Eat right. Avoid cigarettes. Wear seatbelts. Use sunscreen...

College Confidential Community
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<p>
[quote]
Eat right. Avoid cigarettes. Wear seatbelts. Use sunscreen.</p>

<p>Each year, thousands of college kids hear this wisdom from their university health-services and wellness officials. </p>

<p>However, it is unlikely that these same students will hear this gem: “Casual sexual liaisons on college campuses are hazardous, especially for young women. Medically and psychologically, it’s wise to wait.”</p>

<p>“College health centers do a great job educating students about all sorts of health issues. These professionals expect that, given accurate information, students will make smart choices. They recommend, ‘have the salad instead of the pizza.’ They assume that young people are capable of self-discipline – and expect it of them. There’s only one exception: sexual health. Here students are told: limit your partners, and use latex. Well, it’s not working.”</p>

<p>This psychiatrist should know. She is employed in the college health center of UCLA.</p>

<p>Dr. Grossman asserts to her readers and to her profession: “The message must get out: casual sex is a health hazard for young women. Women must hear from campus authorities that delaying sex, even for one or two years, is a fundamental way — in addition to eating right, exercising, wearing sunscreen — to be proactive about their health.”</p>

<p>Some prestigious universities present the opposite message. One shocking example from the book is the Columbia University Health Services’ website Goaskalice.com. The website portrays itself as a resource to help students “make responsible decisions regarding their health and well-being.” What can student learn there? Dr. Grossman lists some of the questions addressed: “Phone sex — getting started”; “Health risks of bestiality”; and how to manage a threesome. Ever wondered how to clean a bloody cat-o’nine-tails between sadomasochism sessions? Alice has the answer: hydrogen peroxide. Any parent should be glad to get this kind of bang for the tuition buck. </p>

<p>I searched the site for any mention of the relationship between casual sex and depression in young women, to no avail. Dr. Grossman criticizes university health websites for focusing almost exclusively on helping students express their sexuality.

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<a href="http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Nzg2ZGY4ZjEzZmYyODljYjI5NDJjODc5NWE3OTYxZjA=%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Nzg2ZGY4ZjEzZmYyODljYjI5NDJjODc5NWE3OTYxZjA=&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>
[quote]
Here students are told: limit your partners, and use latex. Well, it’s not working.

[/quote]
Do their campaigns against alcohol or tobacco or pizza work any better? Not that I've seen. At my school, a lot of kids smoke, a lot of kids eat pizza, and few put sunscreen on anywhere but the beach. One thing that everybody knows and most people follow is if you're having sex, you use a condom. My school's health center has posters up about waiting to have sex, using protection, and getting tested, along with posters about quitting smoking and reporting abuse. </p>

<p>The slant of this article makes me uncomfortable. It says that casual sex is "especially" hazardous to young women. Why isn't casual sex as much of a health or emotional hazard for young men? Gay men, for instance, are at high risk for a variety of STIs, domestic abuse, and substance abuse related to sex.</p>

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<p>Wow. This is the second post series from j-j-jude that has been utterly idiotic. I'd LOVE to see the links to support his particular opinion, and so would my doctor husband, who has plenty of books and research articles to support the dangers of unprotected sex, casual or otherwise. Not to mention the psychological issues that come up when immature (yes, college students are immature) students have casual sex. Please.</p>

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<p>It's about time. Maybe--finally--truth will have its day. Kudos to Dr. Grossman.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, most people on CC won't even read this post because the link is to National Review. Go directly to the Amazon review of <em>Unprotected</em>, then. I'll be looking the book up tomorrow, and I'll be passing along info on it to kids I know.</p>

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<p>Right on cue, HH.</p>

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<p>I'm sorry. How silly of me to think I could write a post.</p>

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<p>thanks to absitence only sex-ed, many people have no idea what can happen to them if they aren't careful with their sexual partners.
For instance, having sex young can lead to increased incidence of reproductive cancer in women.
Yeah. Sex before 18 can CAUSE CANCER.</p>

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<p>My heavens, we can't even spell abstinence; no wonder we can't figure out how to use a condom, or come up with some kind of theory as to why we shouldn't sleep around.</p>

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<p>haha oh god. I ought to proofread. I blame sleep deprivation...</p>

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<p>mollypockets - correlation does not mean causation</p>

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<p>mollypockets i would like to laugh at you saying nobody knows how to use a condom because of sex-ed deficiency. in america, every guys knows well what a condom is. if he doesn't use one its because of personal choice. and if a girl allows him not to use a condom, well then she deserves whatever she gets.</p>

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<p>Holland probobly has the best sex-ed program in the world. We learn how to use them at school at the age of 13, and you have to pass a certain test on it.
Then again Holland is everything but the best in the area of sex..... isn't that just something to be proud of ?</p>