Since contraceptives have been used to remove fertility from the conjugal act, the social consequ... more Since contraceptives have been used to remove fertility from the conjugal act, the social consequences predicted in the encyclical Humanae vitae, such as the rise in cohabitation, decline of marriage, rise of divorce, and single parenthood, have exceeded expectations. The degradation of the sexual act from total mutual self-giving to momentary union has led to doubting the significance of the biological truth of the body and opened the door to gender fluidity. Promiscuity became normative, and the need for consent became eroded until women revolted with the #MeToo movement. Promiscuity, cohabitation, and divorce have resulted in 40 percent of children born to unmarried parents whose tenuous unions often leave the children in melded and dysfunctional families. Relation-free “hookups” have become the norm among young adults, leaving a flood of emotionally damaged women, an epidemic of sexually transmitted infections, and unplanned pregnancies, to which the healthcare industry has resp...
On December 27, 1991, public broadcasting radio aired an interview with Sir Stephen Spender: "We ... more On December 27, 1991, public broadcasting radio aired an interview with Sir Stephen Spender: "We thought we had finally achieved sexual freedom and then AIDS appeared." Spender, evidently an educated man, was serious. He really thought that one could separate procreation from sexual intercourse without encountering any consequences. And yet, apart from AIDS, the consequences are all around us, screaming for recognition. Charles Osgood of CBS Radio talks about "structural damage." Discussing the ignored cracks below the Chicago River and the structural damage all around which had yet to be assessed, he drew attention to "other structural damage." In 1970, the average American family had 2.6 children. Today, the average American child has 2.6 parents. What happened? Non-coital methods of female contraception, especially the pill and the IUD were marketed as the tools of liberation in the late 1950's and early 1960's. A decade of "liberation" followed during which women initiated intercourse at younger and younger ages until today the median age of sexarche is 16 for both females and males .. Physicians need not be reminded of the epidemic of single pregnancy and abortion which followed nor need they be told about the rise in all sexually transmitted diseases which was augmented by the immuno-compromised condition brought about by AIDS. Many STD's are now resistant to common antibiotics. There are penicillin-resistant strains, not only of gonorrhea but also of syphillis. Nor is the immuno-compromised state restricted to sexually transmitted diseases. Increasingly, one finds strains of the tubercle bacillus resistant to rifampicin and INH. This raises new concerns for those who would like to think that one cannot contract AIDS or its concomittants by simple social contact. But the most serious consequence of the so-called female liberation is not medical, but social. Men no longer have a physical reason to be committed to women. After all, the reason why men were supposed to be committed to women in the area of sex was precisely because sex led to pregnancy and society wanted children to have a father, as well as a mother, support and a home. This is still a very necessary goal, but it has been undermined by societal attitudes about sex. Sexual revolution or not, most women, far from being able to live without men, act as if all that is needed to pacify males is to be sexually available. There
The efficacy of the Teen STAR Program for undergirding virginity and/or facilitating a return to ... more The efficacy of the Teen STAR Program for undergirding virginity and/or facilitating a return to chastity has been reported previously. We now correlate behavioral outcome with program components of the 1998-99 cohorts. There were 48 French, 23 Swiss and 234 U.S. females aged 11-17 who followed the 8-month program, which joins experiential learning of fertility signs to a developmental didactic curriculum that_includes regular teacher-student interviews; there were also 371 males aged 11-16 who followed a parallel program. A_ previously validated Likert-type_ 18-item questionnaire identified demographics, participants' expectations for future abstinence,_ control of their emotions,_ empathy in dealing with others, overall helpfulness of the program, frequency of topical discussions with parents and friends,_ age at first intercourse, time of_ last intercourse, contraceptive use, pregnancy, and_ reasons for abstinence._ Reasons for abstinence offered insight into the locus of control. Greater control of emotions, greater empathy with others, and overall helpfulness of the program were reported by 61 (100% of virgin and non-virgin participants)._ Early adolescents aged 11-13 spoke about the course to their parents more often than the older students._ 80% of girls and 60% of the boys talked with their friends._ Reasons for maintaining chastity showed external and internal loci in the U.S., but favored internal loci in France._ Nearly half of the sexually active male and female participants discontinued intercourse three months prior to the Life and Learning X 226 end of the program._ Failure to discontinue intercourse was nearly always linked to contraceptive use in all three age groups.__ Two miscarriages, one prior, one during the program were reported. Conclusion: Tracking of fertility patterns joined to discussion correlates positively with maintaining virginity as well as with a return to chastity. The_overall50% discontinuation-rate exceeds that of the general population and can be an important tool for STD and premarital pregnancy prevention.
Since neither the provision of contraception, nor exhortations to preserve premarital chastity se... more Since neither the provision of contraception, nor exhortations to preserve premarital chastity serve the adolescent's need to integrate their now-present biological capacity to procreate into their operational self concept, this study utilized experiential learning about fertility to facilitate the integration of biologic maturity with adolescent emotions, cognition, capacity, life goals, and behavior. Teen STAR (Sexuality Teaching in the Context of Adult Responsibility) was developed to encourage the prevention of teenage pregnancy by offering teen women experiential learning of their normal fertility patterns, coupled with value-oriented discussions for both sexes of the implications of their capacity for becoming a parent on their relationships and life goals. Males and females are separated during the first portion of the two semester long course, so that each group's members can learn about their own bodies and that of the opposite sex. During the second portion of the course, the students are brought together to discuss the social, relational and procreative aspects of sexual relations. Four tables present data and statistical analysis of the effects that the Teen STAR program has upon the behaviors and attitudes of program participants. (TS)
Since contraceptives have been used to remove fertility from the conjugal act, the social consequ... more Since contraceptives have been used to remove fertility from the conjugal act, the social consequences predicted in the encyclical Humanae vitae, such as the rise in cohabitation, decline of marriage, rise of divorce, and single parenthood, have exceeded expectations. The degradation of the sexual act from total mutual self-giving to momentary union has led to doubting the significance of the biological truth of the body and opened the door to gender fluidity. Promiscuity became normative, and the need for consent became eroded until women revolted with the #MeToo movement. Promiscuity, cohabitation, and divorce have resulted in 40 percent of children born to unmarried parents whose tenuous unions often leave the children in melded and dysfunctional families. Relation-free “hookups” have become the norm among young adults, leaving a flood of emotionally damaged women, an epidemic of sexually transmitted infections, and unplanned pregnancies, to which the healthcare industry has resp...
