Societal Norms

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)

As children grow up, they are exposed to changes in their body and physiology. Adults, family, schools, and friends influence them and teach them about the world and the changes they are going to experiment, but how does an adult approach children and teenagers about sex? New ideas and debates have formed concerning how to educate the youngsters on the topic of sex: whether parents should explain their children about the birds and the bees, or schools need a course to educate students about sexual activity. This paper is going to examine sex education from different perspectives: psychology, education, and religion studies. Sex education is instruction on issues regarding human sexuality, emotions, responsibilities, anatomy, sexual intercourse, reproduction, health issues, rights, how to practice safe sex, sexually transmitted diseases, sexual organs, or everything related to human reproduction and sex. Almost four out of ten young women get pregnant before the age of twenty (hhs.gov), and nearly twenty million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s) come from people in between fifteen and twenty-four years old (hhs.gov), and most of them state they were uniformed or not prepared. The topic of sex has been a taboo subject in various cultures throughout the years because many parents are unwilling or unable to properly educate their children about sex, forcing them to seek out less credible sources. If schools are permitted to teach sex education, then they can

In her essay “Sex Ed”, Anna Quindelen, a New York Times Columnist, journalist, and novelist, describes why teens should be taught sexual education by family members and loved ones rather than by teachers (Quindelen 183). In the essay, the author states that girls know the anatomy of a female’s reproductive system, and can tell the beginning and end of the ovarian cycles but can still end up pregnant. Knowledge isn’t always the right way to getting a point across. Desensitizing teens to important information can often be the demise of what we are trying to teach. The author also states that teenagers do not have a tendency to think ahead the future repercussions of sex, they are too focused on what is happening in the heat of the moment that they do not think about pregnancy, or are to uneducated about the subject to know to be cautious. By teaching ones own children there are no misconceptions about what the parent wants them to know, versus what someone else wishes for them to know or to be taught. Teenagers also see virginity

Master of Professional Health Debra Hauser states that sexual education is an essential part of the development and growth of teenagers. In her article “Youth Health and Rights in Sex Education”, MPH Hauser provides a report of teenage pregnancies and STDs incidences, which points out that each year in the United States, about 750,000 teens become pregnant, with up to 82 percent of those pregnancies being unintended. Young people ages 15-24 account for 25 percent of all new HIV infections in the U.S (Hauser). According to Hauser, “sex education teaches young people the skills they need to protect themselves”, such as the ability to recognize patterns of a toxic relationships, learning to value and have control over their bodies, understanding

Sex education, most commonly known as family life, is any information about sex and sexual relationships taught to maturing young people as a part of a school’s curriculum. Currently, there is a constant political and ideological debate in the United States over the merits of abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education programs in the teaching of our youth. Abstinence only sex education has been the primary sex education taught in the United States. Although different in their approach, the overall goal is to help them build a foundation to be able to make healthy informed decisions as they mature into adults. The objectives of sex education programs are to help adolescents develop a positive view of sexuality, body image and make responsible decisions in relationships (Knowles, 2012). Ultimately, any sex education should be a partnership between parents, guardians and school personnel. However, in recent years, a large amount of information about sexuality is acquired through friends, music, books and the media instead of from their parents. For some individuals,

As sexually-transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy numbers increase, arguments regarding sexual education classes being taught in high school have been continuously debated: Does abstinence-only sexual education classes work, or do they encourage students to become sexually active? Sexual education in high school has never really been as analyzed as much as it has been over the past decade due to the rise in sexual nature of the world today. Teenagers are exposed to the work of becoming a parent and the embarrassment of diseases through various types of media without explanation of prevention and actual consequence, such as the show 16 & Pregnant. Because of the constant display of the reprimands of unsafe sex, teenagers

Imagine living in a society where there are no regulations on the sexual health education curriculum. What if there are no guidelines that require educators to provide medically accurate, culturally appropriate, and unbiased sexual health information? What if health educators are expected to stress abstinence and discourage sex outside marriage? This supposedly mythical society actually exists and may even represent the typical approach to sexual health education! The sexual health education that adolescents receive today, whether through formal or informal education, does not incorporate the concept of female sexual pleasure due to an overemphasis on reproduction; potential dangers of such an incomprehensive approach are that sexual double

Comprehensive sexuality education has always been a focal point of the debate across the United States. Any topics related to sexuality education would make tremendous amount of people feel embarrassed and uncomfortable because sex education is fallaciously perceived as a stigma of the society on an increase rate of unintended pregnancy, the outbreak of sexual transmitted diseases, and other social ethical issues. From a U.S. review, however, “the overwhelming weight of evidence shows that sex education that discusses contraception does not increase sexual activity.” The understanding of sex education not only covers simply a part in reproduction, or how babies are conceived and born but also helps the teenager to have some basis understanding of virtually every aspect of sex by the time he or she reaches full maturity, and more importantly, it encourages confidence and improves communication skills, the social issues surrounding sexuality and reproduction as well as cultural norms, family

If you saw a child dancing in the middle of a hotel lobby you’d probably giggle and think to yourself how cute it is however, if you saw a grown man partaking in the same behavior you’d probably think he’s under the influence or just plain crazy. This man is doing a harrowing thing, doing what he actually wants to do instead of what society and his peers expect him to do. These unwritten laws of society are what we refer to as “social norms”. Social norms are something I’ve been aware of since I hit middle school however, It didn’t hit me how they truly affected us as people until a few months ago while I was sitting at a booth in a pancake house with my friends. When a man that would change my view on society walked in the door. Although American

Most young people (around %70) say that they did not know enough when entering into the stage of adulthood or when they first felt ready to have some sexual experience. Even the physicians spend an average of only 36 seconds with teens talking about sex. Lack of effective sex education can have real and very serious health

The institutionalists’ on the other hand focus on group norms. The analysis of labour markets and employment systems relies on the existence of stable, slow-changing and fairly transparent institutions to provide the foundations for their analysis (Wootton, 1955). The work of social norms has been the foundation upon which institutionalist theorists try to explain how and why labour market structures are the way they are.

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 world is constantly changing with the technological advances and societal issues that arise and unfurl creating unceasing conflicts. Many people stand for their ideas and beliefs; however, many tend to forget the meaning and importance of standing up for what they believe.

I would absolutely agree that the societal norm is beginning to shift in regards to a filter. Many, including our president, have began to utilize these characteristics. I have seen others who fail to view the consequences of their actions and act on the moment. The popular term is YOLO, you only live once has taken motion. While that may be true is becoming a trend to behave in a certain manner. I have also seen, through media outlets, that individuals are being exposed for acting on emotion rather than in a rational compelled manner. In the end we are still all human. With this new societal norm two things will come, those who become over analytic and only speak or act intelligently or those who act

When adolescents feel distinct to family, relatives, and school, they could turn into complex activities that put their wellbeing at risk. On the other hand, when parents establish the value of their children, young people more frequently increase positive, healthful thoughts about themselves. Even though most adults desire youth to identify about abstinence, contraception, and how to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), parents regularly have difficulty communicating about sex. However, constructive communication among parents and children really helps young people to create individual principles and to make strong choices.