So, it's all about what the word "sex" means...

[randomness]

redbird says: "Here's an interesting definition implied by a CNN story on pledging virginity:"

quotes from the story:

"The latest study, published in the April issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, found that teens pledging virginity until marriage are more likely to have oral and anal sex than other teens who have not had intercourse."

"Among virgins, boys who have pledged abstinence were four times more likely to have had anal sex than teens who have remained abstinent but not as part of a pledge, according to the study. Overall, pledgers were six times more likely to have oral sex."

One of the commenters on her LJ observes that the abstinence pledges are specifically heterocentric, and that the "abstinence" movement is also apparently afraid to define closely what they mean by "abstinence", for fear of saying too much.

Ah, unintended effects.

Comments

[dr-memory.livejournal.com]

"teens pledging virginity until marriage are more likely to have oral and anal sex"

Huh. Maybe I should re-think my opposition to abstinence-centered sex ed.

[nihilistic-kid.livejournal.com]

Hurray for anal!

[stolen-tea.livejournal.com]

If you haven't yet seen the "TV commercials" from TechnicalVirgin.com, you probably should. :)

[robosquirrel.livejournal.com]

Rats, you beat me to it!

[bloodstones.livejournal.com]

couldn't look at the website b/c there are too many users online. now that's just funny.

[stolen-tea.livejournal.com]

Wow, everybody really does know r_ness...

(And hey, I think I know you. Hmmm...)

[bloodstones.livejournal.com]

yes you do. though I had to ask around to figure out who you are.

[stolen-tea.livejournal.com]

Ah. I tend to avoid having personal information in my LJ, as much as possible. It's probably unfounded paranoia.

And since I didn't say this before, Hi!

[whswhs.livejournal.com]

A few years back, chorale and I went on a tour of Tijuana organized through her Spanish class. At one point we visited a large store that sold books and magazines. As she was standing in line to buy a couple of books, I noticed a magazine on the rack near the checkout stand. It was clearly, by the cover imagery, typography, and layout, a young women's magazine much like those to be seen in similar locations in American supermarkets, and its mostly prominently displayed story had the title "Como puede iniciarse en el sexo anal," which I would not have expected to see on the cover of Cosmopolitan, Glamour, or Seventeen.

This bemused me for a while. But apparently what is going on is that Mexican culture still has a big thing about "virginity"—but it defines it strictly in terms of vaginal penetration. So young women who are not willing to allow their boyfriends that specific gratification are willing to grant access to the other two bodily orifices. By doing so, they don't risk pregnancy and they can still show up on the wedding night with intact hymens. Of course, it does nothing to protect them from sexually transmitted diseases, but I suppose Mexican adolescents and young adults are just as immortal as American.

[choirsoftheeye.livejournal.com]

I really think the distinction between sex and oral and anal sex is a load of crap. Sex is sex, folks, that's why there's the word "sex" in those two other methods....

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Well, sure...which is why the logical contortions people go through to rationalize their behavior in the face of social restrictions can be so fascinating to watch.

[mentalapse.livejournal.com]

Simply priceless. I guess all those Puritan parents can rest easy knowing their kids are only taking it up the ass...or giving it...or sucking...uh, well, hmmm. And of course there's always Ecstasy and masturbation.

Also, if it means more oral and anal sex, where do I sign one of these abstinence pledges? I suppose it probably doesn't work unless you're a teenager, though. Still pisses me off that I unintentionally abstained throughout high school when I could have pledged to do so and have been statistically more likely to get some.

[whswhs.livejournal.com]

Actually, calling today's religious right "Puritans" is rather an insult to the Puritans. A few years ago there was a fascinating historical study, Innocent Ecstacy, by an author who actually read Puritan marriage manuals. They certainly weren't 21st century progressive, but they had some surprising ideas.