Saturday, August 14, 2010

Let Kids Have Sex ????

Peter Tatchell, an activist and LGBT rights advocate, tells us  that the best way to protect our children from sexual abuse is, paradoxically, to give them more sexual freedom. Age of consent laws vary from state to state in the U.S., with the majority being 16 and some ranging as high as 18, but Tatchell says they should all be lowered to at least 14.
Despite our puritanical roots, Americans are just as sexually liberated as Europeans, if not more so, according to recent studies. Americans tend to lose their virginity at the same age as Germans and Swiss, and, surprisingly, at a younger age than the French. U.S. rates of teen sex, pregnancy, and abortion are also higher than in Western Europe. Still, Americans are deeply uncomfortable with the idea of young people as sexual beings, as evidenced in part by our laws governing age of consent and those protecting children against abuse.
“Whether we like it or not, many teenagers have their first sexual experience around the ages of 14 or 15,” says Tatchell. In most states, these sexually-active young people are actually breaking the law and could be convicted as sex-offenders, even if both partners consent. In 2008, a 16-year-old boy from Iowa was convicted of “lewd and lascivious acts with a child” for having sex with a 13-year-old girl, even though the two were dating at the time, she had lied about her age, and she wasn’t pressing charges. For the rest of his life he will have to register on a sex offenders list alongside child sex abusers.

Criminalizing underage sex is not the way to protect our kids, says Tatchell: “If we want to protect young people, and I do, the best way to do this is not by threatening them with arrest, but by giving them frank, high quality sex and relationship education from an early age. This includes empowering them with the skills, knowledge and confidence to say no to unwanted sexual advances and to report sex abusers. Compared to the blanket criminalization of sexually-active under-age youth, this empowerment strategy is a more effective way to protect young people from peer pressure and pedophiles.”
A higher age of consent actually puts young teens at greater risk of abuse by “reinforcing the idea that young people under 16 have no sexual rights,” Tatchell says. “They signal that a young person is not capable of making a rational, moral choice about when to have sex.” And pedophiles can manipulate this sexual disempowerment to their advantage. “Guilt and shame about sex also increase the likelihood of molestation by encouraging the furtiveness and secrecy on which abuse thrives,” he adds.

“Despite what the puritans and sex-haters say, underage sex is mostly consenting, safe, and fun,” Tatchell believes. “If there is harm caused, it is usually not as a result of sex, per se, but because of emotional abuse within relationships and because of unsafe sex, which can pass on infections and make young girls pregnant when they are not ready for motherhood.” 
Stringent laws against underage sex don’t keep teens from having sex (almost 20% of American teens under 16 have had intercourse, despite it being technically illegal); they don’t protect against sexual abuse; and they inculcate a distorted view of sexuality, says Tatchell. “The message we need to give young people is that sex is fundamentally good—not dirty or shameful. It is a natural joy, immensely pleasurable and a profound human bond, resulting in intense shared fulfillment and much human happiness.” Take that puritans!

Why We Should Reject This:
Of course there will always be some underage people who have sex, but that doesn’t mean the law should condone it. Sex is a very complicated part of human behavior that is too nuanced for young people to understand. In fact, studies have shown that people, especially girls, who have sex at a young age often regret it. One study in New Zealand found that 70% of girls who had sex before the age of 16 wished they hadn’t done so. In a column for Telegraph, writer David Lindsay argues, “sex is for people who can cope with the consequences, physical and otherwise. In a word, adults.”
Max Miller.
Frankly, Mr Tatchell sounds like a bit of a pedophile....I'm just saying...........Jeannie

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:00:00 PM

    Peter Tatchell is maybe a pedophile, all counts point toward it...one thing I will say,Tatchell is a got-damn fool to think parents with good sense and love their children is just going to tell them to go and f**k your brains out.
    Where did this fool come from?
    In this day and age there is more to worry about than your girl getting pregnant or your son knocking up some girl and the father comes hunting with a shoot-gun.
    Their are so many sexual diseases the doctors can't cure.
    Some kids mature as fast as others.
    But hey, that's just me.

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  2. Anonymous5:53:00 PM

    Hi sweetie...Everything here is getting better, I was able to get a cleaning service out today and they/we will finish up tomorrow.
    Leon will have to pay them double time for today but he says it's worth it to get it back the way it were. I told him the complete house needed to be repainted.
    Betts was head of housekeeping, she didn't cleaned the rooms thank goodness just hired/fired and wasn't good at that.
    I know you are so proud of Shayne and what a wonderful job he's doing, I can hardly wait for his follow up story, a lot of people can learn something from Ian's story. I know Steve is so very proud of him as all your family is.
    Our prayers and good wishes go out to your family and may the new year treat all of you much better.
    Sorry to hear Jason hurt his knee, hope the doctors can find a way to help him without surgery, and he's not out of action long , Jason has youth on his side and he will bounce back like the football players.
    Jer is my poker player...a good poker player know when to hold them and when to fold them and Jer has learned that from you very well, Jer knows what he wants and go and get it, what a guy with dark bedroom eyes. Out of the two sweetie he will get the one he wants...a Junior Financial Advisor is great, it won't take him long to pull up into the company. My best to him.
    Jason is your wild man and he's having fun and I'm sure he's spreading his seeds, but I hope he's wearing a raincoat to keep from getting wet...when Jason settles down to one girl he will be true to her.
    You are so lucky to be getting rain and I hope it stays cooler for everyone especially Nana/Brian. J/P/twins is going to enjoy going to dinner and you always enjoy them so have fun and tell me what the twins ordered, my girls always want burgers/shrimp, so we carry them to the rib shack .
    Gilly is a little devil, when Jill/Sha was sitting down Gilly jumped on Jill's back...he loves to wrestle with them and Sha counted 1/2/3 and raised his hand , Gilly jumped up and gave Jill a kiss and she threw him down...I tell you he's a rough little boy.
    PIC...Gilly will be 2 on October 6 and I don't think I will survive the terrible 2's...He is so different from Jill when she was his age...or maybe I'm just getting old.[giggles]
    As for Betts , goodby to a ridiculous woman...Leon is now in good graces again with his mama and children.
    PIC...I will see you on the old plantation tomorrow...
    I know you have an outing with Dale/Barb Monday...so if you're not on line leave me a note when you will be here....
    KISSES & KISSES....PIC

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