Given the fact that casual intercourse and other forms of sexual intimacy are wreaking physical and emotional havoc among teens and young adults, why are they not being warned of the consequences of promiscuity? Many so-called safe-sex programs in public schools invest time and energy teaching very young children the mechanics and anatomy of intercourse, while almost endorsing the act for those who think they are "ready." Tell me, what hot and bothered teen doesn't think he or she is ready, especially when everyone seems to believe it is the thing to do?
Some teachers and guest speakers in schools go even further, as Dr. Joel Becker did when he addressed the entire student body at Boulder High School. Remember, he said, "I'm going to encourage you to have sex, and I'm going to encourage you to use drugs appropriately."29 The man should have been driven out of town by outraged parents and teachers! Instead, the teachers, the principal, members of the school board, and many parents defended the racy doctor. I would like to know why.
Why do psychiatrists, psychologists, university professors, sex education teachers, and bureaucrats in the health business, all of whom must be familiar with the studies I have cited, continue to pretend that the hookup culture carries no significant risk? They have to know better. Why do they withhold this vital information from students who desperately need it? Why did the U.S. Congress eliminate the pittance allocated for abstinence education in 2008, in favor of tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in support of same-sex ideology?30 It is difficult not to conclude that there is a conspiracy of silence by those in the professional community to shield young people from the truth.
I am not the only one puzzled and angered by what we are doing to kids. Dr. Miriam Grossman, a psychiatrist at UCLA's Student Psychological Services division, was also intrigued by the taboo preventing the discussion of sex and health. She posed a question similar to those I asked: "Why are students inundated with information about contraception, a healthy diet, . . . coping with stress and pressure—but not a word about the havoc that casual sex plays on young women's emotions?"31
After years of clinical practice, Dr. Grossman addressed this silence by her colleagues in a book titled Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student. Because of the taboo against discussions of sexual behavior, she was fearful of professional and employment reprisals. Thus, she called herself simply "Anonymous, M.D." for several years. Only much later did she reveal her identity.
Grossman added:
We ask [our patients] about child abuse, but not last week's hookups. We want to know how many cigarettes and coffees she's had each day, but not how many abortions in her past. We consider the stress caused by parental expectations and rising tuition, but neglect the anguish of herpes, the hazards of promiscuity, and the looming fertility issues for women who always put career first. 32
The psychiatrist concluded, "The message must get out: Casual sex is a health hazard for young women."33 I would add, it's a bad bet for young men too!
It is my guess that the message is not getting out because it is politically incorrect. Anything that smacks of morality or Christian ethics is offensive to the liberal community. Meanwhile, young people are falling into the same snare that entrapped their parents when they were young. Some taboos are not just foolish—this one is downright ridiculous!
29.Conference on World Affairs panel (April 10, 2007).
30.Steve Jordahl, "House Subcommittee Cuts Funds for Abstinence Education," Citizenlink (July 14, 2009); see http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000010497.cfm.
31.Miriam Grossman, M.D., Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student (New York: Penguin Group, 2007), 3–4.
32. Ibid.
33. Ibid.
Book: Bringing Up Girls
By Dr. James Dobson