|
Premarital sex: Is abstinence the best policy?
By Cao Shangyao September 6, 2004
About two years ago, seven college girls in Chengdu of Southwest China's
Sichuan Province signed a "purity pledge" and established an "alliance for
flawless youth" for the purpose of opposing premarital sex.
They said they decided to do so after they witnessed the emotional pain and
physical complications that afflicted some college girls as a result of
premarital sex.
And during this summer vacation, several college girls in Beijing and Nanjing
launched an online petition campaign urging college students to abstain from
premarital sex. The petition has sparked a debate over premarital sex, making
it a hot topic of discussion throughout the country.
In modern times no one would deny that sexual attraction between men and women
is natural and that sex can be a very important part of a relationship. In
fact, sex is the physiological basis of erotic love, and a natural expression
of love to a certain degree. However, sex is also a violent force which may
lead to dire consequences if it runs out of control.
Premarital sex is an issue closely related to social conventions, culture and
spiritual life. It is not mere sexual impulse, as some have been saying, but a
matter of social significance.
From a medical point of view, premarital intercourse is not good for
youngsters, for they don't have the capacity to sustain its impact either
physiologically or psychologically. Premarital intercourse can create many
problems that have a negative effect on sexual feeling and marital sexual life.
However, the reality is inescapable: premarital sex is winning more and more
consent. A few decades ago, a premaritally pregnant woman would be condemned by
public opinion, she might even be forced to take her own life. Nowadays, it is
not uncommon to see a bride well-advanced in pregnancy at a wedding. Is this
progress or regress? No one knows for sure.
Available data indicate that there are 235 million young people aged 15-24
years in China, and 1 billion young people in the same age group around the
world. Globally speaking, teenagers account for one half of the number of women
who undergo induced abortions, and half of new AIDS cases occur in teenagers.
The primary mode of AIDS transmission globally is heterosexual sexual contact,
and teenagers are largely unaware of the perils of this form of AIDS
transmission. Therefore, teenage premarital sex is a problem that cannot be
overlooked.
The liberation of human sexuality from traditional moral constraints has caused
many health and social problems - venereal diseases, AIDS, drug abuse,
premarital or extramarital pregnancy, teenage mothers, psychological and
interpersonal problems, and so on and so forth
We are witnessing a new trend toward virginity before marriage. More and more
young people are saying that they won't have sex until they get married. In the
US alone there are 500,000 youngsters who have sworn that oath.
They believe that sex is somewhere there waiting for you, then why rush for it?
Even when you are already 20-years-old and you don't have any sexual
experience, you have at least forty to fifty years ahead of you to enjoy sexual
pleasure; and if you are willing to wait, you can always get a life partner who
is committed to you and your marriage.
"It is easier said than done", so goes the proverb, and it is true. Some people
understand the consequences of premarital sex very well but, when specific
problems arise, they may get lost and not be able to figure out what is the
best way to proceed.
The question is whether premarital sex is a manifestation of social progress or
a price we have to pay for social progress. This question sounds like a problem
for philosophers but it deserves careful consideration by all of us.
Copyright 1999-2004, Shanghai Star. All rights reserved. No content
may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission. Please
contact us via the link below for re-print and syndication policies.
|
|
China
chastises universities on sex education
8-31-2004
China
planning first nationwide survey on women's sex lives
8-24-2004
Girls
Just Wanna Have Fun
12-9-2003
|
