5 Instances That Prove We Need Sex-Education In Our Schools
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Disclaimer: Due to the stigma attached to the subject, we have deliberately not used any names in this article.
Ours might be the land of Khajuraho and Kamasutra, yet, we as a society and a community are quite squeamish when it comes to discussing sex. So much so that the mere mention of including sex-education in school curriculum sends a shiver down the conscience keepers of our society aka politicians (mind you, these are not the good kind of shivers).
There have been claims that sex-education is a part of the western milieu and has no place in our cultural context, and if introduced, it’s only going to corrupt the minds of our young.
But knowledge is a weapon, and in our country, where much of it comes from questionable sources such as the overtly sexualized content available on the Internet, it can create distortions which can result in pretty earth-shattering beliefs (1). We have scoured the cyberspace to accumulate 5 such beliefs, opinions, and queries which prove that sex-education is the need of the hour! Read on, for truly horrific and comedic reactions.
1. This Long-Distance Athlete
A man posed a query on a popular sex-advice column, where he mentioned that he was in his late thirties and that whenever he got aptly excited, he could ejaculate to the distance of about 4 meters, and after recording this feat of his, he wanted to know the reason behind it. Suitably, the doctor responded with a query of his own, asking the gentleman what tools he was using to get excited in the first place, and whether he was trying for the Limca Book Of Records!
2. This Boyfriend Who Wanted His Girl To “Switch Off” Her Periods
Responding to a post about weird assumptions about periods, a woman told that her boyfriend asked her to turn off her periods. She said that while she was very annoyed at the suggestion, she was taken aback when she realized that her boyfriend really thought that women could turn off their periods, just like you turn off a tap. Needless to say, the woman gave her boyfriend a refresher course in reproductive biology, to clear his disastrous doubts.
3. This Married Lady Who Needed A Lesson In Female Anatomy From Her Daughter
Sharing misconceptions about women’s bodies on a chat portal, a woman explained that at the age of 13, she was the one who told her mother that it was possible for women to pee while wearing a tampon. Up until then, her mother had no clue that women have three orifices in their bodies. She thought that they use the same orifice for peeing and secreting period blood.
See, misinformation has no age!
4. This Gentleman Who Needs A Lesson In Consent
We also came across this bizarre query in a popular online sex-advice column, where a guy had stated that he had a strong, statuesque physique and he also had a fair bit of body hair on his chest. He claimed that women enjoyed looking at his chest and that he, in turn, liked showing it off. The problem, however, was that he had proposed to a girl, who had rejected him but still went on to “look” at his chest. Now the conundrum faced by this guy was that he was unsure what to do next, whether he should cut off the hair or should he slap the girl in question, to take revenge for her “double standards”!
Yup, it went from 0 to 100 that fast!
5. This Gentleman Who Hadn’t Had The Birds And Bees Talk With His Parents
Have we blown your mind yet? No? Then read on, this one would definitely do that.
This gentleman’s query to a sexologist read like this, “Last night my wife and I were playing poker, naked. While doing so, a poker chip accidentally fell into her vagina. Are there any chances of pregnancy?”
Yes, that was a genuine concern. The doctor responded to the query with the sage advice that chips don’t contain any sperm, so there’s no chance of conception, and that they should probably stick to a table for their games!
Though these questions and queries may have left you in peals of laughter, they do point to a more worrying trend. Isn’t it better that we get all our information from a credible and trustworthy source so that we can develop a healthy attitude towards sex? The more this issue is pushed into a corner, the deeper the stigma gets attached to it which leads to a proliferation of misinformed youngsters who firmly hold onto those beliefs and make decisions based on it. And remember, sex-education is not just about reproductive health, rather it encompasses important subjects like consent, contraceptives, etc. which are even more important in today’s context.
So, let’s encourage open conversations about our sexual health and make it a part of our curriculum so that we can have a better-informed younger generation.
