A new article has been added to the online archives: Intercourse Correction, The Devaluation of Chastity Before Marriage & How It Might Be Recovered by Marcia Segelstein. I've posted a sidebar from the article below. It's a good example of why people are sceptical, not of actual science, but of those who use the word to try to silence opposing views. Example: As implied below, if you disagree with Planned Parenthood's "definition" that sex is basically whatever you feel like it is (in your heart of hearts and pant of pants) and that it really has no function besides orgasm, then you aren't scientific.
Definition Abuse
As any good parent or teacher will tell you, knowledge about sex is vital to your child's development and well-being. But where will your child get that information? If it doesn't come from you, it will most likely come from one of the "leading authorities" of the day—like Planned Parenthood. And what do these authorities teach? Here is how Planned Parenthood defines sex on the Info for Teens page of its website:
What Is Sex?
People define "sex" in different ways. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as "sexually motivated behavior." This sounds right to us. But not everyone agrees with the dictionary or with us. People all have their own definitions of what "sex" and "having sex" means.
For many people, "having sex" means engaging in a range of intimate, physical behaviors by yourself or with another person or persons that can often (but not always) involve the genitals. For some people it's only penis-in-vagina intercourse. For some people it's only penis-in-anus intercourse. For some people it's genital rubbing without intercourse. For some people it includes oral/genital contact. For some it includes masturbation. The possibilities are many. For most experts (like Merriam-Webster and us) it includes all the above.
However you define it, being sexual with another person—whether that means kissing, touching, or intercourse—involves a lot of responsibility. It's very important to protect yourself against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. And you need to make decisions about protection before you engage in vaginal, anal, or oral sex.
Notice how one Merriam-Webster definition is used—appropriated as a corroborating "expert," in fact—to imply that sex has nothing to do with pregnancy, except as a possible side effect that needs to be protected against. (And of course, no moral, relational, or even emotional aspects of sex are even mentioned.) It's as if PP were to define "eating" as "hunger-motivated behavior" that has many possible modes, but regarding which it is just as important to protect against good nutrition as to protect against food-borne infections. Reassuring, isn't it? •
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