I love teenagers. I am currently the mother of four teenagers (and four future teenagers) whose moral and spiritual formation is my highest priority.
As a Catholic, I believe it is a parent's sacred responsibility to give children truthful and complete information on sex and sexuality, carefully considering the individual latency stage of each child. As a mother, I speak with reverence for the beautiful gift of human sexuality, always mindful of the children's inherent dignity and innocence. That said, I have never refused to answer any of the many question posed to me by my children.
Planned Parenthood approaches the education of children a bit differently. To help illustrate the difference in philosophy, let's look at Planned Parenthood's outreach to our children, via their website for teens called TeenWire.
Once there, you will find a plethora of options:
Our Bodies
Sex and Masturbation
Relationships
Pregnancy
LGBTQ
Ask the Experts
Health Info & Services
Believe it or not, the following is some of the milder stuff on the site:
From What is Virginity?
Who's a virgin, and who’s not?
Most people would say that a virgin is someone who's never had sex — and by "sex," they often mean penetration of the vagina by the penis. This dictionary definition sounds simple enough, but it leaves a whole bunch of people out of the picture. There are a lot of straight people who don’t think of themselves as virgins because they’ve had lots of other kinds of sex. And then there are all the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people who may never have penile vaginal sex, but who hardly think of themselves as virgins. For all these folks, sex and virginity aren’t so rigidly defined.
Many people define sex in broader terms. For some, "sex" means vaginal, oral, or anal sex, while for others, it could mean mutual masturbation, manual stimulation (“hand job”), dry humping, or using sex toys to penetrate the vagina or anus. Lots of people feel that they "lose it" the first time they share an intimate sexual experience with someone else — not simply the first time penetration happens.
Some also believe that people have to give consent to lose their virginity — that virgins who are raped, for example, do not lose their virginity.
Many people define sex in broader terms. For some, "sex" means vaginal, oral, or anal sex, while for others, it could mean mutual masturbation, manual stimulation (“hand job”), dry humping, or using sex toys to penetrate the vagina or anus. Lots of people feel that they "lose it" the first time they share an intimate sexual experience with someone else — not simply the first time penetration happens.
Some also believe that people have to give consent to lose their virginity — that virgins who are raped, for example, do not lose their virginity.
Do girls masturbate?
The myth is that girls don’t masturbate. Some people think that it's O.K. for guys to masturbate or have other kinds of sex, but that girls shouldn't. Unfortunately, our society is often more comfortable with men expressing their sexuality than with women, so many girls are taught not to masturbate — or not to admit to doing it. But the truth is, girls and women do masturbate, and there's no reason they shouldn't. In fact, one study showed that women who masturbate have higher self-esteem than those who don't.
From All About LGBTQ (FYI, that is "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning")
What’s a sexual orientation?
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and straight are sexual orientations. All these sexual orientations are perfectly normal. Scientists are not yet sure exactly what causes someone to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or straight, but recent research shows that there are biological factors in place before birth that influence people's sexual orientation.
Our sexual orientation is about who we’re attracted to sexually. A woman who is sexually attracted to other women often calls herself a lesbian. A man who is sexually attracted to other men often calls himself gay. People who are attracted to both women and men often called themselves bisexual. And people who are attracted to people of the other sex often call themselves straight.
Why do we say "often"? Because some people don't think these labels describe them accurately. Some people don't like the idea of labels at all!
Our sexual orientation is about who we’re attracted to sexually. A woman who is sexually attracted to other women often calls herself a lesbian. A man who is sexually attracted to other men often calls himself gay. People who are attracted to both women and men often called themselves bisexual. And people who are attracted to people of the other sex often call themselves straight.
Why do we say "often"? Because some people don't think these labels describe them accurately. Some people don't like the idea of labels at all!
From Your Vulva, Vagina, and Breasts:
What do breasts have to do with sex?
Breasts can give you a lot of sexual pleasure. They are basically "freebies," since you can't get pregnant or catch sexually transmitted infection by going to "second base." Most girls' breasts and nipples are sensitive to stroking, touching, and kissing. Looking at, feeling, and kissing breasts turns on a lot of people. Some partners are clumsy in the way they handle breasts and need to be told or shown how to do it in a pleasing way. Some women, of course, aren't crazy about having their breasts touched, and this is normal, too.From What is Sex?
What is oral sex?
Oral sex is using one's mouth to stimulate a partner's genitals.
Just as with any kind of sex, everybody is different — with various likes and dislikes, so communication is the key. In order to make sex more satisfying, it's important to be clear with yourself and your partner about what kinds of sex you want to do and don't want to do.
Just as with any kind of sex, everybody is different — with various likes and dislikes, so communication is the key. In order to make sex more satisfying, it's important to be clear with yourself and your partner about what kinds of sex you want to do and don't want to do.
Learning how to give oral sex is usually done by letting each other know what feels good and what doesn't — so both partners can learn what’s pleasurable.
Although there is no chance for pregnancy to happen from oral sex, unprotected oral sex puts both partners at risk for a number of sexually transmitted infections, whether they are giving or receiving genital stimulation. Although the risks of infection are generally quite a bit lower with unprotected oral sex than they are with unprotected vaginal or anal intercourse, using a barrier during oral sex can further decrease those risks. For safer oral sex, use a condom to cover the penis, or a Sheer Glyde dam, cut-open condom, or plastic wrap to cover the vulva or anus.
Although there is no chance for pregnancy to happen from oral sex, unprotected oral sex puts both partners at risk for a number of sexually transmitted infections, whether they are giving or receiving genital stimulation. Although the risks of infection are generally quite a bit lower with unprotected oral sex than they are with unprotected vaginal or anal intercourse, using a barrier during oral sex can further decrease those risks. For safer oral sex, use a condom to cover the penis, or a Sheer Glyde dam, cut-open condom, or plastic wrap to cover the vulva or anus.
{deep, cleansing breath...}
There are links to other (more adult-oriented) sites and sources for teens to explore, and there are lots of creepy pictures of gay and straight teens in various romantic/sexual poses, including a shot of a girl putting her hand down her pink polka-dotted panties to masturbate.
Yes, this is the same Planned Parenthood that comes into your public schools and talks authoritatively to your children about responsible sex. They are the "experts" after all.
(By the way, if you want to know what "the experts" told a teen about how to facilitate anal sex, you'll just have to go see for yourself. I can only imagine what I would find if I had the time or the stomach to look through all the kids' questions.)
Okay, I think that's enough for now. That's about all the "non-judgmental education" I can take.
The only part of this post that doesn't make me queasy?
The U.S. House of Representatives voted today to defund Planned Parenthood!
We are one step closer to ensuring that not a dime of our taxes goes to this stalwart of the Culture of Death.
Next step? Call your U.S. Senators and ask them to do the same.
And pray.
We are one step closer to ensuring that not a dime of our taxes goes to this stalwart of the Culture of Death.
Next step? Call your U.S. Senators and ask them to do the same.
And pray.
