Article by Cameron Spink

 

It is on a rare occasion that I find myself in agreement with Susie O'Brien but she has got it pretty much right with her article "State Government should keep their hands off our schoolies".

 

On the Youth Central website that the Victorian Government has set up there is a page dedicated to advice about having sex. Unfortunately the advice is, at the very least, dangerous. As O'Brien points out this whole page is about "managing sex once it's happening".

 

At one point the page announces that "sex is a physical way to express love and affection for someone. Being in a sexual relationship can be very rewarding and enjoyable". While this comment certainly doesn't ring true no alternative is presented. If, for instance, one does not want to get an STI then one is advised to use a condom. However, a much better option would be abstinence. Condoms are nowhere near as safe as the Government stipulates. The only thing that grows with virginity is patience. Despite this advice the statistics show that almost 10% of teenagers practicing in sex do not use any sort of protection at all.

 

Going further down the rabbit hole leads Alice to the government's Better Health website. It is there where the Victorian Government's advice is truly revealed as ethically questionable. Upon the issue of masturbation the site has this to say: "[masturbation] is a normal, healthy expression of sexuality but about half the people who masturbate feel ashamed or embarrassed about it. This is because masturbation has been maligned for centuries as a deviant, dangerous and sinful practice, and some of the old taboos linger on". This shame or embarrassment is not some echo of an archaic social principle it is our conscience telling us that the act of lusting after someone else is sinful and should not be participated in. The site does get something right though: "the way in which parents react to their child's masturbation impacts on the person's sexual attitudes and behaviours in adult life". The parental role must be handled with care, in this situation, however, a child must know the self-gratifying nature of masturbation to avoid further poor decisions in regards to their sex lives.

 

The Better Health website also states same-sex attraction is completely normal, yet heterosexism (the belief that everyone is born heterosexual) makes a person weird. This double standard is dangerous particularly with scientific evidence supporting the fact that homosexuality is a lifestyle that is nurtured and reversible.

 

So good on you Susie for pointing out that "surely there are better ways to deal with the issue than this website, which dismisses the possibility that a teenager might not be ready for sex in one throwaway line". Unfortunately we have already handed our ethics over to a government who do not have a clue what responsibility means and are more inclined to sell us, and the younger generations, to the freedom of leading a sinful life.