4 ms·

I'm 33 and grew up in the Bible belt. Looking back, I'm shocked at how good my Sex Ed was. We were taught that abstinence was the only 100% effective choice, bu

by dpark 11y ago

I'm 33 and grew up in the Bible belt. Looking back, I'm shocked at how good my Sex Ed was. We were taught that abstinence was the only 100% effective choice, but also about condoms and birth control pills, as well as things like the sponge (which was not recommended, but still covered) and long term hormonal implants. The biggest misinformation we were given was stuff that was genuinely believed then (and still believed by many) like there being a high likelihood of pregnancy from pre-ejaculate. But I am also confused how there are/were actually sexually active teenagers who think things like "Ziploc bags are as effective as condoms". Maybe the trickle down effect of decent Sex Ed was responsible for dispelling these kinds of beliefs before we were at the sexually active age. I certainly didn't know anyone who thought (or at least expressed) an opinion this ignorant in high school. If nothing else, having sex through a Ziploc bag sounds miserably uncomfortable. But then, I did know a guy in college who apparently thought the condom was supposed to be stretched over the scrotum, so this ignorance is out there (or at least was).

BinaryIdiot 11y ago
> But I am also confused how there are/were actually sexually active teenagers who think things like "Ziploc bags are as effective as condoms". I had many stupid friends in high school :). But the schools were not highly rated as well. I do remember many new mothers in my 11th and 12th grade years and also a few who were pregnant during the graduation ceremony. So I don't think they did a good job but I don't know how much school education helps compared to at home education in regards to sex ed.
- dpark 11y ago
  Wait, grade school? I certainly hope no one in your grade school was sexually active. If we're talking about things 4th graders believe, they believe all kinds of ridiculous things because they're little kids.
  - BinaryIdiot 11y ago
    Huh. Today I learned the term "grade school" refers to elementary school (typically K through 5). I had always used it to mean school up to grade 12 (typical graduation). Oops.
    - ScottBurson 11y ago
      Huh. I thought it was first through sixth grade; I wouldn't have included kindergarten.
MichaelGG 11y ago
I'm 34, and was in a religious, conservative, school. They did one sex ed class (a single one hour, one off thing). In it they mentioned how condoms fail a majority of the time, that you could get pregnant from oral sex (that semen could leak from the digestive tract to reproductive), and that mutual masturbation could also cause pregnancy (as in a guy could ejaculate in just the right way). It's like they went out of their way to spread misinformation.
- woodman 11y ago
  > It's like they went out of their way to spread misinformation. I'm not as on top of modern psychology as I'd like to be, so I'd love to see a formal study on the subject, but I'm pretty confident that most people's decisions are guided by the belief (subconscious or otherwise) that the end justifies the means. Of course there are also some really stupid people out there. One of my earliest memories is of debating my elementary science teacher, who insisted that NASA had a room with perfect vacuum for gravity free training (her position being that air pressure and gravity were the same thing).
- coldpie 11y ago
  > was in a religious, conservative, school > It's like they went out of their way to spread misinformation. Imagine that.
- gefh 11y ago
  > that you could get pregnant from oral sex Well, there was that one case... http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2010/02/01/ncbi-rofl-thats-one-miraculous-conception/#.VyNwEMup5nE http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2010/02/01/ncbi-...
throwanem 11y ago
> I'm 33 and grew up in the Bible belt. Looking back, I'm shocked at how good my Sex Ed was. So did I, and so am I. Ours consisted mainly in a full-color slideshow of various genitals horribly mutilated by unchecked venereal disease, with absolutely nothing held back. Granted, as teenagers, most of us found it as fascinating as we did appalling, and I can attest to the fact that it did little to discourage our burgeoning interest in sexual activity. But it wasn't what you would call useful.

by dpark 11y ago

BinaryIdiot 11y ago

> But I am also confused how there are/were actually sexually active teenagers who think things like "Ziploc bags are as effective as condoms". I had many stupid friends in high school :). But the schools were not highly rated as well. I do remember many new mothers in my 11th and 12th grade years and also a few who were pregnant during the graduation ceremony. So I don't think they did a good job but I don't know how much school education helps compared to at home education in regards to sex ed.

dpark 11y ago
Wait, grade school? I certainly hope no one in your grade school was sexually active. If we're talking about things 4th graders believe, they believe all kinds of ridiculous things because they're little kids.
- BinaryIdiot 11y ago
  Huh. Today I learned the term "grade school" refers to elementary school (typically K through 5). I had always used it to mean school up to grade 12 (typical graduation). Oops.
  - ScottBurson 11y ago
    Huh. I thought it was first through sixth grade; I wouldn't have included kindergarten.

MichaelGG 11y ago

I'm 34, and was in a religious, conservative, school. They did one sex ed class (a single one hour, one off thing). In it they mentioned how condoms fail a majority of the time, that you could get pregnant from oral sex (that semen could leak from the digestive tract to reproductive), and that mutual masturbation could also cause pregnancy (as in a guy could ejaculate in just the right way). It's like they went out of their way to spread misinformation.

woodman 11y ago
> It's like they went out of their way to spread misinformation. I'm not as on top of modern psychology as I'd like to be, so I'd love to see a formal study on the subject, but I'm pretty confident that most people's decisions are guided by the belief (subconscious or otherwise) that the end justifies the means. Of course there are also some really stupid people out there. One of my earliest memories is of debating my elementary science teacher, who insisted that NASA had a room with perfect vacuum for gravity free training (her position being that air pressure and gravity were the same thing).
coldpie 11y ago
> was in a religious, conservative, school > It's like they went out of their way to spread misinformation. Imagine that.
gefh 11y ago
> that you could get pregnant from oral sex Well, there was that one case... http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2010/02/01/ncbi-rofl-thats-one-miraculous-conception/#.VyNwEMup5nE http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2010/02/01/ncbi-...

throwanem 11y ago

> I'm 33 and grew up in the Bible belt. Looking back, I'm shocked at how good my Sex Ed was. So did I, and so am I. Ours consisted mainly in a full-color slideshow of various genitals horribly mutilated by unchecked venereal disease, with absolutely nothing held back. Granted, as teenagers, most of us found it as fascinating as we did appalling, and I can attest to the fact that it did little to discourage our burgeoning interest in sexual activity. But it wasn't what you would call useful.