Is the Feminist Movement, against teaching abstinence to students in our public schools? If so WHY?

Question

Great answers.

I feel that the teaching of sex education in our school without morals has contributed to the high rate of pregnancies.
Sex and morals go hand in hand. It's called temperance or self control.

Answer 1

They are against primarily teaching abstinence because in the past this has lead to many unwanted pregnancies. This would be careless considering the high percentage of teenagers who are sexually active. Sexually Transmitted Diseases now prove to be life threatening and to not teach protection would be negligent.
Alexandra stated the fact that despite her mother being taught abstinence she still became pregnant, so obviously her whole argument is irresponsible and disputable. It only proves that birth control should be taught as a safeguard. Not everyone is as patient as she was.

Answer 2

The feminist movement is not against teaching abstinence to students. However, most feminists do believe that comprehensive sex education will help adolescents make more informed & less risky sexual decisions.

Comprehensive sexual education has been found to actual reduce sexual activity in teens as they often make up their own minds about the effectiveness of various methods & their emotional needs as well.

If teaching comprehensive sexual education makes kids think sex is ok & therefore will "make" them do it, then why teach them chemistry? Won't that teach them that making dangerous chemical compounds is ok & lead them into creating new interesting biological weapons? What about history? Won't that teach them that it is ok to start wars & treat others in an inhumane fashion so that you can be wealthy? And good lord, what about karate? They may get the idea that hitting people is ok & run rampant in the streets, hitting people left & right!

I know I'm being silly but in reality sex education does not happen in a vacuum. There are influences from parents, pop culture, music, friends, and tons of other things that goes into whether someone will have sex... at whatever age they do so. I am very glad for the education that I received as I decided not only to wait a while but also to use protection when I did actually do it. As opposed to many friends who attended abstinence only education & ended up pregnant or infected with various std's.

What many abstinence only proponents don't address is that you can teach the mechanics of sex & provide moral instruction too. You can easily say this is what your body does, if you decide that you want to do this - here is a way to do it safely, and then these are the powerful emotions that can come into why you may want to do this & here are some reasons why you may (or even should) wait.

Answer 3

I believe that abstinence education should have a prominent place in sex education classes. What bothers me is what they don't teach.

I 'm an Adult Education instructor in a minimum security prison and have dealt with young men between the ages of 18 - 25 who are there because they have had sexual relationships (which would have been considered consensual if the female would have been 18) with girls between the ages of 15 and 17. I'm not, in any way, condoning their actions. However, knowing what I know now about what can happen to a young man if he gets involved with someone under 18, I would strongly advise any parent to warn their sons (or daughters for that matter) not to have ANY sexual contact with a minor no matter how much that minor is willing to agree.

Is this caveat being communicated in sex education classes? We seem to be teaching our kids that it's alright to be sexually active as long as they use protection, but do we tell them that if their partner is over 18, the boyfriend or girlfriend could be sent to prison and be labeled a sexual offender, perhaps for the rest of his or her life? And if the law says minors can not consent to sex, isn't condoning them having sex also encouraging illegal behavior?

More than several people have written in their answers "They're going to have sex anyway" Most kids in earlier generations managed to get through adolescence without having sex or if they did it was with the person they ended up marrying. If we don't set high standards( being celibate until at least they're adults is not impossible ) for our teenagers, we have given up on them. We're sending them the message that sex is nothing but a "if it feels good, do it" activity.

Answer 4

I'm not sure of the feminist movement and their teachings.
I believe sexual education just tells of the basics as far as our bodies and the simple act thereof goes.
The morals and values should be taught in the home. And I do think that the morals and values definitely SHOULD be taught. Lately, parents don't feel talking to their children about the facts of life is important. That should be what is changed.

Answer 5

No, not really. Abstinence was always advocated. Hell, it's funded by the government. Abstinence ONLY is implausible. You expect kids to hold in their their sex drive with hormones? Not an easy thing. If most adults can't handle it, why pressure the kids to? Might as well teach us how to use birth control in case something does happen.

I seen the bible used... What about the two daughters who had sex with their father so they could, "spread his seed". They weren't married at all. That's when I stopped reading because I knew it would get worse. I'm a Christan, but the bible is wrong on many thing and your belief system isn't every-ones. Get over it.

Sex is NOT bad... It never was. It was a beautiful thing until people messed it up and gave it a bad name. In Europe... Why do you think their abortion and pregnancy rates are low? Their schools teach comprehensive sex-ed. It works just fine.

Answer 6

I'm pretty sure I will get some criticism for what I have to say, but say it I will. At 16 yrs old I was madly in love with a guy in my class. My parents didn't approve, my Dad was Military and my boyfriends Dad was a Plumber. I thought I knew everything I needed to know about sex and pregnancy, but I got pregnant while I was still 16. I told my parents and my Mom immediately went to my OB and asked about an abortion. My boyfriends parents were much more compassionate and I was married while my Mom was at my doctors. My daughter was married Thanksgiving Day of 1964 and after that we had 3 other children. As they grew up I was totally honest with them, the girls I instructed about there periods and birth control, the boys I explained about birth control, totally non judgemental. I remember my oldest called from college to tell me she had gone on birth contol pills and she called because she felt guilty because I didn't know. I was very supportive of her decision. My children knew how a girl got pregnant, what to do about it and how to prevent it. It worked for my kids, honesty sometimes is the best way to go, it has been in my case. I have 4 wonderful grandkids!♥ I also told all of my children how good it would feel to have someone kiss you and if someone touched them it was natural for that to feel good as well. We all like hugs and kisses and why not tell our children when it is given by someone we really like it is goi ng to feel great and it makes everyone want more as far as sex. Common sense.

Answer 7

I think one of the biggest misconceptions about feminism is that all feminists have the same views and that we want to restrict society to our way of thinking. I think one of the only things that almost all feminist will agree with is the right to have a choice. To decide for yourself what you want to do. I believe that some feminists may be against teaching abstinence but the feminist movement in general is about choice. Teach abstinence, safe sex, and everything else. Inform the students about all their choices and the consequences of each choice. Let them decide for themselves whether they will be abstinent or not.

Answer 8

I don't know about the feminist movement but I am against abstinence only sex ed. Why, you ask? Because teens are gonna have sex no matter what you tell them.( I'm proof of that. I'm from a wait till you're married family and an abstinence only high school) Therefore, we need to teach our kids about safer sex. You can say abstinence is the only 100% effective form of birth control or disease prevention, because it is, but kids should know their other options if they choose to have sex before they want babies.

Answer 9

Abstinence only doesn't work. Obviously. Look around. Teens are having kids or abortions everywhere. The art of persuasion revolves around giving people a choice. Let them think they are making the right choice. That's why the "just say no" campaign doesn't work either. It's a directive. If you've ever had a teen or been a teen you should know that ultimatums don't work. Parents should be more responsible for teaching sex ed than they are.

Answer 10

I am against abstinence ONLY education because (quite frankly) it isn't education.

Students need to know all of the facts so they can make an informed decision. Sex is not something that is dirty or shameful. I honestly think that girls tend to be pressured into having sex at an early age because they are not taught to treasure and understand their bodies. A girl/woman who is taught to respect herself, and is given all of the information she needs about sex, is more likely to wait until she is emotionally and physically mature. She's also more likely to have safe sex, and to have sex with a loving partner instead of someone who is looking for a one night stand.

I've only presented the female side of the equation because it's the side I'm familiar with (I was a teenage girl). However, I think that REAL sex education is also beneficial to boys.