Dear High School Health Class,
So... sex.
I think its time we talk about it.
Actually talk about it.
I know that you think you did, in the 5 weeks we spent together, but in all honesty you have only proven one thing to be true, and that is the fact that "cooties" are real.
I know you think you have taught me well, and in all honesty, I do know a lot about "cooties". I know that they come in different shapes, sizes, colors, discharges, and other such nasty stuff. I know that they are transferred from sexual interactions, and that the easiest solution to avoiding the infection is to NEVER HAVE ANY SEXUAL INTERACTIONS (*the potential for "cooties" expires on your wedding night).
However, now that I am free from your class room clutches; I'm a bit smarter than 9th grade me. For starters, I know that STD's/STI's are just a circle, circle, dot-dot-dot away from a vaccination shot (or two) and bahm! You're good to go. Although there are some serious infections, not all of them are deadly and life ruining. In fact, they're more common than I even thought so. And not every sexual encounter is going to lead to herpes. There is such a thing called safe sex. Condoms and other such precautions can be taken to prevent the contraction of "cooties". And, to your dismay, I discovered your dirty little secret:
SEX. IS. GREAT.
Ya. You forgot to mention that part. You could have fit it in somewhere between telling me about the inevitability of pregnancy and the poorly drawn pictures of vaginas.
Fun fact: vagina's are more than two fallopian tubes and an oddly shaped funnel.
I'm actually a bit shocked that it took me so long to figure out what a vagina really is. I mean, I have one, you'd think I'd know something about it. But you taught me nothing of my own body. The male body, however, I can tell you a lot about. There's the head, the prostate gland, and don't even get me started on testicles! Why, there are nearly 4,000 nerve glands on the penis, with 20,000 nerve endings on the foreskin.
What they don't tell you is that the clitoris has nearly twice the amount of nerve endings than the penis. There are over 15,000 nerve endings in the pelvic area alone. There are labia's and hymens: and they're all different. I didn't learn that until my second semester in college.
And there are still so many things that I don't know about sex!!!
I was always under the assumption that you were supposed to teach me about sex, but I'm not sure if you understand the terms "teach" or "sex".
So sit back and relax high school sex ed; class is about to be in session, and you're about to be schooled.
LESSON #1
Health class, I know that you have to deal with squealing teenagers on the daily basis: but one thing you need to take a handle on is graphic images. During my time spent with you, you were extremely cautious when it came to showing me the outline of a penis. However, when it came to showing me the last two hours of a live natural drug-free birth you were fine with forcing us to look. Health class, you can't scare us out of sex. The anatomy section was.... interesting, but you only looked at it through a purely reproductive lens. As the poor gym teacher teaching your class may or may not know: sex can be for more than baby making.
Therefore, I propose a compromise, health class.
Show me your slides about the ovaries, but don't forget the vulva, and the lips, and the clitoris (please, don't ignore the clitoris). It might help your students to show them what their bodies actually look like.
Websites like www.scarleteen.com/ are picking up where you left off: showing anatomically correct images as well as pleasurably correct images. Its called scarletTEEN for a reason.
Health class: use it.
LESSON #2
Speaking of teens, let's talk pregnancy. (smooth transition…I know). But in all honesty. Teen pregnancy is an issue, which I know is a problem you love to talk about. However, what you don't talk about is that the number of teen pregnancy is significantly lower in places where sex ed is comprehensive. It was a whopping 50% LOWER adolecent pregnancy rate than places that only taught abstinence. And in places that normally don't teach abstinance are places where the demographics are young, black, and in poor rural areas. The more comprehensive classes are for the predominantly white and middle/upper-class areas. I came from one of those classrooms, and look how I turned out. Not pregnant, but still not better off…
Point is: you have a problem. We need to start teaching comprehensive sex ed everywhere, and we need to improve it.
LESSON #3
Sex education is important. One year in the 9th grade is not enough to learn about the body you've have for the past 14 years of your life. For years you've been the butt of the joke with films that star Haley Joel Osment, and enough is enough.
If you start taking yourself seriously, than maybe your students will too.
And just to be clear: serious does not mean scary. You can't just talk about deseases, the pains of pregnancy, and the horrors of puberty. Sex is a lot more than that. But also don't ignore it. It's important to know the consequences, but it can't be that alone.
Talk about sex as it is.
Sex is awkward. Sex is fun. Sex is something people do because they want to.
Talk about consent.
Talk about the enthusiastic YES.
Talk about the fact that all bodies are different.
Talk about the fact that the first time won't be anything like the weird porn you watch.
Talk about the fact that it will get better, if you get better.
Talk about the consequences of not practicing safe sex.
Talk about STD's.
Talk about where to go if you think you have an STD.
Talk about how it's not the end of the world if you get an STD and get help.
Talk about responsible sex.
Talk about pleasurable sex.
Talk about sex.
Talk.
Sincerely,
A girl who knows a lot more about sex than either you or I thought.
WORKS CITED
Corinna, Heather. "With Pleasure: A View of Whole Sexual Anatomy for Every Body." http://www.scarleteen.com. N.p., 22 Dec. 2009. Web. 1 Apr. 2015. <http://www.scarleteen.com/article/bodies/with_pleasure_a_view_of_whole_sexual_anatomy_for_every_body>.
"National Data Shows Comprehensive Sex Education Better at Reducing Teen Pregnancy than Abstinence-Only Programs."http://www.siecus.org/. N.p., 200. Web. 1 Apr. 2015. <http://www.siecus.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=feature.showfeature&featureid=1041&pageid=682&parentid=478>.
