Perceptions of Youth Towards Premarital Sex

Human sexuality can be fascinating, complex, contradictory, and sometimes frustrating. Sexuality is interwoven into every aspect of being human; therefore, having knowledge about sex is as essential as having education about human anatomy. However, it is highly recommended to pay close attention when sex education is delivered to youths. (Donatelle 171)

For centuries, society has placed a remarkably large emphasis on protecting the young from the many perceived errors of growing up. Effective sex education is resisted in many locations across the country in favor of somewhat comical biblical suggestions for abstinence until marriage even while the majority of those targeted teens are viewing the world as a more and more sexual place. So many views are weaving in and out of teenagers' newly formed adolescent minds that any effective argument for responsible attitudes or analysis of sexual behavior in teens should be expressed with a certain minimal degree of clarity. Unfortunately, this essential lucidity of advice is missing in the short story “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been,”

They see the overwhelming importance given to sexual attractiveness in the media-one study estimated that the average teenager ahs witnessed nearly 14,000 sexual encounters on television- yet they also hear their parents and religious advisers telling them that sex is wrong. As a result, many young people begin having sex without really intending to and without taking precautions against pregnancy.

Sexuality is a quagmire of ambiguity and frustration, especially during adolescence. The unpredictable hormonal ups and downs of puberty are difficult enough, without the societal pressures of abstinence versus promiscuity. The double standard of boys sowing their wild oats and slut shaming are still as prevalent today as they were in the 1950’s.

Drilling into teens’ heads that sex is inherently bad will do no justice in the long run. Notwithstanding, abstinence-only programs do nothing but this, for they hold the opinion that making teenagers fear the consequences of precarious sex will prevent them from engaging in it. Advocates of both abstinence-only and comprehensive programs are worried that premature sex, even when wholly safe, will psychologically damage teenagers, but “there are no scientific data suggesting that consensual sex between adolescents is harmful”, yet abstinence-only education by itself continues to mandate the teaching that sex out of wedlock will do harm (Santelli et al. “Abstinence and abstinence-only education” 74). Unlike abstinence-only education, comprehensive sex-education attempts to focus on developing healthy mentalities for the benefit of their students. Promotion of healthy relationships between oneself and others will help make teenagers find trust between themselves and their sexual partners before participating in the act, furthermore causing them to make sure their partner does not have any STIs and is using contraception. Conversely, abstinence-only programs’ persistence with enthusiastically promoting abstinence leaves teenagers with little clue about their mental health. “Even those few individuals who remain abstinent until marriage are left

“The ideal of what historian Anne Higonnet calls the Romantic Child, our modern image of a naturally asexual, pure child, is at the heart of century-long conflicts over sex education. By definition, the romantic child’s innocence depends on protection from sexuality” (Talk About Sex 13). Parents, in general, do not feel at ease thinking about their children having sex, nor do they want to encourage them to do so. The fact that most parents are not comfortable talking about the subject with their children only increases the importance of doing so in our schools.

“A 2011 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey indicates that more than 47 percent of all high school students say they have had sex; and 15 percent of high school students have had sex with four or more partners during their lifetime,” (NCSL). In our society today sex is a very open subject and is being observed by young adults in everyday life. Walking down the street we see half naked women plastered on billboards and street signs, leaving nothing to the imagination and making adolescents everywhere question why and wonder what that is. As children we are taught that abstinence before marriage is the right way to live, and engaging in such

Adolescence is a critical period of development in all areas of life including sexuality. Negligence towards this stage causes many sexual questions, conflicts and crisis to arise. The reports regarding teenage pregnancies and HIV/AIDS in Canada during the 1970’s serve as an illustration. From that moment on the growing number of sexually active youth was seen as a threat to sexual health in Canada. As a result, it encouraged school systems to institute a form of sexuality education to enhance awareness and knowledge around this issue. However, in today's society, individuals are divided by Restrictive and Permissive sexual ideologies. Proponents of Restrictive sexual ideology believe sexual behaviour should be controlled and limited to parents

