Talking the Talk

They’re having a neat conversation over at Feministe about, among other things, the changing sex-ed curricula, and also how parents can go about encouraging kids to delay sex, (if that’s what they want for them), without making it about shaming:

I fear unplanned pregnancy. I can have all the birth control talks with them I want, but that doesn’t rule out the possibility that most, namely hormonal-based methods may not even be an option due to family history. I fear them having to face an unplanned pregnancy. None of the options are pleasant. Raising a child in your teens, abortion, adoption — none of these are wrong choices, but none of them seem like particularly pleasant choices.

I don’t want them to delay their sexual lives out of some kind of moral obligation or some arbitrary idea of purity. It’s a protectiveness thing I suppose. I just want their lives to stay… uncomplicated, or as uncomplicated as possible, until they are both fully ready to take that kind of responsibility on.

I feel like my parents handled all these things really well (Dad — “Where are you going?” Nicole — “I thought I would go to our doctor for birth control.” Dad — “If you can wait ten minutes, I’ll give you a lift.”), but there are obviously many different ways you can go about the process, and everyone works through their own hang-ups and preoccupations on the way. Personally, I think that teenagers are some of the most sexual people in the known galaxy, and that a reasonably with-it seventeen year old should absolutely be able to start navigating through the world of sexuality. How did “the talk” change when you were actually on the verge of sexual maturity? And when, really, do you think teenagers should be dropping trou?