Forward Thinking: Talking to Teenagers about Sex

“As a society, we (speaking from a U.S. perspective here) tend to treat sex as this thing that is completely outside normal life. The fact that most of us have sex with the rest of the world on the other side of a door means we act like sex happens in another world with rules of its own. That’s a problem because we act as though all the things we knew on the other side of that door are useless when it comes to sex. They aren’t, of course. Sex is a number of things: (frequently) a social interaction, bodily mechanics, pleasure, risk. We already deal with all of those in the rest of our lives, and we already know plenty about how to deal with them.” ~ Stephanie Zhan

“If I had kids, I would tell them sex can be wonderful, but that, like most things, it must be approached responsibly. I would then go on to inform them of all that is involved in approaching it responsibly. But I wouldn’t stop there. No, I would make sure they knew that sex and relationships have a learning curve, that they are likely to make mistakes, and that mistakes can usually be learned from. Hence, they are not to despair and think the world is coming to an end if and when they do make mistakes. Lastly, I would be sure to teach them how to identify an abusive relationship and how to get out of one.” ~ Paul Sunstone

“A person who does not take your pleasure into account isn’t worth having sex with.” ~ Lucreza Borgia

“You don’t owe anyone sex or intimacy. Even if you’ve had sex with them before. Even if you said you would. Even if they’re your significant other. Even if they’ll be sad if you don’t. Relatedly, if you ever feel uncomfortable in a sexual situation, get out of it if you are able to, as quickly as possible. Even if the other person hasn’t “done anything” to make you uncomfortable. You don’t owe it to anyone to stay in a situation that you feel weird about.” ~ Miri

“I’m going to teach [my future children] about masturbation. I’m going to take my daughter to a classy sex store, and we’re going to have an open, honest chat about why I’m entirely in support of this activity. With the shame removed, the act of “Self-love” is a wonderful expression of self respect. It can do wonders for self esteem and body image, and it really helps get teens ready for the day they decide to try things with a partner. It’s incredibly relaxing, it’s healthy, and it doesn’t have to carry with it an air of secrecy and dirtiness. Guilt and shame with masturbation are taught and deeply ingrained, and that’s not right or fair.” ~ FlightedChemist

“Not all sexual activities will be your favourite ones. Some will make you overdo, some will put you off quickly, many will be really OK. And once we grow up, we understand that tastes are different and that just because you find eggplant to be dull, and celery to be vomit-inducing, it doesn’t mean that people who eat eggplant with celery are bad people. It especially doesn’t mean that you have to like something because apparently everybody does. Know your own tastes. You don’t let people tell you that you actually like eggplant though you know you don’t, so don’t let anybody tell you that you really like or need sexual activity X.” ~ Giliell

“[Teenagers] need to be given accurate factual information about STIs, their symptoms, if any (mostly so they can recognize them, just in case), and methods of prevention. Also, they need to be given concrete information on how to get STI screenings in their area, in the most practical terms possible: you make an appointment with such-and-such (here’s the number), you go here (take this bus). If possible, help them navigate the system the first time. They [also] need to be given accurate factual information about pregnancy and contraceptives.” ~ Anna

“The baseball metaphor sucks. Not only does everyone disagree on what each base actually stands for (your euphemism is a failure when you have to argue about what every part means), but it ranks things. Some people can take or leave P-I-V–or, you know, their partnerships don’t include one penis and one vagina–and some think oral sex is the best thing ever. And some people would actually rather be playing baseball.” ~ Kate Donovan

“I want to talk a little bit about how to do so, while being a good person– what you could call sexual ethics. There are two aspects of that which I’m going to cover: (1) Taking care of yourself; (2) Taking care of others. Yep, that’s it. That’s what sexual ethics is. You might think it’s a no-brainer, but it isn’t to a lot of people…and I’m going to try and explain that too.” ~ Gretchen Koch

“Any sexual activity you choose to participate in needs to be in concert with your values and the values of your partner.” ~ Victoria

“If we want people to act like adults, the best way to achieve that is to treat them like adults. That means we have to teach them everything they need to know to make informed choices and have sex safely: the importance of enthusiastic consent, how to use contraception, and all the rest of it. I’m sure other bloggers will address these areas, so I won’t dwell on them. I want to focus on the deeper importance of de-mystification, of breaking down the taboos and false ideas around sex, and here’s what I think is the biggest one: Sex has no magic power to transform you.” ~ Adam Lee

“It is not your job to act out porn or to only do the things your partner wants to do, especially if you don’t like them or feel uncomfortable. If they insist, google some “how to identify a controlling person” checklists.” ~ Meg

“You may know at this point whether you’re attracted to boys or girls or both or neither. Whatever it is, it’s who you are and there is nothing wrong with it, so don’t ever let anyone make you feel bad or ashamed about it. You have my complete support and love, period.” ~ Ed Brayton

“To the boys I would tell them that “No,” does not mean “I need to be convinced”. I would tell them not to be afraid to ask a girl to dance or for a date, but not to be upset if they are told no. To the girls I would tell them that their value as a person does not reside between their legs and anyone who tries to make them think it does is not someone they want to be with.” ~ Highlander

“What I would like to say to my former self, and what I think that a lot of kids today could profit from hearing is this: feelings are comprehensible and manageable. There’s no need to ignore or suppress them, nor do they have to control your life. The trick to managing feelings — the technique I was never taught — is to pay attention to them without being drawn in.” ~ The Fruits of Ofkamma

