Monday, June 3, 2013

Confirming Thy Soul in Ten-Year-Old Self Control

Let's kick it up a notch, shall we?

A government website designed for girls ages 10 to 16 offers health advice and information on a wide range of topics, including homosexuality, anal sex and “mutual masturbation.”

The Health and Human Services’ girlshealth.gov includes tips on fitness and nutrition and an “environmental health” section where girls can read about leading a “green” lifestyle.

But the site also includes a glossary that explains anal sex and “mutual masturbation” and includes information about birth control and how to access everything from condoms to “emergency contraceptives.”

And so forth. I confess, I was skeptical when I read the story, but it's all there; there it is. And I marvel at the continued vigilance of the sexual intelligentsia to continuously dial back the clock earlier and earlier. At one point the elbow grease was applied towards liberating adults from the sexual mores of the past---you won't go to Hell for extramarital sex, it's okay to be gay, intercourse separate from conception is perfectly fine. My peers and I are the heirs to these causes, and I confess I'm grateful for the effort (I don't personally benefit from the destigmatization of homosexuality, but lots of my friends have, so that's good). 

But you can go too far. And now before us is the gold standard of modern sexual deregulation: ten-year-old girls being granted the full sexual license once reserved to statutory and societal adults. It's not surprising. And it seems almost exclusively a progressive problem. When it comes to sex, lefties are obsessed with two things: "access" and "education."  Because they're seemingly unable to connect the continued relaxation of carnal interdictions that once tempered our baser instincts with rising incidences of pregnancy, more abortions and STIs, progressives believe the problem is rooted in adults (and now teenagers and little girls) not having "access" to birth control, or not being sufficiently "educated." Talk to a prog for five minutes about the subject and you'll get enlightened. For the kiddies, this is where girlshealth.gov comes in. To wit: 

Birth control (also called contraception) may seem confusing and overwhelming. If you think you’re ready to have sex, though, you need to be ready to protect your body and your future. It may be tempting to have sex without birth control, but it can cause serious problems. And if you feel close enough with someone to have sex, you should feel close enough to discuss birth control — even if it makes you feel a little uncomfortable.

Right. Pardon my old-world sensibilities, but if contraception is "confusing and overwhelming," you're not "ready to have sex," and you're probably not ready to even start thinking about having sex. This certainly holds true if, you know, you haven't started puberty yet. I'd hazard to guess it even holds true for sixteen-year-olds, the upper end of the website's target audience. I'll be frank in saying that I don't believe the wait-until-marriage crowd has it right; it strikes me as an impractical and foolhardy approach to the whole thing. But, while the website makes token genuflections to abstinence, its dedication to birth control "education" is so much more, well, dedicated. "Can you remember to do what you need," it asks, "like bringing condoms with you or taking a pill at the right time?" Uh, sorry, but to where is a fourteen-year-old girl "bringing condoms?" A drunken party? Why are we asking a twelve-year-old if she can remember to take a pill? Why is she taking a pill? 

Of course, the website isn't such a big deal, because its launch was overseen by a conservative:  

The website GirlsHealth.com...was launched in 2002 during President George W. Bush’s first term.
So was Gitmo. Do we really want to split these kinds of hairs? 

In any case, to speak to a modern-day libertine is to encounter a truly incredible set of beliefs: any proscription of any consenting sexual behavior is a no-no, kids need to be taught as young as possible how to use condoms, any attempt to limit or delay carnal knowledge is a throwback to the Medieval or Catholic dark ages or something. One feels grateful to have come of age just before this really got going. Kids these days. 

1 comment:

  1. From my point of view, what is lacking is a spiritual (non-religious types can substitute holistic) approach to sexuality and eros. That is, the tremendous gift of participating in the creation of a new life, and the life-giving nature of self-giving to one another in a committed relationship, are not emphasized enough; too many 'don'ts' delivered with too much sternness. After all, a few millenia of effort should convince one that sexual behavior cannot be proscribed. But it can be modeled, every day and ideally by two parents. Seeing the natural and joyous affection between one's parents; being allowed to ask questions; and being expected to respect the tremendous, life-giving power of sexuality and its tendency toward disorder without an equally healthy discipline and common sense--I believe this way leads to self-respect, delight, and yes, sometimes babies. All good things!

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