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There's been a decline in youth sexuality in the USA at the same time as our sexual liberalization, especially in the last 10-15 years. I wonder if taboos are

by api 4y ago

There's been a decline in youth sexuality in the USA at the same time as our sexual liberalization, especially in the last 10-15 years. I wonder if taboos are actually part of the courtship process with humans. Part of the allure might be doing something forbidden. Humans are weird.

anon291 4y ago
Or maybe everyone's grossed out by the kinds of sex normalized today. My wife knows many women who have had terrible experiences on dates with boys, including pre-marital sexual activity, and have sworn off on marriage as well. Many have anecdotes of young men wanting to recreate pornographic scenes of incredible debauchery with them. For example, many have had men want to choke them. Perhaps large portions of people are disgusted by the kinds of sexual acts now considered 'normal' and find it difficult to ascertain what kind of things any potential date is into. Others she knows have been exposed to pornography, don't like what they see, and have determined they are asexual. Of course, this all disappears the moment they meet a man who actually loves them, and it turns out they are not asexual, they're just not into what's commonly portrayed as normal. At the end of the day, only a slim minority of people were interested in 'sexual liberation'. Most people thought sex was good enough before, as evidenced by the copious amount of premarital sex, children, and higher reported sexual happiness. My wife and I got married very young, so when I hear about all these things, we're both relatively shocked.
- api 4y ago
  Porn is nothing like actual sex. Even fetish stuff depicted in porn is usually nothing like actual fetish stuff in actual sex (among people into that). I do worry about easy access to porn and young people growing up thinking it even slightly represents reality.
  - Overtonwindow 4y ago
    I met a 15 year old through an at-risk mentoring program years ago. He told me he got a $20 Visa gift card for his birthday, but he spent it all on a "cam girl." That shook me. Kids should not be viewing, making, paying for, or even really hear about pornography. Finding a playboy in the treehouse was one thing, but the internet has made it so easy for literally anyone, of any age, to view pornography. I think that has seriously harmed the younger generation's courtship and sexual relationships. Perhaps I'm getting old but ... porn was a lot harder to get when I was a kid and today I'm glad for that.
    - anon291 4y ago
      The sooner we realize as a society that behavior impacts outcomes, and seriously believe that it is the key driver. The sooner we will have an equitable society.
      - api 4y ago
        I don't think anyone would seriously argue that behavior doesn't impact outcome. It's easy to think of tons of extreme obvious examples to show that. The hard part is deciding how behavior impacts outcomes, how much, which behaviors are good or bad or irrelevant, and why. If there were easy answers to those questions we'd be living in a utopia already.

by api 4y ago

anon291 4y ago

Or maybe everyone's grossed out by the kinds of sex normalized today. My wife knows many women who have had terrible experiences on dates with boys, including pre-marital sexual activity, and have sworn off on marriage as well. Many have anecdotes of young men wanting to recreate pornographic scenes of incredible debauchery with them. For example, many have had men want to choke them. Perhaps large portions of people are disgusted by the kinds of sexual acts now considered 'normal' and find it difficult to ascertain what kind of things any potential date is into. Others she knows have been exposed to pornography, don't like what they see, and have determined they are asexual. Of course, this all disappears the moment they meet a man who actually loves them, and it turns out they are not asexual, they're just not into what's commonly portrayed as normal. At the end of the day, only a slim minority of people were interested in 'sexual liberation'. Most people thought sex was good enough before, as evidenced by the copious amount of premarital sex, children, and higher reported sexual happiness. My wife and I got married very young, so when I hear about all these things, we're both relatively shocked.

api 4y ago
Porn is nothing like actual sex. Even fetish stuff depicted in porn is usually nothing like actual fetish stuff in actual sex (among people into that). I do worry about easy access to porn and young people growing up thinking it even slightly represents reality.
- Overtonwindow 4y ago
  I met a 15 year old through an at-risk mentoring program years ago. He told me he got a $20 Visa gift card for his birthday, but he spent it all on a "cam girl." That shook me. Kids should not be viewing, making, paying for, or even really hear about pornography. Finding a playboy in the treehouse was one thing, but the internet has made it so easy for literally anyone, of any age, to view pornography. I think that has seriously harmed the younger generation's courtship and sexual relationships. Perhaps I'm getting old but ... porn was a lot harder to get when I was a kid and today I'm glad for that.
  - anon291 4y ago
    The sooner we realize as a society that behavior impacts outcomes, and seriously believe that it is the key driver. The sooner we will have an equitable society.
    - api 4y ago
      I don't think anyone would seriously argue that behavior doesn't impact outcome. It's easy to think of tons of extreme obvious examples to show that. The hard part is deciding how behavior impacts outcomes, how much, which behaviors are good or bad or irrelevant, and why. If there were easy answers to those questions we'd be living in a utopia already.