Recently there has been a lot of debate about the new sexual education curriculum being taught to children from a younger age and how it will affect them. Some people say that children are too young to be learning this information and then how they use it will be in a negative manner. What frightens most parents is that they can raise their children as they wish, but have very little control over what other people do with their children (Wolfe, D. A. 2015, February 28).The Ontario sex-education curriculum is an necessary step to address the fears of parents that their children could be victimized, harmed, or take part in behaviours that carry significant risk but the new curriculum is quite different from the older version because it is more explicit, it also is going against catholic school

Teenage sexual activity has sparked an outcry within the nation. With such activity comes a high price. Studies have shown that there has been a significant rise in the number of children with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), emotional and psychological problems, and out-of-wedlock childbearing. Sex has always been discussed publically by the media, television shows, music and occasionally by parents and teachers in educational context. Teens hear them, and as the saying goes, “monkey see, monkey do”, they are tempted to experiment with it. Therefore, it is important for every teenager to be aware of the outcome associated with premature-sex. If students are educated about the impact of

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that anyone who participates in fornication shall not inherit the Kingdom of God (Paul II, 1992). This indicates that the church believes that anyone who does partake in sex before marriage is an outcast. Additionally, in the bible Jesus refers to premarital sex as an evil act that renders a man impure ( (The Holy Bible, 2001)- Matthew 15:19). The church follows these statements and teaches the value of chastity as they believe sex signifies the self-giving love two partners have promised to each other in their vows (Saunders, 2014). Furthermore, the Church

You see, if they truly loved their mate then they would want God’s will more than their own; and they would desire their mate’s highest good rather than their own! And therefore they would be willing to submit themselves to a biblical preparation process rather than trying to manipulate or compromise to get something that they don’t trust God to provide or that God doesn’t want them to have! Unfortunately, however, when it comes to getting married most people are ruled NOT by the truth of God’s Word & by love for God & a love for their mate; rather they are ruled by emotions, feelings & desires, which cloud their objectivity & ultimately lead to compromise & hasty decisions that they end up regretting for the rest of their life! I pray that you would not be one of them! You see, outside of making a commitment to follow Jesus Christ as your sole Savior & sovereign Lord, choosing who you will marry is the biggest decision you will make in life (the implications of that decisions will affect you for the rest of your life either bringing tremendous pleasure or tremendous pain & heartache). And so when it comes to making such a monumental decision we would be absolutely foolish to trust our own hearts (Prov. 28:26; Jer. 17:9) or to consult the world’s standards to measure our readiness & preparedness! You see, the world

The federal government still gives funding to educating children on abstinence. This approach teaches kids refraining from sex until marriage is the key to a healthy and happy life. Many Christian groups still campaign for young people to remain abstinent. The Bible promotes purity until marriage and monogamy once married. Christians believe we should treat our bodies as a temple and refrain from sexual immorality. They also believe followers of Christ should have control over their own bodies and should only act in holy and honorable ways and not in passionate lust. During my research I found a Christian organization that explained premarital sex as selfish and cruel, because you are negatively affecting both your relationships with God; whereas sex after marriage was described as “giving and unselfish”. They also went on to explain sex is meant only for your life partner because when you partake in sex chemicals in the brain are released that make you feel attached and trusting, and if you have sex outside of marriage you will become attached to a person that has no commitment to you. It is best to be committed to the person you have intercourse with because you become trusting and attached to the other person and become one

In today’s society, adolescents have a positive opinion about cohabitation before marriage. The view of marriage as an institution has faded and cohabitation has taken a new part of this culture (Martin, Specter, Martin, & Martin, 2003). It has often been questioned whether or not premarital sexual activity causes marriages to be disrupted. According to Teachman, Premarital sex and cohabitation has not

When God created man and woman, his sole purpose was for them to be fruitful and multiply. Sex was created by God and meant for marriage. Therefore, woman valued their chastity and would not do a disservice to their bodies. Premarital sex should not be practice because it leads to unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and loss of innocence.