Does anybody else every find the culture of sex depressing?

The world isn't becoming more sexualized, it always was that way.
The drive to reproduce is our most basic instinct, apart perhaps from survival - for long enough to reproduce.
Deep down we are still animals, maybe not just deep down either.

prinz wrote: »

I blame the media, in all it's forms. Sad fact about it is sex sells....... and the view that sex is a worthless commodity which can be bought and sold, with no forethought or commitment is permeating through society, down to the very youngest. It's particularly evident in this country. Disgusting really how sexualised kids are becoming.

Yes.
The way most girls dress going out these days would have been seen as shockingly slutty ten years ago. This coincides with a similar trend in the level of sex in music videos, and the coming of age of the Spice Girls children.
I think that the media encourages the mentality that women are products to be bought and sold, in order to sell things. Girls - Spend money on overpriced onanistic sh!te, because you're worth it - show how expensive you are! Guys - earn lots and buy status symbols, so you can afford this narcisistic spoilt b!tch you're shallow enough to be attracted to!
That and the way being a slapper is presented as some warped form of feminism.

You should read Brave New World by Huxley

Just because people are having a lot of casual sex in this era doesn't mean that they won't also value a romantic relationship involving sex.

I've had both casual and committed sex and to be honest, I don't even see them as the same thing. Casual sex is just for a bit of fun, and it doesn't make me respect committed sex any less-- I still highly value sex while in a relationship and recognize its meaning and appreciate it.

People are allowed to have fun and do whatever makes them happy. It's not your place to judge them, especially when it's something like sex, which is a wholly personal thing that doesn't affect anyone but the people involved in the act itself.

The only thing I see as depressing is the fact that you let other people's means of enjoyment bother you instead of focusing on what makes you happy.

interesting topic

thier was a documentary on channel 4 about seven or eight weeks ago , was shown over 4 or nights , was called the sex education show , baschically this fortysomething woman went around secondary schools in the uk talking to students about sex , the students were around junior cert age and a lot of them looked younger , only thing was , it wasnt just a biology lesson , they not only showed pictures of genitalia etc ,they had actual live naked models on stage , the presenters demeanor was one of boundless enthusiasm throughout and she made comments like , ok girls , thier is important stuff you should know about putting on condoms , the whole thing was entirely gratuitious and bordering on pornographic , never once was it mentioned that abstaining from sex was an option , the show just presumed that all were at it and that they needed to know how to do it well

i felt genuinly sorry for some of the baby faced students

prinz wrote: »

Have any back up for that sweeping comment?

Much like anything unless unless kids have role models and live in a society which supports a particular point of view as legitimate then all the education in the world won't work completely. The poster made no reference to abstinence-ONLY education, what he said was it was never even mentioned as a possible course to take. A young person bombarded day-in day-out with sex, in advertising, music, films, tv etc. has to be extremely strong and supported by the people around them for abstinence to work. Unfortunately, as has been proven in this forum repeatedly on other threads there is very, very little understanding, respect or support for people who wish to abstain. In fact there is downright contempt, demeaning and belittling of anyone who chooses to abstain for whatever reason.

I don't think anyone is taught that sex is something to be ashamed of. Even people who are taught abstention are still given full sex education. So I don't know where you get that. In fact they are taught the opposite.

As for the teenage pregnancies you mention, well if our teenagers are taught abstention and those who follow through in that life, without being outcast and treated like a circus freak by their peers, and the media in general, they won't be the ones having these teenage pregnancies.

It's all over the internet, simply google it, these are the first couple of articles out of thousands:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008581338_opin02goodman.html?referrer=digg
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N14236771.htm
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/13/abstinence-only-programs-have-failed/
http://rationalwiki.com/wiki/Abstinence_programs

One of those articles is from Reuters, which is an incredibly reputable source. The others use various other sources, but most of them are also highly credible.

Teenagers are going to have sex regardless of what the media, their peers, parents, teachers, etc. tell them. It is better for them to learn exactly what they're getting into prior to getting into it so they can make the decision themselves in regards to abstaining.

They're not two-year-olds. They are capable of making that decision. They may regret it later in life, they may not, it's their problem, but abstinence shouldn't be forced down anyone's throat in favour of learning about a perfectly natural function that everyone is going to take part in at one point or another.

I know people from my generation, my school, and my very class who chose to abstain. I also know people from my generation, my school, and my very class who chose to have sex at early ages. They all had similar upbringings. It was personal choice. We were given a very good education in terms of sex and I'm quite proud to say that in the entire time I was in high school (remember, high school in North America is later ages than over here) I knew of only one teenage pregnancy, and that was due to a rape. We were educated properly, freely made our own decisions, and were just fine.

I think the problem comes in when teens are criticised and ostracised for having sex early on, they're made to think it's a shameful, horrible, demeaning act and that they shouldn't do it-- which, often, just leads to a complete reverse psychology scenario, in which case they go out and have more sex in more dangerous situations because they're never given proper education on the subject and are only told "don't have sex."

This happens a lot in the southern States especially because they don't learn WHY they shouldn't have sex (pregnancy, STDs, etc), they don't learn how to take care of themselves properly and be safe about it, they're just simply told "don't do it, it's bad." There's a lot of protest by the religious to remove sexual education from the classroom entirely, and that's what I have major issue with. It leads to more teen pregnancy and spread of STDs simply because they don't know any better.

I have a feeling that the documentary irish-bob watched didn't bring up abstinance simply because there's not really a lot to be taught about it, it's fairly simple... just don't have sex, you pick your reasons why not. They were being responsible and realizing that kids are going to do what they want to do at that age and it's naïve to think otherwise. Kids already know that they have the option to or not to have sex, why on earth would a documentary on being safe about sex bring it up?