How to Make Sex Uncool...

The sex-crazed right-wing crazies are at it again, trying to put a stop to sex education because it encourages sex. And by encourages sex, what they mean is that it acknowledges that sex happens. Given their apparent default view of sex as something that occurs between an “offender” and a “victim,” wouldn’t it make more sense for young adult to be informed?

Of course, making sense is not something we expect from the hysterical right. Instead we have to decode and interpret their real motives and intentions.

Pharyngula’s PZ Myers has something like the same response that I had, that giving kids the knowledge to protect themselves before they actually need it is no worse than encouraging seatbelt use. But never mind that. Let’s take them at their word. They want to discourage young people from having sex, so what’s the best way to do that? Let’s start by considering the general parameters of “coolness” in the teenage mind.

Cool: acting on impulse; being carefree and rebellious; a sense of danger; the thrill of breaking the rules; the ego strokes of acting mature; what everyone else is doing.

Uncool: weighing risk and benefits; using safety equipment; doing what your parents tell you; doing kid-safe things; anything your parents talk about.

So, conservatives believe -- opposite of liberals -- that when we teach kids about sex we should describe it as forbidden, dangerous and illicit, while avoiding any discussion of practical considerations, messy biological facts, or the boring details of how to properly use contraception. And they think this will discourage teenagers from seeking out sex.

Which way makes sex more cool, the conservative approach or the liberal approach?

- jack*