Sex . . .

Now that I got your attention, let us turn this taboo discussion into a mentality that has rarely been ventured. Sex is nothing new in our culture, but the subject taken seriously is more absent than a condom dispenser in a red state.

The sensitive nature of this issue has been brought up at Cabrillo College, where the student paper, The Voice, published a column that gives advice on safe sex. The column has received backlash by the Cabrillo faculty and community, since the advice was not abstinence only.

When the discussion of sex is brought up, the two reactions are either outrage over such an offensive subject that is very inappropriate to talk about, or laughter because you said “boobies.” This social dilemma has become an obstacle when trying to teach sexual education.

The only reasonable solution in practice has been for public schools to teach sex ed courses but also to give students the choice of opting out if they find it offensive. However, those who do take it are required to respect the subject matter (like not referring to the act of reproduction in lewd terms).

Sadly, the most popular and ineffective approach to educating students about sex has been the abstinence only program enforced by the federal government. Thanks to the Bush Administration, public schools are forced to teach abstinence or be denied funding (42 U.S.C. § 710b).

Some states (like California) have refused to give in to this blackmail and, to no surprise, have the lowest teen pregnancy and HIV cases in the nation (based on a 2004 Congressional report by Henry Waxman).

So why is our society so sexually repressed? America is a Western nation which should be very open about sex. At the birth of our nation, the Founding Fathers ensured the eradication of John Calvin’s legacy and the Puritan influence on colonial society. Let us also not forget the works of Alfred Kinsey, Lenny Bruce and Hugh Hefner for setting in motion the sexual revolution of the 1960s.

Yet, remember the public backlash from the infamous “Nipplegate,” when Janet Jackson exposed her nipple for less than a second during Super Bowl XXXVIII.

As a Western society, one should have the freedom to be well-educated about sex or to talk about that weekend trip to Santa Barbra on Halloween without feeling ashamed for not waiting until marriage. If our society fails to achieve sexual liberation, enjoy that “happy ending” as you watch the world burn.