Are You Ready to Start Having Sex?
Written by Craig Rogers, Posted on , in Section Must Reads
It seems like the topic of teen sex is at the forefront of every show directed to youth these days. That feeling of everyone’s “doing it” and if you aren’t, well then you are lame. The truth of the matter is, that it isn’t as simple as yes I’ve had sex, or no I haven’t. We often think about sex or losing our virginity from a traditional point of view of being between a male and a female with penis in vagina, plain old vanilla sex. The real problem these days comes defining what qualifies as sex these days. Does engaging in oral sex mean that you are no longer a virgin? What about anal sex, genital arousal, or even same sex relationships, is that sex? No matter what you feel qualifies as sex it is still important to discuss the repercussions of those decisions.
Ready for Teen Pregnancy?
Raising a child is no small feat, it requires patience, money, selflessness, and maturity. Being a teen parent brings an additional level of complication to an already difficult situation. Some of the questions to ask are what if we get pregnant, are we going to get together for real and raise this child as a team? Think about your partner, is that someone who is just fun to be around, or is it someone you could have as a part of your life, forever. Regardless of what happens, the parent of your child will always be the parent of your child. Who’s going to pay for the expenses; are you going to continue going to school? The mentality of it won’t happen to us, we use protection, we use birth control, just doesn’t work. Those methods might fail no matter how careful you are, if you aren’t ready for the responsibility, then think twice before you go all the way.
Contracting an STI
Sexualy Transmitted Infections are a real threat, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Herpes, HPV, Crabs, Syphilis, and HIV. Often these are incurable but treatable. No one wants to go through life though with a disease that they worry about passing on to their partner, or missing out on a relationship because no one wants to worry about contracting the disease. Once again, using condoms, although it helps, is never 100% effective.
Social Teasing
Although it is unfair, people perceive men and women differently when it comes to sex. Words like stud, pimp, and player are used to describe men, while words like ho, skank, slut, and whore are used to describe women. This double standard, although unfair, is reality. Are you ready to be labeled for your choices? Sexting and sharing a nude photos is also not a good idea, once those images or words leave your possession, there is no way of knowing where they will end up. Often jaded exes will post revenge photos online or just show them to their friends as a badge of honor. Don’t give people the ammunition that they need to hurt you with, it just isn’t worth it.
It may sound like it’s out of a 1950’s textbook, the best advice is to abstain completely. Sex is a powerful tool for procreation, and recently has been cheapened for our own entertainment. For those that do decide to take their relationship to the next level, just remember that although we can choose our actions, we don’t get to choose the consequences. If you feel pressure from someone that if you don’t have sex with them they will leave you. That person isn’t worth keeping around, chances are they will leave you later on for some reason. Enjoy being a teen, it’s the only time you will be able to, and there will always be plenty of time to be an adult later in life.
