While reading this article, I couldn’t help but feel the need to write a response. This article questions why sex has “become the norm?” Sex isn’t a new thing. It has been around a while—from the beginning of time, actually. Sex is what people do to reproduce, but they also do it for fun. Animals do it, too. It’s natural. It happens. It is okay to have sex.

This article mentions that our society “encourages porn like it's some kind of funny joke.” I don’t believe that is necessarily true. Again, porn has been around for a very long time and it will never go away. This isn’t new; it’s not revolutionary. I don’t believe porn is encouraged, and many places have banned it. If someone chooses to watch porn: cool. If someone chooses to never watch it: cool. It’s none of my business. If watching other people have sex is what gets people going, so be it. Who am I to judge?

It then goes on to say that “saving yourself for marriage has become frowned upon.” I don’t believe this is true either. I think that many people believe that saving yourself for marriage is honorable. If you choose to wait until marriage, good for you! That’s awesome. I’m proud of you, and I hope that goes well for you. The idea of waiting isn’t as realistic as it seems. Humans are sexual beings; we want to have sex. Sex happens. People get carried away. Who am I to judge whether or not people have sex before marriage? If you can do it, awesome. If you can’t, awesome. It’s your life choice to make; not mine!

This article continues on to say that, “It has become dirty, normal, and convenient. It has become really selfish, forceful, and threatening.” Sex has always been normal. It is not always selfish. Forceful and threatening sex is also known as rape. Please do not confuse consensual sex with two consenting adults with forceful rape. They are NOT the same. The line: “Since when did letting your boss touch you in an inappropriate way become okay?” is alarming. Sexual harassment and rape are not the same as consensual sex. If a woman is “letting” her boss touch her, so be it, but it is not okay if she is consenting to it. That is not OK. I believe these two are completely confused in this article.

I think the number one problem with this article is the sex shaming and judgment being passed. What people choose to do with their sexuality and their bodies is completely up to them. The only person whose virginity/sexuality someone should be worried about is their own. Shaming people for having sex isn’t cool. If people want to watch porn or have sex, they’re going to do it. If people want to hold off from having sex until their wedding day, they’re going to do it. It is nobody’s business but their own. It’s as simple as that.

Sex can wait, and sex doesn't have to be expected. I totally agree, but there's no need to shame people who choose not to wait or who do expect it. Sex is a natural part of relationships, and people are sexually attracted to one another. Whether or not people want to have sex is their own business, and I won't tell people to wait because I have no place to tell them what to do with their bodies.

On another note, people NEED to talk about sex. Abstinence-only based education is not the answer. Young adults need to be educated on safe sex, sexually transmitted infections, and reproductive systems. They need facts and evidence, not demands to abstain. Sex is a thing. Sex is real. Sex happens. We have to be able to talk about it.