silly kids and a bored mind ... odd combination

[hiddenmuse]

When I get bored - or I get into a no-attention-span mode - I troll through the various communities in lj-land, to see what is out there.

Some of the communities are disturbing (especially the pro-anorexia groups, and the subdivisions thereof - mainly by religion, sexuality, or clique), and some are just really fucking weird, like the anti-porn communities. (There's one in particular that I can link to ... I'd just prefer to not have anything remotely indicative of porn, pro or con, on the work computer tracking)

What cracked me up about the particular community I'm going to discuss is that one of their "intro surveys" asks for members' 'sexual preference'. Those that have answered this particular survey usually put 'straight', with a few indicating 'straight/asexual'.

*Thinks about the straight/asexual orientation for a few seconds - then stops before risk of an aneurism sets in.*

We are ALL sexual. When you call yourself 'straight', you have pretty much obviated the option of 'asexual' as an orientation.

It's not possible to be simultaneously heterosexual and asexual, because to be asexual, you are saying that you are "not sexual; without sexuality." Calling yourself straight, you're saying that your sexuality is heterosexual, therefore negating the statement.

Perhaps a more valid statement would be for them to call themselves "straight/abstinent" or "straight/celibate", thereby acknowledging their sexuality, as well as their preference to not have sex before marriage or before a committed relationship, whichever the case may be.


I have nothing against their stance - they are allowed their opinions. It just bothers me that they seem to be so misguided in how they've declared their sexuality (or the lack thereof). And, I know, it shouldn't bother me, but it does - because I'd spent so long in a similar haze of obliviousness, unaware of my own sexuality (and no, I don't mean my queerness).

What bothers me is seeing people that don't realize that as human beings, we are sexual, regardless of experience or orientation. Being sexual means that we have the capacity to experience sexual feelings, be sexually active, so on and so forth. We are sexual from the day we come out of the womb, until the day we take our last breath. Boy babies are capable of experiencing erections in utero - so, obviously sexuality is an innate thing.

Unfortunately, well-intended people have taken sexuality and perverted it, turning it into something that society has to be protected from, something to be afraid of - rather than something to be understood. It has been turned into the punchline of jokes, neverending comments made about men and their out-of-control libidos, women and their virtue to be protected, blah blah blah.

At the same time, we're seeing the sexualizing of children and teenagers, but parents aren't willing to discuss sex with their kids, instead turning it over to the government, expecting those doddering deadwoods to come up with the Balm of Gilead to soothe that which ails us all.

We need to educate ourselves, to work past the ignorance and double-talk. In turn, we need to educate our children so they aren't afraid of their sexuality - and don't call themselves "asexual". They're human, not unicellular animals!

Comments

[writer-lilies.livejournal.com]

My guess is that they aren't interested in sex with either gender at the moment, but given the choice and desire, they'd be straight. That'd be my answer. Girls are disgusting. Guys are just childish, so if I wanted to deal with anyone, it'd be me.

[hiddenmuse.livejournal.com]

Well, in reading through their posts, they also seemed to be anti-masturbation as well!

My little mind boggles over that one ... heh.

[writer-lilies.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Some people define it as no sexual desire at all so they wouldn't be interested in masturbating anyway. There's an asexual community that has the definition, but as a rule, I tend to avoid communities. Too many silly folks.

[immortalravings.livejournal.com]

I suppose they dont want to have sex at all, which is strange.

You have some interesting entries and i was wondering if i could add you as a friend?:)

[hiddenmuse.livejournal.com]

Yes you can add me - and thank you for thinking that my ramblings are interesting! :)

[full4zaccordion.livejournal.com]

It bugs me the way kids are taught about sex these days. They're taught about it in school, with programs that are designed to teach abstinence only. We don't teach kids how to drive by showing them only how to drive during a cloudless day with no other cars on the street. We teach them about the hazards of the road and how to avoid them. So why do we only teach our kids that the only way to avoid STDs, etc. is to not have sex at all? The schools are too afraid of pissing off the relgious right, so they can't teach about safe sex. That's why we have the teen pregnancy rate of a third-world country.

What else I thinkis sad is how sex is demonized in our society. I mean, you can have a movie with blood, guts, shootings and stabbings, and it'll only have a PG-13 rating. But you put one sex scene in it and it's suddenly rated R. I just don't understand why violence is okay for children to watch, but not an act of love between two people.

[hiddenmuse.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with you on that. Perhaps if people were shown the absurdity of teaching a driver's ed class with perfect conditions on barren streets - they'd begin to understand the parallel between that and teaching sex ed in a similar fashion.

Or, I'm just over-estimating the intelligence level of the general population again. ;)

[livinginoctober.livejournal.com]

I'm so pro masturbation for kids...even at a young age...like, one of my friend was saying that when she was a baby, in the bathtub, she would masturbate, and her mom never stopped her, or slapped her hands away..and that is so cool to me. And those Harry Potter wand things, that vibrate? I would NEVER take that away from my child, just advise them to only use it in certain situations...I can remember masturbating on stuffed animals as early as 4 or 5. And I've never been ashamed of it. For a long time I thought I was a freak because I used pillows to masturbate, or I'd get off on someone's leg. For a long time I thought that made me a freak. Now I'm totally open about it, and my partners think it's HOT. :)