Sunday, January 25, 2015

Teens HAVING or HAD sex?

The percentage of teens who aren't virgins isn't small.

But, it's not as big a percentage as high-schoolers or the media would have you believe (anywhere from 55-70% still hold their v-card when they finish high school).

But, I wonder, how many teens are HAVING sex, as opposed to HAD sex?

If all we care about, or at least monitor, is when someone actually has HAD intercourse, then I think it skews the figures away from those who are actually HAVING sex.

Because there's a massive difference between someone who, in a moment of regret, had sex, with someone who is in a relationship having sex.

There's a massive difference between someone who's had an unpleasant, one off, or unconsented sex then someone who's having a regular or enjoyable sexual experience.

If the stats we tracked for teens weren't solely about loss of virginity, but were measured by meaningful or continuous sexual experiences, then I think that the sheer numbers - and the pressure associated with them - would dramatically drop.

After all, if the stats hold up and 55% of a high school class have had sex (which I think's about right), doesn't it sound more realistic that this number would reduce to closer than a 20-30% are actually HAVING sex?

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