For two years now i have been trying to start an abstinence progam for my school and i was wondering how other pople felt about abstinence. Does anyone even care about abstinence? well if anone does please reply back.

I completely disagree with an abstinence-only education, where the sole focus is on the benifits of abstaining from sex. Yeah, it's an important part of sex education, and the only way to completely avoid pregnancy or STIs, but it should never be the entire curriculum. A lot of teens who have had only abstinence education are less likely to use contraception when they do have sex and are more likely to get pregnant or be infected with an STI. They're also less likely to seek help when these situations occur. I believe that well-rounded sex-ed should be incorporated into all highschool educations somehow, and if it is not, students should fight for it.

I have some advice on my website for fighting for a comprehensive sex-ed at your school:
http://www.teensactforaids.org/taa_missions.html
just scroll down to the third mission - "Fight for Comprehensive Sex Education".

I'm Lindsay - founder of Teens Act for AIDS (teensactforaids.org) -


Hope this helps!

Lindsay

*shaking up a rather beaten dead topic*

Since the consensus seems to be teaching birth control in addition to abstinence...at what age do you believe this should be taught?

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frequent masturbation drives your sex drive through the roof making you (unless you have another outlet) masturbate on an increasing frequency because of the increased amounts of the hormones in your body.

That's absolutely not true. Masturbation releases hormones which make you tired, not horny. Your body can't tell whether you just orgasmed because of masturbation or sex, so since masturbation and sex have the same result, sex would have to make you hornier too. Whoever told you that was full of BS and probably one of those "masturbation is bad" people.

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Anyway, I don't think you should be teaching abstinence, as opposed to safe sex. Maybe to compliment, but never to substitute.

Absolutely!

Abstinence does not work for everyone. Instruction on forms and use of birth control is a much safer idea. Kids will have sex. It's a fact of life. Indeed, there are those who abstain until marriage. But the majority don't. However, abstinence only teaches kids how not to have sex, leaving out all education on protection against STDs and unwanted pregnancies. Educating teens about things such as condoms and the pill will not only reduce the amount of STDs among teens but also reduce the amount of unwanted teen pregnancies. Abstinence...does little to help either of those.

There are those who will willingly remain abstinent even when educated about how to have safe sex. The difference with sex education is that those who do wish to have sex will at least know how to do it properly and with minimal risk.

i don't know about the rest of you but when i orgasm i'm not horny any more.

frequent masturbation drives your sex drive through the roof making you (unless you have another outlet) masturbate on an increasing frequency because of the increased amounts of the hormones in your body.

and chips we just like to be able to understand each other through this wonderful medium of the written english language.

Does every little spelling mistake mean something to americans? You all seem to pick them up.

Masturbation definitely does not make anyone hornier, any more than eating food makes you hungrier.

Uh..

Masturbation makes you hornier...

So let me follow on this line of logic:

You get horny... You masturbate... You are hornier...

Non sequiter, anyone?

Anyway, I don't think you should be teaching abstinence, as opposed to safe sex. Maybe to compliment, but never to substitute. Too many people have signed that "Virginity pledge", only to be giving a guy a blowjob in a porn movie, two days later...

Really, Abstinence is a flawed concept. It's waiting to devote yourself to someone, and then have sex. Yet, that can be like car shopping. Yet, you've taken an oath, not to give it a sex drive... Infact, I remember a bad sex life being one of the causes of divorce...

Hmm...

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let's teach them something to make them even hornier

How does masterbation make someone hornier? It wouldn't be taught in place of safe sex. That'd be ridiculous.

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A solution a class mate of mine mentioned in a paper was that masturbation techniques should be taught in public school's ex ed. as an alternative to active intercourse. It wasn't something I'd have thought of since abstinence is something I chose long ago, but it sounds like a pretty good idea.

right instead of teaching horny teens how to be safe when they have sex, let's teach them something to make them even hornier

The key...yet no one who rallies to it's cry can actually spell the word.

abstanance is the key!

sorry had to say that. it was a video we had to watch in p.e. once

It's always a good thing to avoid sexual encounters-controlled or not. The psychological effect is as dangerous as the physical effects that can result from unsafe sex. The intmacy involved can cause unnecessary emotional stress. I've seen it happen.

But people like it and tend to not think. A solution a class mate of mine mentioned in a paper was that masturbation techniques should be taught in public school's ex ed. as an alternative to active intercourse. It wasn't something I'd have thought of since abstinence is something I chose long ago, but it sounds like a pretty good idea.

The "if they can't handle this than they can't handle sex" argument is invalid. It doesn't matter if they're ready for sex or not, teens are going to do it.

It's only pretty recently that most people haven't started having kids till their 20s or 30s. For a long time, you were at your sexual prime as a teen and that was when you went out to have kids. It isn't that surprising that teens are trying to spawn like lemmings, so we might as well teach them to be safe about it.

My school system teaches abstinence throughout elementary and middle school. Once we hit health class in high school, they spend like a day on contraception...they don't hand out free samples though...I think that is going a bit too far. If they are too embarassed to find out a different way to obtain condoms, then they probably shouldn't be sexually active in the first place.


Cologne, Germany is one of the most sexually liberal cities in Europe. When I was there for a giant (like a million people) Catholic youth gathering last summer, there were people standing on the street corners handing out condoms...and according to friends of mine who studied in the area for a year, they pretty much always have people standing on this corner.

My school is basically abstinence only education - at least the textbooks are. All they will print about sexuality is:
"There is this thing people do called sex. It is bad and gives you AIDS. Don't do it."

Damn if you don't have something to contribute to the topic don't post. Saying things like it's not spelled right and it's on page 97 is so lame.

Anyways I think teaching people safe sex and abstinence is very important. True most people will have sex if they want and some will even do it safely. Knowing though that abstinence is also another option gives people the ability to choose a different path for themselves. Most people have it in their mind that sex is either shameful or just a natural part of life. Their seems to be no middle gorund and that's what gets most people in serious trouble. People need to open the lines of communication and teach that abstinence isn't about shame, virtue, or being a prude. It's about making a choice for yourself and having so mush self-control that you are the one that decides your fate in the matter. It also takes away the uncomfortable feeling of when you should sleep with someone if both of you are on the same page. If we can teach safe sex in school then there should also be another safer alternative for those kids that just aren't ready to take that next step.

C'mon guys, this is an important topic. At least it wasn't a random thread about Orlando Bloom or something. . .

Abstinence is a fine and dandy idea, but what makes you think it will work? It's safe sex and sexuality education that should be taught.