Sex Needs More Than Consent — It Needs Pleasure, Too
How sex ed in U.S. schools overlooks the female experience and hurts teens like myself
As someone who is in college, I am no stranger to new things. If anything, I am challenged with something new on pretty much a daily basis. Just recently, for example, I learned that thrift store sales are not included in the GDP, that angels are sexless (at least according to Milton), and that tortillas make excellent plate substitutes. My friend T and I actually have a running laundry list of all the quirky things we’ve learned so far in college. It was funny and all until last month, when he added, in true Gen Z fashion: “That the clitoris is an actual thing, lol!”
Ha, hilarious, T.
I grew up thinking that sex was some sort of sacred ritual — one that had to be perfectly performed, with candles, rose petals, and “Crazy in Love” beating away in the background, after which I would become glowingly pregnant and ready for motherhood. It really wasn’t until college when someone finally told me that sex is supposed to feel good. My high school sex education class touched on everything but pleasure. We learned about menstruation cycles, teen pregnancies, abstinence, and all the reprehensible STIs we could get if we were ever brave enough to actually have sex. The…
