Teens, Parents and The Sex Taboo?

Besides the 'Birds and the Bees' discussion, I've noticed that a lot of teens have a tendency not to discuss sex with their parents in any form. Why not? It's clearly all over the media and internet, so society has no longer made it a serious 'TABOO' issue to talk about. And I'm not referring to the anatomy that so many teens learn about in school and health classes, I mean the stuff that the state cannot educate children on; like an orgasm, an arousal, what exactly sexual tension is, masturbation, the assorted forms it comes in, and some of the symptoms of STDs that educators may not go into fuller detail with. People say that education is the best weapon agains violence, death and disease, but why not sex? Why?

Teens, Parents and The Sex Taboo?
teens r more curious, have more questions, want explicits


4 parents, the opposite !
Reply:I think lots of parents are embarassed by some of the questions that teens ask? I have a very open relationship with my daughter and she has come to me with some of the above questions, I answer them to the best of my ability and let her know that if my answer hasn't satisfied her that we can do further research. I would much rather her come to me then go to a stranger. I have found it is easier to be open and honest then to sidestep any questions she may ask.
Reply:Peer pressure from friends and role models overcome any youngster. Try having a young teacher, counselor etc.. someone close to the child's age
Reply:I guess because this topic has been filled with perversity, that people see it as against their values to introduce such topic, but your right, they need to know this. Also, some kids are embarass, but this comes of lack of trust and communication. Maybe if parents wre more opened minded kids wont feel so threatened when they have a question in their minds!!
Reply:Not against sex. Why? I believe some people like the feelings of lust during their 'sex' education and encourages to do them. And by the way they can't teach you to masturbate because it encourages sex and more likely to cause the person to rape people.





Concluding the senseless statement I make but education of sex in more detail will cause more victims of rape.
Reply:at school is not a perfect place to talk about masturbation and etc. its okay to talk about STDs, condoms, and pregnancy. the rest should be done at home with the parents. they should tell their children about urges and what to expect and do.
Reply:Being a parent, I would not feel comfortable with discussing sex with my 6 year old.. but i have. I grew up in the 90's and im a modern day parent...but a lot of parents arent....they just dont feel comfortable with talking to their kids because we do learn it in health class... Parents are waiting until the kids are teenagers when now days, you need to tell your children at a much younger age about sex...especially with AIDS. Thats part of being a parent..protecting your kids....With sex everywhere, we need to keep our kids informed...I hope that when both of my sons get older they will talk to me about it...so we can discuss it like adults because its an adult thing to do....
Reply:No matter what mass culture teaches you the inner self tells you what's right. If young people don't feel comfortable talking with their parents about those it's good. A lot of things have to be talked over with friends first. Maybe read a book, ask a doctor. Only when they are feeling ready to talk as "grownups" they shall do so. Discomfort doesn't make things go easy, ever.
Reply:I still have not had the sex talk, and more or less don't need it. I know everything you need to know. How to be safe, what everything is, how it happenes....ect. I never really had to ask, just as time went by. Just conversations with people told me everything I needed to know. Parents are forgetting about what they need to do. They arn't telling thier kids at a young age. Its just like smoking, you start telling them when thier young.
Reply:I think it is a combination of the natural process of rebellion and an instilled sense of taboo that parents have. Just because it's all over the media doesn't mean it's not taboo in certain family or cultural situations.





As kids go through hormonal changes they start to become more independent. They are moving up in the world, learning new things every day, and becoming less likely to want to appraise their parents of their every move. They want to make decisions for themselves. There is also a new group they go to for answers: their friends. There can be a pressure not to be a "baby" which unfortunately extends to not going to their parents with questions.





What complicates this is that parents do not bring up the subject until it is too late. At that point, it is already a "taboo" because it's never been talked about. I found out at the age of 15 that sex makes the world go round. The fact that I had never heard any hints or information from my parents certainly didn't make me want to talk to them about it. When parents talk honestly with their children from a young age about the facts of life and the human body, the children are more likely to see their parents as people who may know the answers to the questions they have, and since it's already an ongoing topic, aren't as scared to bring it up.





Education is the best weapon. In the case of behavior that might lead to STDs or pregnancy, abstinence programs DO NOT WORK. If kids don't feel comfortable going to someone to get, for example, a condom, they may also not be mature enough to stop themselves from risky behvior.





One of the commentors mentioned rape. Rape is not about sex. Rape is about control. Rape is performed by someone who wants to exert dominance and control over another. A rapist has agression or mental issues and takes it out on another person. I would think someone who is repressed sexually would be more likely to "lash out" through rape than someone who sees sex as a valid part of being human and isn't afraid to pursue it in a more socially acceptable way.