A man who feels entitled is no more worthy than a man who feels you are unworthy because you once made a choice. Love and intimacy comes from the heart, not the vagina.

So if a young woman decides that this is the right use of her body, with the right person, and she has taken all the appropriate precautions against hurting herself (birth control, STD protection, etc.), AND she can handle the emotional consequences of being so intimate with someone, then she should follow her heart.

But it’s not a casual thing, and I’ve seen too many people experience the emotional damage that comes from acting too early and/or too often, sharing their bodies with people who do not respect them or treat them with the care every young woman deserves.

In short, GIRL POWER!!

Of course, STDs were the “relatively harmless” sort back then (I graduated from high school in 1965) - no AIDS etc. And so really the worst thing that could happen at that point was pregnancy “out of wedlock” as it were.

I however, far from being self-loathing or even particularly worried about the whole situation, simply married my daughter’s father (after having gone with him for two years by that point) and proceeded to go on my merrry way - though the first thing I did after her birth was go on the Pill (because I am NOT and never was cut out to be a parent and I had no intention of ever being one a SECOND time) - which yes, was available at the time I got pregnant: IF your parents approved a minor having it prescribed (no way in hell THAT was going to happen….) I’m to this day not sure my mid-vic-mindset of a mother knew what caused pregnancy herself…. much less that a sexually active teenager would be a good candidate for the Pill.

What I DID do was make very very sure that my daughter knew what she needed to know - even though we didn’t “speak” much at the time it became important. And I believe she’s approaching this in the same way with her daughters.

I live in Utah, and so you may imagine that the “pure and virgin until marriage” attitude is MORE than alive and well here. For kids brought up and truly involved in the Mormon church, it works pretty well.

But what happens here is there is NO ALTERNATIVE for kids who aren’t of that religious orientation/cultural mindset. Family planning’s hands are tied. It’s not a good thing….

Readerdiane, love your last line there. Also, “hypocrites are us.” Talk about honest.

Lizzie, thanks for weighing in on this one. I agree with you–it really is absurd. Not talking about it won’t make it go away. Humans are humans, teens are teens, and we do a disservice by not preparing them.

Heather, the ways of a Space Lord are vast and often incomprehensible to the average person or even the above average person.

ABSURD, I say!!! ABSURD!!!

Luckily, my parents were always very open with me, and gave me the tools to make good choices. Thanks to them, I’ve never made a sexual decision I regret, and I doubt I ever will.

p.s. I’m glad your tour went so well! Sorry I didn’t comment at all, but it’s been a crazy week here as well!

You have to remember that we are supposed to be preaching abstinence to these young adults. Hypocrites are us. I wasn’t the oldest virgin but I didn’t have a serious boy friend until college. When my own children asked I answered honestly, but I haven’t dared ask them back.

I don’t see anything terrible about that.

The oldest out of all your friends, huh? Wow.