More on that UK NIH Sex-Ed program
Jul. 19th, 2009 10:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsFollowing up on the "Sex (in the UK) is Pleasurable" line, Violet points us to the "City Brights" blog at SFGate.com, where the host, Zennie, complains that the program is aimed at the wrong people, young people, who are too young to even be thinking about having sex, whereas all of the straight adults in the Bay Area apparently, again according to Zennie, are so uptight it's obvious they need to get laid.
While telling an anecdote second-hand from a "teacher friend" of his about catching kids in the act and stopping them, he basically feels that kids shouldn't have sex.
Zennie misses the point. Telling kids sex should be pleasurable has been shown to be a better tactic for getting them to delay sex and to have responsible sex than telling them to abstain. If you tell them that it should be pleasurable, all of the awkward, awful, sticky, uncomfortable fumblings become warning bells: if it's not pleasureable, something is wrong, stop, figure out what's wrong, and if it's the other person who is making it awkward, uncomfortable or awful, then do something about it. Get it better, or get out.
If only we could teach people that food ought to be pleasurable, too. And not used in the way that masturbation is sometimes a substitute for sex.
Speaking of which, does anyone remember Jocelyn Elders? She was the Surgeon General under Bill Clinton, until Clinton fired her for suggesting, off the cuff, that maybe telling kids masturbation is okay and pleasurable might be a good way to keep them from having sex. What was controversial fifteen years ago is, well, kinda obvious today.
While telling an anecdote second-hand from a "teacher friend" of his about catching kids in the act and stopping them, he basically feels that kids shouldn't have sex.
Zennie misses the point. Telling kids sex should be pleasurable has been shown to be a better tactic for getting them to delay sex and to have responsible sex than telling them to abstain. If you tell them that it should be pleasurable, all of the awkward, awful, sticky, uncomfortable fumblings become warning bells: if it's not pleasureable, something is wrong, stop, figure out what's wrong, and if it's the other person who is making it awkward, uncomfortable or awful, then do something about it. Get it better, or get out.
If only we could teach people that food ought to be pleasurable, too. And not used in the way that masturbation is sometimes a substitute for sex.
Speaking of which, does anyone remember Jocelyn Elders? She was the Surgeon General under Bill Clinton, until Clinton fired her for suggesting, off the cuff, that maybe telling kids masturbation is okay and pleasurable might be a good way to keep them from having sex. What was controversial fifteen years ago is, well, kinda obvious today.
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no subject
Date: 2009-07-20 10:13 pm (UTC)One of the things that he said is pertinent to Elf's post. Berkowitz criticised the current safer-sex, "education," for completely removing all mention of the pleasure of sex and the celebratory nature of sex between m.o.t.s.s. Berkowitz reminded me that, at one time, safe(r)-sex pamphlets were, well, sexy. Erotic, even. They didn't beat you over the head with, "Do these things or YOU ARE UNCLEAN." Instead, the message was, "YaKnow, you can still enjoy sex and have great sex while protecting yourself. Here's some tips how…"
Funny thing: The latter worked. Brought down the HIV infection rate. The former, which is what we've had for the past decade or so, has seen increases in HIV infection. Clearly, it doesn't work.
But I think the most powerful statement that Richard Berkowitz made was this: sex should be a celebration.
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Date: 2009-07-21 07:47 am (UTC)Yeah, after 10 years of "abstinance is the only way" and other failed bullshit proving the contrary theory as bullshit.
But that doesn't mean that the religious right has taken off the blinders either. They're still all for the bullshit way. Numbers and facts don't matter when you've got *god* on your side!