Why sexuality education is important

I took a human sexuality class in college as an elective. On the first day of class I told my professor "I wish I had been given this at the onset of puberty." Let's face it, when we get our sex ed in school, it is very basic: girls learn about their periods in a very sterile, sunshine-and-rainbows way, and boys... what did the boys learn? See, when I was in school, what the other gender learned was a mystery. I didn't even know how babies were made and through a lot of my pubescence thought women got pregnant from heavy kissing. After all, that's what happened on TV, right? Here's what I remember about sex ed, in a nutshell: remember your pituitary gland and girls write letters to their friends about their periods and sanitary products.

That's it. I had no idea what a penis was or what one looked like. Had no idea about sex or pregnancy. Nothing. And it's no surprise how many girls in my graduating class ended up pregnant or with kids by the end of high school. Hell, a girl in my 8th grade class had an abortion and that was scandalous (but then again this was in the 1990's). We did all kinds of projects about STD's and AIDS in junior high and high school, but I don;t think we really knew really, the importance or significance of these things in our lives, but boy howdy, did we know every STD that ever sprouted on a person's genitals.

Listen, people, sex and sexuality education is important. I had no idea, growing up, that it was okay to be a sexual person, that masturbation was okay, and  the youngsters these days are set up even more for failure with abstinence-only education and the battle over condoms being handed out in school. Little girls are getting pregnant younger and younger. Both girls and boys struggle with sexual identity in a world where there are no "safe spaces" set up for them to do so. There are so few educators and outreach people that are there to provide safe, nurturing, educational environments for these kids and it's sad, especially in very rural areas where you  can often find that what is considered a societal norm in sexuality is a mindset that is decades in the past.

My foot fetish friend said tonight that this blog is becoming something real. I hope so. This is not just about cheating and affairs, this is an expression of myself, my sexuality, a candid look into an otherwise normal person's life in the effort to reach out to others, touch others, encourage discussion and hopefully stimulate conversation about healthy sexual relationships and interactions. If I can affect one person only, then I've made a difference.

And, if you haven't clicked any of the blogs I've been following, please please read the Sexademic's Troubled Teen Survivor Story. The link will bring you to part one. It is eye-opening and terrifying at once. It was incredibly brave to write about such a traumatizing past, and has inspired me to be much more open and candid.