Sex-ed

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I asked the boys, about 40 of them, aged from 16-18 if they'd ever watched Media, and they all laughed.

'Shall I take that as a yes?' I asked, and there were further chuckles and nodding heads all round.

You see, as the school nurse, I'd been asked to talk to the senior boys about 'sex and all that sort of stuff.' With such vague guidelines, I chose to talk about an area that has been coming an ever increasing concern.

'Do you like it?' I asked, and no one said outright they liked it.

'Do you think it's healthy or harmful?' They all said it's harmless, because the participants were consenting adults. So I asked them what's their favorite type of Media, and the answers were varied, although hot young blondes, and horny teens topped the list of favorites.

'Was that 'horny teen' legal?' I asked, and the laughter died away. They'd never thought of that before, they'd also never thought of sex-slavery, but now wasn't the right time to talk about that, as I felt they would stop listening if I started lecturing.

Although Ivan, one of the Russian lads raised his hand in protest. 'But sir, I only watch **** Media.' The room erupted, and the merits of **** Media were briefly discussed. I decided to get personal.

I asked them to raise their if they wanted to get married and have kids one day, and they all raised their hands.

'So what age is it okay for your son to watch Media?' They paused, giving it serious thought, before generally deciding that around 14yrs old is good.

'And what age is it okay for your daughter to watch Media?' I was greeted with silence.

No one wanted their daughter to ever watch Media, because deep inside of them, they know Media is not good, and they know it is degrading to women, regardless of consent.

We talked about other things, from relationship to STD's, but only briefly, because there's only so much you can teach them in one-off, one hour session.

But I wasn't there to lecture them, but hopefully to get them to think.

Specializes in ICU.

What I don't agree with is this person is not doing their job as a nurse. They took what was supposed to be a sex-ed time session and turned into pushing their ideas of morality into young boys. I do not agree with that at all.

I cannot not control what my son may or may not do someday. I'm not going to say here honey watch some Media and offer it up to him. But like I said, I don't know a single man I this planet that hasn't seen it at one time or another.

I don't watch Media, but I don't judge people who do or teenage boys who are curious. Some people deem it completely evil. And that's fine also. I don't judge them either.

But my child, is my child. He and I will have that conversation some day and he will know what my personal feelings on it are. He will then need to make up his own mind. He doesn't need some school nurse trying to push their beliefs on him. If I wanted them to teach him morality, I would send him to a Christian school. I think I'm doing a great job of that on my own.

I'm all for sex-ed in schools. Teens need to be taught how to be safe. But that's not what happened here. And that is why I have a problem with it.

Noooooo! Can't we keep him for awhile? Please?

No.Thinly veiled kinks... that professionals should not be entertaining.

Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
I see Media addiction as definitely a sexual health issue, along with unrealistic expectations of sexual relationships, female physicality and sexual responses.

But he didn't talk about any of that. Facts vs. Beliefs.

Specializes in Hospice.
What I don't agree with is this person is not doing their job as a nurse. They took what was supposed to be a sex-ed time session and turned into pushing their ideas of morality into young boys. I do not agree with that at all.

I cannot not control what my son may or may not do someday. I'm not going to say here honey watch some Media and offer it up to him. But like I said, I don't know a single man I this planet that hasn't seen it at one time or another.

I don't watch Media, but I don't judge people who do or teenage boys who are curious. Some people deem it completely evil. And that's fine also. I don't judge them either.

But my child, is my child. He and I will have that conversation some day and he will know what my personal feelings on it are. He will then need to make up his own mind. He doesn't need some school nurse trying to push their beliefs on him. If I wanted them to teach him morality, I would send him to a Christian school. I think I'm doing a great job of that on my own.

I'm all for sex-ed in schools. Teens need to be taught how to be safe. But that's not what happened here. And that is why I have a problem with it.

Perhaps he didn't share the whole conversation, but I disagree that he's "pushing" anything in this case. The sexual objectification of women/girls, as well as totally unrealistic notions of normal sexual response vs. Media fantasies, all have a profound effect on sexual health. Then there's the effect Media has on a person's self-image. The questions as reported in the OP were designed to get at that.

A sense of accountability for the effect one's own behavior has on others is most definitely a sexual health issue, as well as an ethical one. And since I see ethics and morality as related but different things, we probably have to agree to disagree.

