Image from here.
Bristol Palin, 18 year-old daughter of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, recently told People Magazine that “if girls realized the consequences of sex, nobody would be having sex… Nobody.”
Umm…duh? No kidding, Bristol. That’s what sex ed is all about; maybe you missed that day of science class in fifth grade…and sixth…and seventh, eighth, ninth, and so on. Please—you can’t possibly be pleading ignorance. I know Alaska is far away, but it’s no further than Canada, and the Canadians got the memo that unprotected sex has nasty side effects—why didn’t you?
So now, five months after giving birth to her baby boy, Trapp, Bristol has become an Abstinence Ambassador slash Spokeswoman (spokesgirl is more like it) for the Candies Foundation, whose primary goal it is to amp up awareness of avoiding teen pregnancy. Which is great and all, except for the fact that Bristol already had a baby.
Image from here.
“If girls realized the consequences of sex, nobody would be having sex… Nobody.” How would you like to be the infamous baby whose mother publicly announced to audiences across the world that she wishes she had never had sex in the first place?
I have been an advocate of abstinence before (and sometimes after!) marriage all my life, and to those who say complete monogamous (i.e. one partner) abstinence is an “unrealistic ideal,” I say, “foolish.” How hard is it? Keep your dadgum pants on if you don’t want to get pregnant and don’t want sexually transmitted infections and don’t want a lifetime of potential complications. Just keep your pants on. See? Easy. Just keep your pants on.
Well, since Bristol Palin apparently thinks that any girl who realises the complications of sex would never have sex in the first place, I am hereby taking it upon myself to raise awareness of the great many complications of sex (primarily sex outside a monogamous relationship).
The Complications of Sleeping Around
1. Pain. Did you know that sex is—or can be—incredibly painful? True. It’s a very real problem for a lot of women.
2. Sex can lead to diseases {though the politically correct word is “infections,”} in one’s nether-regions. There are a myriad of different sexually transmitted diseases on the market (makes it sound like car shopping, eh?), ranging from mildly annoying, to grossly disgusting, and all the way to life-threatening. And if it might hurt anyway (see #1), is it really worth the risk? As a teenage girl, nothing could have compelled me to have sex. (I won’t lie and say I had guys knocking my door down to lie with me—I didn’t even kiss a boy until I was nearly 18. Even still, I was terrified of the painful side effects of sex. I still am. {Just kidding. [Maybe.]})
3. Sex can often lead to pregnancy. Pregnancy can often lead to babies. Babies born to young, uneducated mothers with little or no support have a higher rate of living in poverty than babies born to mothers who are more mature and educated. In other words, a teenage girl who might solve her problems by screaming and slamming doors (I know I did) can be in for a huge shock when that cuddly little baby screams right back, with ten times the volume and ten times the persistence. Just ask Bristol, who missed her prom to stay home and change diapers. Oy.
Those are just three of the most physical, tangible consequences of sex before maturity; it’s not even mentioning the various emotional and psychological wounds that could take years to heal. I am an avid supporter of abstinence, but I realise not everybody thinks the same way I do (and wouldn’t the world be scary if everybody thought exactly like me?). If you don’t subscribe to the notion of abstinence, please at least practise safe sex and keep yourself protected. (But if you’re a teenage girl reading this, heed my advice and just wait. It’s a much better idea. Really.)
There. Now you can’t say nobody told you.
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