Let's Talk About Sex....

The minute I put the title of this new post in, I immediately thought about Salt N' Pepa's song "Let's Talk About Sex" . Why don't we talk about sex?

Yesterday I attended a great workshop yesterday hosted by the World Cafe in North Portland at the Center for Intercultural Organizing. It was such a great diverse group of folks ready to talk about sex! Now this wasn't some Dr. Ruth seminar, it was a workshop created to discuss healthy sexual relationships, family communication, social factors that affect our health, & healthy sexual discussions. There were people of all colors that attended & all age groups as well. Gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual or even celibate. As I glanced across the room, I thought to myself "why do we need a workshop to talk about sex?"

Sex is all over the media, everywhere you turn. On t.v., radio, internet, movies, it just keeps going & going. Although, our youth & many other individuals are so disconnected from the reality of sex & what it actually means to have a healthy sexual relationship.

Some of the parents admitted to not knowing how to approach their kids about sex. Especially in today's world, with kids having the opportunity to find what they need with the help of a click of a mouse. I'll admit, I didn't want to talk to my Dad either about the subject. He basically told me to wrap it up when I was involved in sexual intercourse & the conversation lasted about 5 minutes. Very awkward!

It wasn't until I stumbled upon the world of masturbation that allowed me to explore more but not without some risks involved. No one taught or told me about it, it just happened. I remember watching the movie "Serial Mom" directed by John Waters, there was a scene when one of her victims was masturbating right before she walks in & kills him. I suddenly found out how it was done. Although, I made mistake of using Dove dishwashing soap, not realizing how much it would burn soooo much afterwards. Well, it was too late to talk about it now. I would save myself the embarrassment & wait until the swelling went down.

For some of you that was probably t.m.i. (too much info) but that's what I had to go through. I'm pretty sure it can be much easier for youth today.

Unfortunately, teen pregnancy is at an alarming rate & girls are having periods at ages 10 or 11. Maybe even earlier! Yet many schools do not have sexual education for the students. WTF? A poll conducted by NPR a few years ago by Harvards Kennedy School of Government found that only 7% of Americans believe that sex ed should be taught in schools. Approximately 750,000 teen pregnancies occur each year, 82% were unintended. If many of these girls received the education they deserve, I'm pretty sure many pregancies could have been prevented.

Many people don't even think about what a healthy sexual relationship means. Most figure, as long as they are having sex with their partner on a regular basis then it is healthy. Not even close. It starts knowing yourself, & having a healthy relationship with yourself first before finding someone else to help you feel good.

Now I'm not saying go rush out & buy Dove dishwashing liquid as soon as possible but get to know yourself & the world around you before you start shopping for the next partner to help you feel good.

It was a such a great discussion  yesterday at the workshop. I really hope people get more comfortable talking about sex than shying away from it or putting it on the taboo table. I'll keep preaching it, it all starts with discussion people.

For more info on American Teens & Sex visit http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/FB-Teen-Sex-Ed.html