Well, anyone willing to speak up and say that masturbation is eeevil and will corrupt innocent teenagers?
(I love the Internet. There’s no way I could have said that without busting into laughter.)
I feel it would not help to teach masterbation. Because the teens that practice masterbation can’t see the blackboard anyway.
I think for the most part (as was demonstrated in my hs) that maturbation is accepted for men. The thing is, girls would have been burned at the stake had anyone known they double clicked the mouse! It’s completely unheard of.
Right after graduation I was trying to explain to one of my chica friends who has never had an orgasm that she might do well to practice on her own. It’s one thing to work the PC muscles - it’s quite another to use them for a pleasureful purpose. Like KismetRose, I learned very early on. In fact, since I started at age 5 and never actually used my own hand (don’t ask) I never believed till age 19 that I was masturbating. To me, it was never a sexual thing - it was just something I did. Does that make sense?
The ideal response to this kind of argument is to say, “Well, the pupose of flowers is to attract insects for pollination, so using them for decoration, etc, is ‘gravely disordered’ and a sin”.
Don’t use shaving cream either.:eek:
I think that it would be beneficial, maybe not teaching out, and out, technique, but to cover the basics of function, and pleasure, and also teach kids that it is a very safe, practical, and effective way to deal with the hormonal surge one experiences during puberty.
Sure, most males discover it for themselves, early on, but even then they may have been shamed into thinking it is wrong, and dirty somehow. Letting them know that it is normal, and healthy certainly couldn’t hurt anything. As for girls, I think it would be hugely beneficial, as most girls are incredibly self concious about their bodies, especially their naughty bits, and couple that with the “shame” of it all, there are many who won’t even consider touching themselves any further than what is necessary for proper hygene.
~V
And here I was only thinking of in and out technique.
d & r.
I don’t think girls talk about it much until they’re grown up. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t realize that girls could masturbate, never mind how, until I read “Changing bodies, changing lives” in my early teens. Which is odd, since I’d heard years before that about what boys did, just not my own gender.
How about teaching this to kids with severe CP? Should we not invest in methods of allowing physically disabled children who can not readily take matters in hand in a traditional manner do so with revised training or mechanical implements of some sort?
Frankly I think one of the most alienating things for a chile with CP or other physical problems that do not directly affect though process is the gap between their understanding of sexual joy and how it is understood by those of us who can (and often do) manage our own affairs.
Was this a subtle joke or a Freudian slip? If it was a joke I’m assuming that the punchline was that it will “make you go blind”. At first I thought you meant that the only kids who masturbate are the dumb ones who sit in the back of class (and never learn to spell)
Is there a reason that this would have to be talked about in school at all? Personally, I am not sure why Sex Ed needs to be taught in school. I understand that there would have to be some talk about it in biology. But I still don’t understand why there has to be a special time set aside to talk about having sex. Why don’t the parents do this? I think it may be that most of those selfish baby-boomer type parents are too embarassed to discuss this with their kids, so they try to pawn it off on the schools.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to teach teenagers how to masturbate. They should be teaching master classes on the technique.
::d&r::
Lord Ashtar, I agree the emphasis should be focussed on parents teaching their kids, but the main idea of sex ed (at least at my old hs) was STD’s. Some parents might not have the right info about them, or they MIGHT be to embarassed. It’s not the child’s fault that the parents won’t teach them - they shouldn’t get an STD or pregnant because they didn’t know.
I still don’t think they need to teach masturbation technique. However, depending on the teacher, it wouldn’t be bad to say during the section on “abstinance is the best birth control” to say “But there is still a completely safe relief method - figure it out on your own.” The only problem then would be that the religious right would get on the teacher’s case (possibly sue him/her) for teaching something that goes against at least three of the bigger religions in this country (Christianity, Islam - I think, and Judaism). It might be dumb, but it’s not like they’re gonna find lawyers saying “That’s too stupid to sue over!”
How about this topic for the class…
You can actually NOT masturbate and survive. I am!
Something not many people seem to know is possible!
These days people don’t just claim it’s natural, they PRESSURE teenagers to do it. Ever heard of choice?
Sheesh.
Leave us alone already!
Originally posted by BeatenMan
I feel it would not help to teach masterbation. Because the teens that practice masterbation can’t see the blackboard anyway.
Originally posted by LokiTheDog
Was this a subtle joke or a Freudian slip? If it was a joke I’m assuming that the punchline was that it will “make you go blind”. At first I thought you meant that the only kids who masturbate are the dumb ones who sit in the back of class (and never learn to spell)
Sorry about spelling. I still haven’t mastured one handed typing.
J66, are you suggesting I should let the facts stand in the way of a joke?!!
Sua
The most important thing that I learned in sex ed – not directly from the teacher but from the human sexuality book that we were allowed to purchase – was that masturbation is natural and normal. Made my life a lot less guilt and anxiety-ridden. There is a thread currently on the boards asking whether there are health risks to masturbation. Students should be aware that the myths about hairy palms and blindness are myths, and that nothing physically bad will happen to them if they masturbate. If there are moral implications to be considered, that is the job of the parents.
Lord Ashtar – It is hardly just “selfish baby boomer parents” who have difficulty telling their kids about sex. Many people find the subject difficult and embarassing to discuss, and many do not have accurate information regarding pregnancy prevention and STD’s. These subjects need to be taught in schools to ensure the health and safety of the next generation. If parents want to add their own information regarding the moral implications of sexual activity, that is their perogative.
Same here! I knew it was something that boys did, but didn’t realize that girls could do it too, until I read about it.
Re sex ed, I think all that’s needed is to tell kids that masterbation is heathy, normal, natural, etc. This will counteract any midevil nonsence they may be getting elsewhere, and, at the same time, will serve to inform the girl students that this is an option for them, too.
According to sex columnist, Dan Savage, it’s crucially important not to masturbate in the same way every time. People who do this often end up only able to get off in very limited situations when they get older: this is a real danger and only our public schools can get the word out. So kids, when you’re getting your game on, be sure mix it up.
“Dammit, American high schoolers are only masturbating at a fourth-grade level! We’re slipping behind the rest of the world! Something must be done!”
(apologies to SNL)
Sometimes this board really reminds you of the cultural gap between Europe and the US. I’m from Sweden, which is one of the more liberal countries in Europe, but still… in 8th grade all we did in biology for 3 weeks was sex ed. We were taught that masturbation is fun, sex is fun, different masturbation techniques, how to find the clitoris, even a few basic sexual positions…