<p>Regarding the PP website - I’ve never visited it before, but now that I have, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to refer someone to this site. PP’s mission, as I see it, is to educate. I don’t see anything on that website that is factually incorrect. As I read some of the articles I kept thinking how much I wished something like that existed when I was a teenager. PP’s mission is directed to those who lack other resources for sex education (as I was). Teens have so many questions, and they usually get their information from their peers, which in so many ways can propogate myths and fallacies. If you think teens aren’t already curious about the pill, masturbation, condoms, STDs, then you’re in denial. I can’t find any place on this site that promotes intercourse for teens. Just because they educate, it doesn’t mean they subscribe to a casual attitude toward premarital sex. In fact, in talking about foreplay and outercourse, they specifically imply that these are acceptable behaviors for senior citizens as well. What one has to differentiate here is what we mean by sex. The term, “safe, fulfilling teenage sex life” can mean lots of things, and you’re ascribing it to intercourse alone. One of the articles states kissing, even with the lips closed, can be foreplay. We, as adults of teens, are the ones who jump to assume that if a teenager has a safe, fulfilling teenage sex life, that it implies intercourse or oral sex at the minimum. </p>
<p>The shroud of embarassment that permeates so many relationships between parents and teens regarding sexual activity unfortunately leaves too many teens looking for some sort of reputable resource. I have yet to see one adult-authored piece of literature that recommends premarital sex. All come with a disclaimer that they do not recommend it, yet, we all know we will never have a 100% abstinence rate amongst our teens. So I see PP as a resource that educates people on issues that otherwise they’d be too embarassed to talk about. I would say the majority of my D’s friends who come from conservative families who strongly preach against any form of sexual activity before marriage, have engaged in some serious foreplay… where are they supposed to get their information from? I realize this is anecdotal on my part and certainly not a scientific study, but I genuinely feel for these kids - their parents are paying them a disservice by not providing concrete information about the consequences of unprepared sexual activity. </p>
<p>So, if you have parents who won’t do it, where do you expect them to get this information. I laughed at the sex in a hot tub question, because 30 years ago, many of my friends believed that one of our classmates got pregnant that way - that’s what she told everyone. While it’s easy as 40-something and 50-something adults to laugh at such absurdities, try to remember how overwhelming all the information you got about sex (from friends, movies, magazines, etc) was and how angst producing it was to try to figure out what was true and what wasn’t.</p>
<p>I remember in my all-girl’s Catholic high school having a discussion session in our Home and Family class about premarital sex… we were each asked to go around the room and give our opinions. There were at least three girls in my class who poo-pooed the idea, and said that it was morally wrong, who I know were already having sex with their boyfriends. At that point I realized it was not cool, nor safe to talk with any adults who had a one-track view of teenage sexual activity, that they just don’t get it (or can’t remember it).</p>
<p>Ideally, every parent would raise their child to respect themselves enough to understand the sacred nature of sex between consenting adults, and how waiting can be a gift one gives themselves, but we don’t live in an ideal world, and teens will always experiment.</p>
