Controversy Over Eighth Graders Having Sex in School

Dr. Helen blogged a story about two eighth grade students who had intercourse in a stairwell at school. The boy got punished but not the girl.

I don’t understand why both were not punished.

This stuff was not happening when I was in eighth grade in the 1980s, no way. When I was in school girls who were promiscuous were looked down upon and called a number of degrading names. The issue was not just enduring being called a name (like verbal bullying), the issue was that girls had a reputation and it was considered negative to get a 'bad reputation' which is what was had if a girl was promiscuous. A girl in middle school was supposed to be a virgin and actually going past a certain point (kissing or perhaps 'second base') would put the situation into the negative category, it would tip the scale to having 'gone too far'. It was a self-respect issue too, the girls wanted to respec themselves and not be 'brought down by' having done certain acts, they didn't want a negative opinion of who they were as a person due to having gone too far fooling around with a boy. The boys also respected girls who were not promiscuous (even though they often begged girls to do certain things). If a girl offered herself up and agreed to do certain acts, the boys dreams would have come true but the boys would have looked down on the girl afterwards.

I don’t quite understand the current situation with sexual promiscuity. The girls I see on shows like the Dr. Phil show are not happy with themselves when they have been promiscuous in the past. What kind of liberation is it to think it is good for a young teen to be sexually active if she does not respect herself afterwards and if her self-esteem suffers? That is not liberation.

Put this down as another reason that I'm happy I'm homeschooling my kids.

Read the full story that Dr. Helen blogged here.

To ponder:
To what extent does the media (TV shows, movies, and books published in the young adult genre) contribute to children 'under the age of legal consent' to get the idea that being sexually active is good and okay? Do books like "Rainbow Party" whose plot focuses on oral sex parties for sophomores help contribute to this? "Sex in the City" was a popular and shocking show (at first) to adults but it was said that it was shown at 10 p.m. and was on a subscription only channel (HBO). However note that now that show appears in an edited form on a regular cable channel. The same goes for "The Sopranos" which had graphic sex scenes, now that is on regular cable channels. And "Desperate Housewives" that appeared on ABC at 10 p.m., again with the argument that it is a late night show and kids would be sleeping then, is now showing on cable channels during the daytime (easily accessible for viewing to all).

Related Topic:
Read a long article from January 2006 that appeared in New York Magazine about attitudes about promiscuity, casual sex for entertainment, and also same-sex relations in a New York public school:

The Cuddle Puddle of Stuyvesant High School
Researchers find it shocking that 11 percent of American girls between 15 and 19 claim to have same-sex encounters. Clearly they’ve never observed the social rituals of the pansexual, bi-queer, metroflexible New York teen.

Hat Tip: Carnival of Homeschooling at Why Homeschool

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