On December 27, 1991, public broadcasting radio aired an interview with Sir Stephen Spender: "We ... more On December 27, 1991, public broadcasting radio aired an interview with Sir Stephen Spender: "We thought we had finally achieved sexual freedom and then AIDS appeared." Spender, evidently an educated man, was serious. He really thought that one could separate procreation from sexual intercourse without encountering any consequences. And yet, apart from AIDS, the consequences are all around us, screaming for recognition. Charles Osgood of CBS Radio talks about "structural damage." Discussing the ignored cracks below the Chicago River and the structural damage all around which had yet to be assessed, he drew attention to "other structural damage." In 1970, the average American family had 2.6 children. Today, the average American child has 2.6 parents. What happened? Non-coital methods of female contraception, especially the pill and the IUD were marketed as the tools of liberation in the late 1950's and early 1960's. A decade of "liberation" followed during which women initiated intercourse at younger and younger ages until today the median age of sexarche is 16 for both females and males .. Physicians need not be reminded of the epidemic of single pregnancy and abortion which followed nor need they be told about the rise in all sexually transmitted diseases which was augmented by the immuno-compromised condition brought about by AIDS. Many STD's are now resistant to common antibiotics. There are penicillin-resistant strains, not only of gonorrhea but also of syphillis. Nor is the immuno-compromised state restricted to sexually transmitted diseases. Increasingly, one finds strains of the tubercle bacillus resistant to rifampicin and INH. This raises new concerns for those who would like to think that one cannot contract AIDS or its concomittants by simple social contact. But the most serious consequence of the so-called female liberation is not medical, but social. Men no longer have a physical reason to be committed to women. After all, the reason why men were supposed to be committed to women in the area of sex was precisely because sex led to pregnancy and society wanted children to have a father, as well as a mother, support and a home. This is still a very necessary goal, but it has been undermined by societal attitudes about sex. Sexual revolution or not, most women, far from being able to live without men, act as if all that is needed to pacify males is to be sexually available. There
The efficacy of the Teen STAR Program for undergirding virginity and/or facilitating a return to ... more The efficacy of the Teen STAR Program for undergirding virginity and/or facilitating a return to chastity has been reported previously. We now correlate behavioral outcome with program components of the 1998-99 cohorts. There were 48 French, 23 Swiss and 234 U.S. females aged 11-17 who followed the 8-month program, which joins experiential learning of fertility signs to a developmental didactic curriculum that_includes regular teacher-student interviews; there were also 371 males aged 11-16 who followed a parallel program. A_ previously validated Likert-type_ 18-item questionnaire identified demographics, participants' expectations for future abstinence,_ control of their emotions,_ empathy in dealing with others, overall helpfulness of the program, frequency of topical discussions with parents and friends,_ age at first intercourse, time of_ last intercourse, contraceptive use, pregnancy, and_ reasons for abstinence._ Reasons for abstinence offered insight into the locus of control. Greater control of emotions, greater empathy with others, and overall helpfulness of the program were reported by 61 (100% of virgin and non-virgin participants)._ Early adolescents aged 11-13 spoke about the course to their parents more often than the older students._ 80% of girls and 60% of the boys talked with their friends._ Reasons for maintaining chastity showed external and internal loci in the U.S., but favored internal loci in France._ Nearly half of the sexually active male and female participants discontinued intercourse three months prior to the Life and Learning X 226 end of the program._ Failure to discontinue intercourse was nearly always linked to contraceptive use in all three age groups.__ Two miscarriages, one prior, one during the program were reported. Conclusion: Tracking of fertility patterns joined to discussion correlates positively with maintaining virginity as well as with a return to chastity. The_overall50% discontinuation-rate exceeds that of the general population and can be an important tool for STD and premarital pregnancy prevention.
Since neither the provision of contraception, nor exhortations to preserve premarital chastity se... more Since neither the provision of contraception, nor exhortations to preserve premarital chastity serve the adolescent's need to integrate their now-present biological capacity to procreate into their operational self concept, this study utilized experiential learning about fertility to facilitate the integration of biologic maturity with adolescent emotions, cognition, capacity, life goals, and behavior. Teen STAR (Sexuality Teaching in the Context of Adult Responsibility) was developed to encourage the prevention of teenage pregnancy by offering teen women experiential learning of their normal fertility patterns, coupled with value-oriented discussions for both sexes of the implications of their capacity for becoming a parent on their relationships and life goals. Males and females are separated during the first portion of the two semester long course, so that each group's members can learn about their own bodies and that of the opposite sex. During the second portion of the course, the students are brought together to discuss the social, relational and procreative aspects of sexual relations. Four tables present data and statistical analysis of the effects that the Teen STAR program has upon the behaviors and attitudes of program participants. (TS)
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