“Sure, teaching “yes means yes” (and also no means no, because it allows for someone to change their mind) is good, but I don’t want a “yes” coming from “well everyone else is doing it, so obviously I should be ok with this” or “I don’t want to be a little kid, so I’ll say yes” or “I want him/her to think better of me, so I’ll say yes” or anything else.” ~ Christine

“My hope is that, along with other “moral” issues, I will be able to put as much responsibility on my son as I think he can handle to make the right decision, neither burdening him with the weight of it all or removing his obvious will from the situation. While I will not argue that he should only have sex in marriage, I will likely recommend that the best scenario for him to engage in sex is one in which he has a handle on other areas of his life and thus is prepared to deal with the pleasures and consequences of his actions. This, for me, would be later, rather than earlier, in a committed relationship, where the chances of one partner taking advantage of another have decreased, if ever so slightly.” ~ Matt Recla

“I’d first and foremost point out that a person is likely to treat you like they treated their past parters – if a guy breaks up with his girlfriend to be with you, they’re probably not going to hesitate to break up with you when someone newer and more interesting comes along. If someone says “all my exes are crazy”, you’re going to be the crazy ex, too (and they probably drove all of their exes crazy). If they got someone else pregnant, they might get you pregnant. And so on.” ~ Rae

“Your worth as a human being isn’t remotely contingent on whether or not you’ve had sex. You might hear that you’re sullied if you’ve “lost your virginity,” or that you need to have sex to be cool, or to be an adult. Neither is true. The only right time to have sex is when both you and your partner feel that you’re ready to have sex, and that you want to have sex. And that’s something you get to decide for yourself.” ~ Rachel Marcy

“Sex isn’t love. Sex is sex, love is love. Lots of people find that sex is better with somebody you love, but they aren’t the same thing.” ~ Uly

“You never “have to” have sex. You never owe it to anyone. I don’t care if they paid for dinner or helped you move or you’ve been dating for a year and they’re ready. I don’t care if you’ve had sex before with someone else or even with this person. You never owe anyone sex, ever. And if they’re not willing to wait for your enthusiastic consent, then they are not worth your time, trust, and certainly not your love.” ~ Kay

“Basically my strategy is start young, be completely non-judgemental and teach them to respect themselves.” ~ Sophie

“Only have sex with someone if you can say, with confidence, that you love them, or at least deeply trust them. This one is kind of personal and I realize many people may disagree. However, this isn’t rooted in some bullshit about how sex is such a ~*~spiritual and magical~*~ union. Rather, I think that sex is an act of profound trust and vulnerability, for both sexes. You are rendering yourself pretty defenseless to that person. When you engage in sex acts with someone, they become capable of doing very deep harm to you on many levels (physical, verbal/emotional, blackmail). So, in my opinion, you should have a deep trust of someone before opening up this possibility. If you’ll excuse the mediocre analogy, you wouldn’t let someone borrow your credit card or your car unless you knew a lot about them and trusted them with such sensitive resources, so why on earth would you apply a lower standard when it comes to *your own body/self*?” ~ Lane

“[In conversations with my boyfriend’s 12 year old daughter] I’ve stressed to her a lot that her worth lies in far more than her looks and her body. She has an amazing mind and I want her to value that. I’ve talked to her some about body image and valuing herself, and that if a boy values her only for her body he doesn’t really love her.” ~ Ecolt

“Advice specific to women who are attracted to men: Don’t have sex with a “pro-life” man. It doesn’t matter if you’re pro-life, if you would never have an abortion under any circumstances, etc. Don’t do it. A man who will tell you what to do with your uterus will tell you what to do with your vagina. Find a man with the same values as you, but not one who is willing to force his values on you, no matter how much you agree with him.” ~ Niemand

“Describe how sex can be fun—pleasure, orgasms, emotional and physical intimacy—and how it can go wrong—abuse, cheating, jealousy, manipulation, and heartbreak. Give examples of negotiating sex. Talk about monogamy and polyamory. This isn’t technical knowledge and can’t be taught as such, though it can be informed with information like descriptions of what abusive romantic relationships look like. The goal would be to situate sex in the wider context of relationships and to explain how to find healthy, functional sexual relationships while avoiding unhealthy, dysfunctional ones. I doubt it’s possible to really teach this, but maybe provoking teenagers to think about it and arming them with some ideas of what healthy and unhealthy look like might help.” ~ Cara

“Learning about our bodies is essential to create confidence in our physical selves, gives us understanding about what pleasure is and can be, lets us understand the risks associated with sex, and thus improves the foundations of communication and makes possible informed consent.” ~ AndersH

“This one may cost me my progressive card, because I can be a little prudish when it comes to sex. I think that sexuality is a big decision which teenagers should take seriously and only become intimate some ways into the relationship, once you have an emotional foundation and a certain degree of trust. But I’m also in favor (majorly) of thorough sex education and birth control access, and majorly *not* in favor of the focus on virginity and the hard-divide between sex and everything-but you see in some conservative circles.” ~ Marta L.

“Our culture often transmits contradictory messages. In America, the dominant culture purveys a mix of puritanism and individualism. One preaches a message of abstinence while the other says, “anything goes.” Neither of these is particularly helpful.” ~ Celebration of Gaia