Headline: Sex Of Any Kind Can Harm Teens Emotionally.
Holy Mad Libs, Batman!
If you make it to the end of Reuter's "article" analyzing a Pediatrics journal report, you'll find the research shows that more than half of the sexually active teens interviewed had no regrets whatsoever about their love lives.
Now THAT'S a news story!
These teens had plenty of positive things to say about oral sex, apparently even more so than they did about intercourse. One might imagine they like to talk about being in love, crushes, free-floating lust, intimacy with someone outside their family for the first time— and all those other things that cause people of every age to get so awfully emotional!
The story disguises its prejudices about immorality as kindly advice for concerned parents, the "self-esteem" worry warts— but it's just another sex panic, another hairy palm. The author panders to notions of feminism and youth advocacy, without having one grain of sex positive analysis or empowerment for young people. "Just say no, little ones! Here's a purity ring, see if it fits!"
In Bed with Susie Bright 282: The "Scary" Side of Sex
Listen to an excerpt: (5:18)
Get the whole show: Link
There's no end to the "Sex-Kills" headlines. The latest terror is that your dildo will do you in, thanks to cancer-causing properties in certain soft plastics. While the subject itself is legitimate, I had to laugh, grimly.
I have this to say about cancer: Food, Water, Air Supply.
How many minutes do people have a sex toy stuck in their whosi-whats-it compared to.... everything else? Americans spend more time picking out their hermetically-sealed playthings than they do picking out a Congress, for example. How about a proactive public health and environment policy? I want one for my next date!
I'm all for safe-toy shopping from stores that will be honest and show integrity. (Smitten Kitten has gone to the mat). But it doesn't mean squat until phthalates are banned, period, along with all the other the poisons we've made for our "convenience."
Finally, in my podcast's Try This at Home mailbag, I hear from our very first man (gasp!) about what he's really looking for when he says he wants to have sex. Fear not!
Don't forget, you can send your confidential questions, feedback about the show, and requests for girly cards to [email protected] (Episode 282, February 16, 2007)
