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The teen pregnancy rate has dropped dramatically from the mid-1990s until now. If teens can be safe and have high self-esteem, what's the big deal? Why do people always read so deeply into things? Maybe teens who are promiscuous AREN'T low self-esteem, Miley Cyrus addicted drones. People need to stop placing the blame on YouTube, Facebook, Myspace, Beyonce, or Lindsay Lohan. We are animals. Sex is in our animalistic nature. What's the problem with acting out what we're wired to do?
I am a bookworm. While there is little interest in our society in anything that was written before, say, 1920, I find the writings of "premoderns" absolutely fascinating. What ancient Greeks wrote, and what ancient Romans wrote, and what medieval scholars wrote, and what humanists wrote -- it's riveting not just for what their writings reveal about their world, but for what they reveal about ourselves. And the one constant in social commentary that I see again and again, self-perpetuating for thousands of years, since the time of ancient Sumer (whose founding religious myth centered on a teenage girl disobeying her mother, acting immodestly, and getting raped by a god) is this intense hand-wringing about young people, and especially young women, getting sluttier and more spoiled, and not getting punished enough for having a good time. Surly ancient moralists sound remarkably similar to today's busybodies. Cato the Elder, foaming at the mouth about matronly virtues going to hell in a merry striped cloak, would feel right at home in a middle-American suburb, worried sick about teenage girls losing their virginity without getting any "security" in return.
I am not saying that teenage promiscuity is not a problem, or that a parent whose children are exposed to sexualized programming should not be worried. But, contrary to what the OP is arguing, the single most reliable predictor of teenage "sluttiness" is social class, and that has always been true. There was a time when there was no TV with its R-rated movies, but there was also a time when most families lived in one room, and the parents did their thing right there in the presence of small children (it's true). There were always bad role models, there was always frisky entertainment (let me tell you, when it comes to filth, Britney's got nothing on Geoffrey Chaucer) and there were always powerful dangerous influences. But, a teenager who is looking at an Ivy League school and an illustrious career, or a promising and exciting future in some other form, isn't going to jeopardize all that for a nookie (and -- not to offend those who believe in Grand-Canyon-sized differences between men and women -- men too, even teenage boys, are perfectly capable of self-control when it's in their interest to exercise it). By contrast, a teenager who looks at her parents and sees that the limit of their world is reflexive, impoverished parenthood and the highlight of their lives is pathetic high school popularity, will probably **** a lot, and engage in other forms of attention-seeking behavior. I mean, what else is there? It's not getting worse -- it's just as bad as it's always been. Regrettable in individual cases, but hardly an end to civilization.
Good post. It reminds me of a quote Sierra posted (and where IS Sierra??). I think it may have been from Socrates, moaning about "kids today" and how they are all spoiled and disobedient. I bet a few of the people here worried about how kids dress were told by their parents to get a haircut or put on a bra.
The nature of sexual relationships should be agreed upon by the two people (or more, I guess, in certain circumstances) before any sex has been had.
If a guy tells a girl he won't respect her less, that he really likes her or loves her, or basically just lies his ass off and then never calls her or talks smack about her afterwards, then yes, he is a dbag. I'm not saying this because I hate men, I'm saying this because ANYONE who lies to get what they want but then flips the script afterwards is a dbag.
Everyone here agrees that girls shouldn't sleep with guys to bolster their self-esteem. That isn't even up for debate here.
Did you actually SAY anything at all in this post?
Good post. It reminds me of a quote Sierra posted (and where IS Sierra??). I think it may have been from Socrates, moaning about "kids today" and how they are all spoiled and disobedient. I bet a few of the people here worried about how kids dress were told by their parents to get a haircut or put on a bra.
I'd love to see that quote. I got the impression, though, that Plato (the main source of Socrates' sayings, since Socrates himself never wrote anything down) is very tongue-in-cheek. He might have been worried about "kids today", or he might have been mocking people who spend too much time worrying about "kids today". Or a little bit of both.
This is not entirely true...While its true that men will never be pregnant per se, as far as being able to procreate independent of females, the artificial womb is near completion and is scheduled to be available to the public in about 10 years. Otherwise I agree with the rest of your statement.
You're correct about that, Solytaire, but HOW available to the public will it be? Yachts are available to the public but I can't afford one.
I'm not shouting at you, so don't take this as terse; I'm merely pointing out certain inconsistencies in the human condition.
We can't stop people from procreating because "that's their right", whether they're capable of it or not. Eugenics is a touchy area to tread.
However, while women have the option of a donor clinic they also have the option of excluding a man from a child's life if they so desire, and it's a long, costly battle if the man wants to be included. Cheaper for the woman all around than a clinic if she wants a baby, only problematic if the father wants something to do with the baby and costly for him to obtain that right IF he can obtain it at all.
Currently men don't have that option and once this womb comes along, I rather imagine that not only will it be cost-prohibitive (having sperm injected versus actually growing a healthy baby? Really?) but I doubt women will be (unless financial reward is hefty) flocking to clinics, and those who do will, like sperm clinics in all likelihood, tend to be composed primarily of undesirables. I've no idea (it DOES merit investigation) what the screening process is like for a sperm bank but I do have to wonder at the potential outcry the first time a woman is turned away as "unqualified" at an egg-harvesting clinic.
All that aside, I really fear for the Human Factor.
Yea, Urban Sasquatch, there y'are. Who said they like having shlt in their face? Didn't see that anywhere. This is an interesting thread, but it never ceases to amaze me how people twist statements. Would like to see where you got that inference. I think my post was the only one that even bordered on it. If it was, I'll address it if you tell me where you got it.
That's rather the point: They're KIDS, they DON'T know the risks! Sure you can give them information -- but do they know what to do with it? Do they really understand consequence?!?
Johnny knows he's not supposed to to bouncing head-stands on the edge of the couch -- but did he really catch on until after he slipped and got a concussion?
That's part of the thing about being a kid; you're immortal, until the world shows you otherwise.
The teen pregnancy rate has dropped dramatically from the mid-1990s until now. If teens can be safe and have high self-esteem, what's the big deal? Why do people always read so deeply into things? Maybe teens who are promiscuous AREN'T low self-esteem, Miley Cyrus addicted drones. People need to stop placing the blame on YouTube, Facebook, Myspace, Beyonce, or Lindsay Lohan. We are animals. Sex is in our animalistic nature. What's the problem with acting out what we're wired to do?
Because we're also wired to brutally pound other males in order to procure our perceived territory.
That wouldn't go over so well, I'm thinking...
Just ONE example of what we "animals" are wired to do. The question isn't whether we're animals, it's how we rise above simplistic, animal thinking.
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