Premarital Sex Essay Research Paper When Americans

Premarital Sex Essay, Research Paper

When Americans ask if pre-marital sex is socially acceptable, especially within a democratic society, the answer lies with what the majority believe. A large portion of the society would have very few qualms about an unmarried couple having sex, so long as that large portion of society was comfortable with the idea. There really are no normative ethical standards, no absolute rights or wrongs in our culture. Under these conditions, how could sex be applied to any moral scrutiny. It is whatever the individual thinks it is. The meaning of sex is what you give to it. But social acceptability is the question, isn t it. In that case the only applicable standard would be something like political correctness. So long as the majority isn’t being offended by the act, and so long as the participants care for each other, there probably isn’t going to be any objection. So the answer, which will be discussed further in this paper, is yes, pre-marital sex is not only socially acceptable, but also socially demanding. There s nothing surprising about that, but it sure is sad.

The reasons that individuals give for engaging in pre-marital sexual activities are usually relatively similar. Some people believe that if they are not sexually active as an adolescent they will not fit in, or they will be ridiculed for their choice to abstain from sexual intercourse until marriage. Around school, sex is usually a major topic of conversation; students are constantly talking about how great sex is and how often they “do it”. Those same students are usually the ones who do not worry about protection (Meier 8). Teenagers find it to be some sort of competition nowadays to see who can have the most sex before they graduate. Boys often find that they are being pushed to prove themselves by “scoring” (Meier 9). None of them think of the consequences. Some of them even end up impregnating younger women. Some teenagers believe that if they have sex a lot, they will not get pregnant. Others believe that you cannot get pregnant in a hot tub, girls cannot get pregnant during their period, and that you cannot get pregnant the first time they have sex. Some even believe that if birth control is taken right before intercourse, it will prevent a pregnancy. Those are all myths. Getting pregnant is easier than anybody would think.

Some pressures come from other sources and not just their peers. When a young person becomes involved with a boyfriend or girlfriend, the couple may have to deal with the pressures directly. One might pressure the other to have sex. This can often lead to break-ups causing more emotional problems. A girl is more likely to think of sex as something romantic but, however, have sex with boys with whom they have no real relationship.

According to Charles Krauthammer, “Sex oozes from every pore of the culture and there’s not a kid in the world who can avoid it.” (7). Teenagers are surrounded by some sort of sexual connotations all the time. Whether it is television, radio, school, or even the Internet, teenagers are hearing the effects of sex on our society.

Other people believe that if two people are truly in love then engaging in sexual intercourse is just a way two prove it. This latter ideology is probably the least common but the most detrimental of the three, because of the fact; teenagers are more likely to mistake love for infatuation. These misleading feelings can then lead to the couple having sexual intercourse under false pretenses.

Alcohol or drugs also play a major role in the sexual activity of teenagers. Sometimes, alcohol and drugs play a part in the teenager’s decision to have sex. A person who is drinking alcohol or using drugs is less likely to be cautious and responsible about their behavior (Meier 10). Teens will often go to parties and get so “smashed” that they have no control over what they are doing. Some of them go back to school and brag about what happened at that party or gossip about what happened to someone else. That is where some people earn their reputation as sluts or whores. Often, those same people are the ones not doing well in school, and they may have few goals or little hope that things will get any better. Some teenagers think that if they are drunk, they cannot get pregnant. That is yet another myth. Unless something is physically wrong, a boy and girl run the risk of beginning a pregnancy every time they have sex (Meier 12). Teenagers should think of the consequences and read over the statistics before jumping into anything.

Now that the reasons people are having sex have been somewhat considered, the consequences that come with having sex will now be discussed.

The price that teenagers pay for being sexually active greatly outweighs any advantages. For example there are numerous sexually transmitted diseases (STD s), also known as venereal diseases (VD s), which are contracted by sexual intercourse. These include syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, PID, and genital warts. These diseases could be deadly, however, if they are diagnosed in time they are curable. Unfortunately there is one disease in particular that, despite numerous years of study, is fatal in 100 percent of cases: AIDS. AIDS is an acronym for acquired immunio-deficiency syndrome, and is caused by the human immunio-deficiency virus (HIV). This is a fairly common disease among homosexuals b