Sep 05 2008
Sex Without Condoms Is The New Engagement Ring?
[SCSU Collegian & NPR] Youth Radio’s Pendarvis Harshaw says that among his friends, the transition from condoms to no-condoms signifies a lasting commitment.
It shows trust, commitment, and the prospect of a shared future,” he adds.
“[I spoke with] everybody from friends, to co-workers, to residents about relationships-how to approach getting into a monogamous relationship, and I saw a consistent trend,” says Harshaw. “A lot of people were talking about the most major step is the step toward unprotected sex.”
“I believe the feedback was mixed because older folks just plain do not want to hear the truth about young people encountering heavy sexual situations at younger ages. These situations are definitely adult, and used to be taboo to even talk about, but children have been bombarded with so much sexual imagery by the media, that the situations themselves have become common,” says senior Matt Cody, film production major and founder of HowHood University Records.
[From me]
I admit, I don’t understand this. I come from a Christian perspective in which sex is intended for people who married. I don’t care what the divorce rates are, that is no excuse for skirting God’s design. What is sad is when followers of Jesus don’t even follow his plans. It breaks my heart when I hear about former students who made purity commitments don’t follow through on their promise to God and their future mates. Now I realize there are those who make mistakes and God does forgive. But to say that the practice mentioned in the essay above is the new engagement is sad.
What do you think?
2 responses so far
Sorry,
My comments were acting up. It was not suppose to be closed.
Kevin Bussey’s last blog post..Sex Without Condoms Is The New Engagement Ring?
This is just plain scary. We as Christians have done a poor job of going beyond “just say no” to explain the ramifications of sex before marriage. I’m not even referring to diseases and pregnancy. I’m talking about the emotional attachment of sex. Many women I’ve talked to talk about that as the number one reason they wish they’d never had sex outside of marriage. The idea that now unprotected sex is somehow a signal of commitment saddens me.
Being a Christian in the public health field is hard because I believe 100% in abstinence as the only fool-proof protection method and is God’s divine plan but telling hormonally challenged students “just say no” without talking to them about the very real physical and emotional consequences is wrong. Too many parents (Christian and non-Christian alike) are too afraid to have frank, age-appropriate discussions with their children and then are shocked to discover their children are sexually active. I’m not 100% sure where the right balance is but it’s obvious “just say no” isn’t getting the point across.