HDFS 240 paper

Let’s Talk About Sex (2009) is a documentary film directed by James Houston that describes how American attitudes toward teenage sexuality affect teenagers in today’s society. Sex has become a media means and marketing tool to influence people’s buying decisions. The misleading messages about sex in today’s media have confused teenagers with incorrect information and thus led to a sky-high numbers of teenage unintended pregnancy and transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), costing the nation more than 9 billion dollars each year. Yet, it seems to be apparent that educational institutions like schools and churches have not been successful in teaching sex education. The vicious cycle continues to worsen and has resulted in various societal issues. The director has interviewed some families in American and in Netherland, depicting a strong contrast in attitudes toward sexuality among the families. The Netherlanders holds a much more open attitude to human sexuality. The film engages the audience to think about this “forbidden” topic and challenges them to make a difference in protecting the adolescents. Most of the bias and discrimination toward human sexuality are based from religious perspective that pre-marital sex is sinful and disgraced. In fact, it claims that people should stick to abstinence because it is commonly believed by the majority that sex is dirty and perverted and it is definitely not for adolescents because they are simply not mentally ready for it. Some religious institutions even hold ceremonies such as virginity pledge to prevent teenagers engaging in sexual activities by binding them with religion and morals. Many people in America, especially parents, believe that the one and only solution to adolescence sexuality is to not talk about or not to be open about it. However, it would not stop the adolescents from violating the “taboos” and being curious. According to the film, 70% of American teens have had sexual experiences and 50% of their parents do not know their kids are no longer virgins. Many of the teens do not know how to communicate sex with their parents, thus creating a gap. They have to seek the answers about sex mysteries on their own - by engaging in sexual activities. Although the notion of contraception has been much taught and emphasized in today’s society, the reluctance of schools, churches, and parents giving comprehensive, healthy, and meaningful opportunities to learn sexuality has led the teens to explore the field in an incorrect way. It gives sex a notorious name. Minority group teenagers such as African Americans and Hispanics that usually have less access to education are severely impacted by misleading information associated with sex or no information at all. Unintended pregnancy is the most common consequence and STDs follow. The film depicted how most female minority teenagers would have to raise kids by themselves without the presence of a father. Many of them do not know how to deal with the follow-ups. Pregnant teenagers are often discriminated, especially the minorities, because they violate the “implicit social norms”. All it really is about the lack of comprehensive sex education taught to children and adolescents that leads to negative effects that they have to live up to. Fortunately, many people are aware of this situation and have been trying to make a difference in their lives. Some teenage minority perspective mothers are going to special schools for pregnant teens to gain better knowledge about sexuality. Some church ministers are teaching teenagers about human sexuality and promoting a positive, healthy image about it. After watching the film, I was quite surprised by the sex culture in Netherland. I cannot imagine having conversations over sexuality with my parents, not even with friends. I also appreciate their sex culture because the emphasis on sex education is very important in today’s world and teenagers are better off this way. Not only it provides them a better understanding, but also reduces the likelihood of teenage pregnancy and STDs transmission. I was also surprised at the fact that American attitude toward human sexuality is actually negative, based on the fact that media has been promoting the idea of sex in different means. From personal experience, I used to think that pre-marital sex is a taboo due to the fact that I am raised in a Buddhist family that are quite conservative. The society where I grew up in holds a negative, biased attitude toward sex and teenage pregnancy, though sex education and the idea of contraception are taught at school. I had always believed that sex is only done with husband, until involving in a serious relationship. I found sex as a way to express intimacy and a way to release stress. Now that I have been through both places holding different attitude toward sex than the past, I settled at “treating sex with a sense of responsibility and with respect to others’ opinion” and “never say never”.