I believe we can start comfortable discussions about sex by emphasizing it in our school systems. Did you know that only 24 states mandate sexual education classes, and of those 24 states, only 8 require these classes to mention consent? In our health class here at CHHS, the most that I learned about sex was that I shouldn’t do it, or else I’ll catch a variety of diseases.

I conducted my own survey, inspired by the Planned Parenthood survey I referenced in my first article of the series, and the results were a bit puzzling to me. Out of 91 seniors who participated, 46.2% of them said they were NOT given “the talk” by their parents, but 95.6% said that they felt well-educated about sex and consent. Not to say that education about these topics comes solely from your parents, but it seems to me like there might be a misconception about what “well-educated” means, and allow me to explain why.

Only 16.7% of students said that their high school health class taught them how to ASK for consent, 19% said they were taught how to GIVE consent, and 22% were taught how to IDENTIFY consent. It’s alarming that so few students have been taught so little about something that has proved to be vital to the well being of humanity, especially teens and young adults. 96.6% of students said that health classes should include content that teaches healthy and unhealthy relationships, but only 48.8% of students were actually taught this content. With all of this in mind, do you think that our generation is well-educated?

Discussions about this topic are so stigmatized because we are told it’s too “vulgar” or our parents don’t want to hear their babies talk about something so “grown-up.” But how are we supposed to educate ourselves if the people who have the knowledge aren’t willing to share it with us?

I was in a musical called Spring Awakening my junior year and I learned a lot about the importance of educating teens about sex and the precautions to take. The musical, set in late 19th-century Germany, confronts real issues that teens face when they aren’t equipped with the knowledge they need for navigating the difficulties that puberty throws their way. One of the main ideas throughout the show is that you can really screw someone over by keeping information from them out of spite or self-indulgent reasons. This theory is proven as the main character gets pregnant and dies from a botched abortion forced by her mother at the end of the show.