her brother! There are always different types
of parents that fit no mold, and I'm sure they don't want anyone telling
them how to take care of their children, even if they don't take care of
their children.
	Parents who are nervous, afraid, embarrassed, and probably
uneducated. I remember a commercial concerning telling kids about drugs.
The commercial ended, if you don't tell your kids to "Just Say No,"
that's just as good as telling them "Yes." Remember HIV is out there.
And it can kill. A person can be asymptomatic for YEARS.
	I admit I don't know what parents would do if they found out
their child was homosexual. I don't think that an insecure teenager
would tell his parents about this situation during the talk with mom or
dad. My guess is that they might tell them later, or that they'd find
out much much later.

But I digressed. Parents know about having sex in a loving way if they
got married first before having kids. If the situation were reversed,
the parents have an additional reason to be sure their kids don't repeat
the mistakes they made. You don't need religion necessarily to tell your
kids why it's better for them to wait, or why they should be very
selective with whom they have sex. I admit I don't know when I'll tell
my (future) kids about sex, but for their sake, they have to be told --
particularly from a PERSONAL standpoint. That's something you cannot
learn in a textbook in a class.

+>+How many times has someone in a movie or TV worried about protection?  How
+>+realistic are TV/Movie love scenes (~ zero)?  How accurate is the info
+>+from the "sophisticated kid" down the street?
+>	Oh my God! Have you stumbled on the truth about the "Cultural
+>Elite"? Hmm....
+No, I think he stumbled on the Rights attempt to keep our airwaves "clean"
+through censorship and pre-censorship.
	Humor button was on. Sorry. 

-- 
Emil Thomas Chuck		DUKE BLUE DEVILS: 1992 ACC CHAMPIONS!
Biomedical Engineer 1993	1992 EAST REGIONAL CHAMPIONS!!
Duke University, Durham, NC	AND 1992 NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!
August 31, 1992 - May 16, 1993	Duke football? What's that?
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,talk.abortion,alt.politics.bush