Sex Reflection Paper

The first time I learned about sex was in middle school, in an after school program that was run by a strict Catholic leader, who also ran a center in my town that was exclusively pro-life, but provided health check ups for pregnant women. I did not know at the time that this program was extremely biased, and only preached abstinence. I remember the instructor telling us a story about when she had sex in high school with a guy who she still sees sometimes, and their sexual encounter remained so prevalent in her memory, that it completely ruined any interaction they could have afterwards. I remember thinking how embarrassing that must be, because sex in this program was made to seem like it was something to be ashamed of. My sister also was

I left that class feeling as if I did not really learn anything, except for what I had somewhat already knew. This was that the traditional idea of sex involving a penis and vagina, and if you wanted to avoid diseases or pregnancy then a guy should put on a condom. My school completely disregarded all the other ways one could have sex and contract or avoid diseases, and all the other forms of birth control, such as the pill, the female condom, the patch, and other valuable pieces of information that many girls in my class, including myself, could have benefited from. Abstinence was also still trying to be pushed during these lessons as the “best method” to prevent pregnancy and disease, however, it was not a logical or reasonable method either. I did not know where I could access contraceptives or other sex related resources. I did not even know what lube was or that it could ease penetration and reduce any pain during sex. We were not told that masturbation was also a healthy alternative to releasing any sexual

This means that despite all of the messages discouraging sex and unprotected sex, she was still having unprotected sex at the same time she was hearing these messages. My sister ended up having an abortion, even while being pro-life due to the middle school program that we were both in, that strongly discouraged against abortion. After the abortion, my sister, even now is strongly and confidently pro-choice because she realized just how important and liberating women’s rights to their body is, and how much abortion saved her from likely, a life of poverty and missed opportunities, simply because our family was not well off as it was. Even during this time, I also lost my virginity because some of the messages sent during this class that seemed as if we were being scared out of having sex, did not scare me enough to not lose my virginity with my boyfriend. My school’s teen pregnancy rate kept skyrocketing as well, also, while the county my town is in ranked, number one in the state for chlamydia. My school failed because it did not teach us students how to have a healthy sex life, instead, it attempted to brainwash us and tell us that that sex should only be reserved for straight, married couples, who were ready to have kids. Sex was made to seem abnormal and deviant. Our country