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

If the OP instigated the whole conversation by asking the question stated in his first sentence, then I think he went in with the intent to push his values- and that's just wrong. Teach the facts of safer sex, STIs, and the approved curriculum without pushing individual beliefs.

Specializes in Hospice.
But he didn't talk about any of that. Facts vs. Beliefs.

The info he gave us was the boys' own responses to his questions. Was he lying about that? Were the boys?

How is it "pushing a particuar belief" to show 14 year old boys that their opinions changed as soon as it was about their own daughters - and only their daughters - watching Media. Perhaps he followed up with a lecture that he didn't share in the OP, but I read that he dropped it at that point, stating that the idea was to get them thinking, not thinking what he wanted them to.

Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
The info he gave us was the boys' own responses to his questions. Was he lying about that? Were the boys?

How is it "pushing a particuar belief" to show 14 year old boys that their opinions changed as soon as it was about their own daughters - and only their daughters - watching Media. Perhaps he followed up with a lecture that he didn't share in the OP, but I read that he dropped it at that point, stating that the idea was to get them thinking, not thinking what he wanted them to.

What facts did he give? In the little story he gave, I didn't see any.

Specializes in Hospice.
If the OP instigated the whole conversation by asking the question stated in his first sentence, then I think he went in with the intent to push his values- and that's just wrong. Teach the facts of safer sex, STIs, and the approved curriculum without pushing individual beliefs.

I disagree, for a number of reasons. For one thing, in way too many jurisdictions at least in this country, the "approved curriculum" itself pushes a particular value system as well as incomplete and inaccurate information. I saw way too many survivors of such "approved curricula" in my abortion clinic.

Secondly, I don't think that it is conducive to either sexual health or morality in adolescents to pretend that sexual experimentation of all kinds - not just Media - isn't going on. Doing so just re-inforces the prevalent attitude that adults, including parents, just don't know what's really going on. All it does is to force the behavior further underground and make it even more dangerous.

If kids are raised to be able to trust and talk to their parents honestly about their questions, then what gets discussed in school is really a moot point. If anything, it's likely to facilitate good moral teaching at home rather than undermine it. It's a pretty flimsy morality that can't deal with a little critical thinking.

If kids are not raised in such a way that they can trust or talk to their parents, then the problem at home is much bigger than can be solved by censoring a sex ed class. Doing so just leaves those kids twisting in the wind, trying to figure it out with only their peer group and popular media as resources.

Specializes in Hospice.
What facts did he give? In the little story he gave, I didn't see any.

The info he gave us was the boys' own responses to his questions. Was he lying about that? Were the boys?

In other words, the students' own responses were the facts he was asking them to think about.

Specializes in PDN; Burn; Phone triage.
Perhaps he didn't share the whole conversation, but I disagree that he's "pushing" anything in this case. The sexual objectification of women/girls, as well as totally unrealistic notions of normal sexual response vs. Media fantasies, all have a profound effect on sexual health. Then there's the effect Media has on a person's self-image. The questions as reported in the OP were designed to get at that.

A sense of accountability for the effect one's own behavior has on others is most definitely a sexual health issue, as well as an ethical one. And since I see ethics and morality as related but different things, we probably have to agree to disagree.

You can't just present one side of an issue though. That's when you start getting accused of pushing your morals on to other people. Media can be a perfectly safe outlet to explore your sexuality. (I was struggling with feeling sexually unfulfilled in my relationship until I started watching Media with a kinky bent and realized THAT was where my interests were.) There is a small but growing demand for hardcore Media that is geared towards women. Amateur Media is a HUGE market and is usually more realistic. Couples use Media to add variety to their bedroom. You could discuss "mommy Media" -- even ignoring 50 Shades because kink will always be controversial, why are some women attracted to raunchy romance novels that also objectify women and provide totally unrealistic notions of relationships and sex?

It's such a wide, expansive topic. The question that the OP asked of his 14 year-old charges was inappropriately worded and, of course, going to get silence out of a 14 year-old boy who might be embarrassed that an older male has acknowledged that he (the child) looks at Media and probably doesn't have the emotional maturity to emphasize with having a cross-gendered child. Of course they can emphasize with 14 year-old boys looking at Media. They are 14 year-old boys.

It must be my very poor upbringing that has me shrugging at Media.

Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
In other words, the students' own responses were the facts he was asking them to think about.

I guess I believe as the healthcare professional & since he was teaching sex ed he should've been steering the conversation & brought facts. Which he didn't & why I would've been upset.

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