FREETHUNK BOOK!
The Complete Edition
By Jeff Swenson
160 pages, Jam-Packed
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"JUGS, BEAVERS and EXPLODING BALLS"
by Jeff Swenson
First Cynic Comic Strip
collection now in print.
2004-2005
Buy it now for
below retail.
| ABSTINENCE ONLY SEWING CLUB ? |
| Freethunk Cartoon for Feb 20, 2007 |
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| I am not against anyone choosing abstinence, I just think it may be unhealthy in the long term. However, there are certain times in your life where abstinence is nothing to worry about. Maybe a year where you're head-deep into research on a cure for cancer or writing the next great novel. But for teenagers, couldn't we give them some alternatives to abstinence? We kid about the hormones but really that's the issue. Why should someone hopped on hormones who is designed to have sex have to keep it in? Why can't we teach sexual responsibilty at a young age? Teenagers get knocked up because they're too timid to buy condoms, start using birth control (which has other benefits to boot) or they're caught unprepared in the heat of the moment. Yes, there will still be mistakes made but I think as a whole it would prevent a lot of future psychological issues and marital issues. Healthy, sexually-active teens who know what they're doing as they move on into adult life will be easier on society. Young people need to make their mistakes earlier, not later. I'm not referring to pregnancy here but mistakes made within the sexual arena itself. I do not dismiss the fact that teens can be dumbshits, but again that stresses my point about learning sexual responsibility. We put teenagers on the road with cars than can run over people or cause accidents for Christ's sake. And we sacrifice our property taxes for public schools (something I take issue with since I don't have kids or plan to have them) because we say it's the future generation and we want them to be well educated for society's sake. Doesn't that extend to how males and females interact with each other? As well as the big taboos we put up on gay activity. If teens are required to figure out their future career goals by sorting out career confusion now, shouldn't they be required to address their sexual confusion now too? There are some things you can't teach obviously but having an open dialogue and a guilt-free atmosphere sure would help. To make matters worse, teenagers are also told to avoid activities that don't involve the risk of pregnancy. I'm all for teenagers giving each other handjobs and oral sex instead of engaging in penentration. Christians find this unacceptable in any case because the sin is not really the sexual act, it is the desire associated with it. You're not even supposed to think sexual thoughts about the opposite sex. We don't seem to allow for any release and I don't see how the repression of sexual urges can be good for anyone. It's like constantly pumping air into a balloon and not expecting it to eventually pop. I remember my Christian youth and I was constantly on the guilt train for my own lustful thoughts and you can forget dating unless you met that perfect Christian woman who you're supposed to mate with for life. Add to that fact that I was a geek with glasses and my chances of finding relief in love was nonexistent. In Christianity the wedding ring is the equivalent to the secular condom, you can only have sex with it on. Except then there's no backing out once the ring is on. If two virgins find they're sexually incompatible then for lack of better terminology--they're screwed. One of my biggest regrets is that there were plenty of interesting women around me all the way up into art school but I never asked any of them out because they didn't fit the good Christian girl profile--and it made me miserable. As soon as I became an atheist (near the end of art school) I said to hell with it and pursued the most gorgeous woman I knew of in one of my classes; it didn't matter to me if I was rejected or not. What mattered was that I tried. And she responded favorably. After that I shed most of my sexual inhibitions and was happier than I ever had been before. Maybe it was too late for me to go back to what was supposed to me my heavy dating years in highschool and college but I wasn't going to ruin the rest of my life. The other big problem I have with the abstinence only crowd is that not only must you avoid penetration (which may not be an unreasonable request of numerous bone-headed teenage males) and blowjobs and handjobs and finger banging but also masturbation. What about porn as a release? How about safe sex porn? Porn that shows healthy sexual relationships and allows teens to masturbate to it. That to me would be a good learning tool. As well as teaching sexual techniques and emotional issues. Try getting that introduced into the public schools, I would love to see the outrage. |