Unitarian Universalist sex education

What sex ed should look like:
That's why this past week my son's 8th grade OWL class had a homework assignment to go buy condoms. To be clear, this exercise is not to make sure these young people have condoms in their possession but have the experience of buying them LONG before they ever need them. Indeed, the teachers collect them. None of the parents object. As I explained to my son, I hoped that when he was in his late teens or a young adult and was in a loving, committed relationship, he would remember that he had been able to purchase condoms even at age 13 with minimal effort. It will be natural and expected if and when he needs them.
My only criticism of this would be that it is naive to assume that age 13 is "LONG before they ever need them". For most of us, that would be the case, but I seem to recall that a not-insignificant percentage of 13-year-olds have had sex. According to this, in 2002 13% of girls and 15% of boys had sex before age 15. I guess even Unitarian sex educators can be in denial about how early those horomones can kick in.

Comments

JOSHUA S BLACK said…
Somehow, I don't think that teens having sex is the real problem. At least not the root of it.

Americans are so fascinated with sex that they continue to roll back the limits on it as much as they can. Irresponsible? Oh, definitely. Harmful? You betcha. But more than that, it is idolatry.

Yep, I used a Bible term there. Idolatry. People serve sexual lust as if it were a god: when it comes calling, they quickly bow. Oh, and make sure everyone knows how to appease this god and when is the best time. I mean, you wouldn't want to get hurt doing it the wrong way. Worshipping sex is a very sacred, careful practice--if you don't follow the rules, sex will leave you in Hell on earth!!

How about a Biblical perspective on sex? I think letting God speak to us is always the best policy.
Zachary Drake said…
Hmm...well we're coming at things from very different perspectives, Mr. Black. I'm an atheist, so "letting God speak" wouldn't be a great policy for me. I'd be waiting an awful long time.

I don't agree that God have us our sex drive only to use to love our spouse. I believe our sexuality evolved over hundreds of millions of years, most recently in small bands of hunter-gatherers in east Africa.

I don't think fascination with sex is limited to Americans. People have been "fascinated" with it long before Americans existed, if what I recall from my European literature classes serves me well.

I read your Biblical perspective on sex, and didn't find it very helpful. I don't think obedience of wives to husbands and exaltation of wives by husbands is a good system of marriage. It's not what my own marriage is based on, and its not the dynamic that happy couples I know have.

It's hard to know even where to start speaking with you, since the foundations of our world views are completely different.

Thanks for stopping by Internal Monologue, though.
Anonymous said…
As a parent, and a Unitarian, I am SO psyched we have the OWL curriculum available. Our kid is definitely going to UU Sunday School until/unless he says he doesn't want to.

I also don't agree with a biblical view of sex and marriage. But I don't mind being exalted every now and then! : )
The Bible has many messages about sexuality and marriage, and Mr. Black cherry picks passages to support his oint of view. I'm a UU minister and a sexologist, and have written extensively about the overall positive message that Scripture offers about sexuality (and that the Biblical model of marriage, at least in the Hebrew Bible, is polygamy for men, and not the ideal that is espoused.) Our web site at www.religiousinstitute.org contains a great deal of positive information about the relationship of sexuality and faith, and you can read my daily blog on these issues at http://debrahaffner.blogspot.com

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