The issue of youth sexuality — who’s having it, when, what kind, how much? — is of endless fascination to adults, and despite strong evidence that teens are now becoming sexually active later and more responsibly than in the past, there’s always attention to be gotten by claiming the opposite.
Whether it’s spreading wild rumors about rainbow parties or trumpeting the latest research “proving” that young people are having wild, irresponsible hookups, youth sex sells.
Media coverage of one recent article demonstrates just how ridiculous such coverage gets. Twelve-Year-Olds Are Having Sex, blared one blog headline. The news site UPI led with US Middle School Youth Engaging In Sex, while the website Science Daily went with Middle School Youth As Young As 12 Engaging In Risky Sexual Activity.
The UPI lead set the tone:
By age 12, 12 percent of U.S. students had already engaged in vaginal sex, 7.9 percent in oral sex and 6.5 percent in anal sex, U.S. researchers have learned.
Wow. One in eight twelve-year-olds having vaginal sex? One in fifteen having anal sex? What the hell is going on?
Well, let’s take a look.
You don’t have to read farther than the article’s title — “Patterns of Vaginal,
