Castleman mentions homosexuality only once, and in passing at that, a disappointing but too-common oversight not only by writers tackling this topic but, most frighteningly, by sex educators and administrators nationwide. We all know the statistics about the rates of gay teen suicide compared to their peers. Here's hoping Salon addresses this in future columns. I agree with Michael Castleman that parents are the best sex educators and it would be wise to underwrite their work to some extent with programs to train and encourage them, I couldn't disagree more that abstinence and comprehensive programs are somehow like lovers separated by the machinations of fate.
Sex is preeminently adult behavior.
Treating sex like recreation, a sport that admittedly may require some precautions, trivializes the life and death consequences of this behavior, and trivializes our sense of the value of human life. Some things are right and some things are wrong. I 'm an average teenage boy. Some of the topics that I would rather not discuss with my parents are lovemaking without intercourse, mutual masturbation and oral sex. The idea of the surgeon general teaching children how to masturbate is both absurd and profoundly disturbing.