Teen Sex | Introduction
The teen birthrate declined steadily throughout much of the 1990s. In 1999, the last year for which records are available, the birthrate among teens aged fifteen to nineteen dropped to a record low of 49.6 births per 1,000. The 1999 teen birthrate is the lowest it has been since the National Center for Health Statistics began keeping records in 1940. The rate, which declined every year during the 1990s, fell 3 percent in 1999 and has fallen 20 percent since 1991. The 20-percent decrease has effectively erased the 24-percent increase in teen births from 1986 (50.2 per 1,000) to 1991, when teen births were 62.1 per 1,000.
Many sex researchers and commentators hail the declining teen birthrate as an indication of teens’ changing values and beliefs about premarital sex. They believe “abstinence-only” sex education programs— classes in which students are taught only about the benefits of abstinence with no mention of birth control or “safe sex”—are having an effect on teen sexual behaviors. “More teens are choosing abstinence,” contends Janet Parshall of the Family Research Council, an organization that promotes the traditional family. She asserts that tens of thousands of teens have pledged to remain virgins until marriage in abstinence programs such as True Love Waits. A survey conducted for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (NCPTP) seems to support her contention that more teens are deciding to remain abstinent. According to the 2000 survey, 58 percent of teenagers believe high-school teens should not engage in sexual activity, even if precautions are taken against pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). An overwhelming majority—93 percent— said they believe society should tell teens to remain abstinent at least until they graduate from high school. The survey also found that half of the teens said that fear of pregnancy or STDs is the main reason they are abstinent. In addition, the vast majority of teens—87 percent— do not think it is embarrassing to admit that they are virgins.
Perhaps due in part to the message emphasizing abstinence, fewer teens are having sex. According to the NCPTP, the number of male teens who have had sex declined from 61 percent in 1990 to 49 percent in 1997. The number of teen girls who have had sex has fluctuated: 48 percent in 1990, up to 52 percent in 1995, and back down again to 48 percent in 1997.
Abstinence-only programs frequently stress the consequences of premarital sex: pregnancy and STDs, including HIV/AIDS. Donna E. Shalala, secretary of Health and Human Services under President Bill Clinton, believes that a fear of contracting AIDS has persuaded many teens to postpone sexual activity. “We all believe AIDS has scared teenagers,” she says. Teens have a right to be scared: They have the fastest-increasing rate of HIV infection in the United States. Approximately 25 percent of the 40,000 new HIV infections reported annually occur among youth aged thirteen to twenty-one. Another 3 million teens aged thirteen to nineteen contract new STD infections each year.
Others contend that the falling birthrate is due to increased use of birth control by teens. They assert that partial credit for the increase in contraceptive use among teens can be given to school programs that distribute free condoms to students who request them. Studies comparing sexually active students in schools that provide condoms with schools that do not found that students were significantly more likely to use condoms during intercourse if they could get them at school.
A few studies and anecdotal evidence suggest to sex researchers that another reason the birthrate among teens is dropping is the increasing prevalence of oral sex as a substitute for intercourse. A 1999 survey by Planned Parenthood reported that 10 percent of teens who described themselves as virgins had had oral sex, some in their early teens. Other researchers contend that as many as one-third of middle-school girls are performing oral sex on boys. (Most experts agree that oral sex is not reciprocal— it is almost always boys who are the recipients.) However, researchers find it difficult to accurately determine whether the prevalence of oral sex is indeed increasing as many surveys about teen sexual behavior— past and present—concentrate solely on vaginal intercourse.
Some experts theorize that the increase in oral sex—if, indeed, there is one—is because many teens do not consider oral sex to be “sex.” According to Peter Sheras, professor of adolescent development at the University of Virginia, oral sex “might mean what a French kiss meant to us when we were kids.” Some teens even believe they are practicing abstinence if they engage in oral sex instead of sexual intercourse. Many adults are also not clear on whether oral sex is a form of abstinence. A 1999 survey even found that one-third of health educators believed that oral sex was abstinent behavior. President Bill Clinton, when answering questions regarding his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, conveyed a similar attitude when he stated that they had not had “sexual relations” since they had engaged in oral sex.
Many parents and sex educators omit discussions about oral sex when telling teens about sex, and at least some experts believe this is a mistake. Linda Alexander, president of the American Social Health Association, believes that society has “drilled the kids on the dangers of pregnancy” but has not “talked as much about activities that don’t result in pregnancy,” such as oral sex. Many teens, especially younger teens who are not as well informed, believe—incorrectly—that they cannot contract STDs via oral sex. “What concerns me,” Alexander continues, “is what kids don’t know. They’re not protecting themselves; they don’t understand the risks of transmitting infection between the genital and oral areas.”
It also appears that a larger number of teens than before are engaging in forms of sexual activity other than vaginal intercourse. Gary J. Gates and Freya L. Sonenstein reported in the November/December 2000 Family Planning Perspectives that although 55 percent of teen boys aged fifteen to nineteen reported that they had engaged in sexual intercourse in 1995, “two-thirds have had experience with noncoital behaviors like oral sex, anal intercourse, or masturbation by a female.” In contrast, in 1988 less than half—40 percent—reported having ever been masturbated by a female. “These behaviors put kids at risk of getting sexually transmitted dis- eases,” she notes. Gates and Sonenstein urge that teens be taught the risks of sexual activities other than intercourse and that researchers continue to monitor all forms of teens’ sexual behavior.
Other experts on sexual behavior are also concerned about the high number of teens who believe themselves to be abstinent while engaging in oral and anal sex. These authorities believe that more attention needs to be paid to such behaviors. Ward Cates, president of the Family Health Institute and past director of the Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asserts that parents and sex educators must get away from “the view that sex is vaginal intercourse and abstinence is nothing beyond holding hands.”
Teens and adults agree that communication about values and sexual behavior—what is abstinence and what is sex and how to enjoy it safely— is necessary to promote teen abstinence. Studies have found that parental views on premarital sex are the most important influence on a teen’s decision to remain abstinent. Teen Sex: At Issue examines the issue and extent of teen sexuality and explores various influences on a teen’s decision to remain abstinent or become sexually active.
