boo the system

In Rebecca Walker's article, as well as Sonia Shah's, we see yet again the shockingly harmful result of a static, corrupted system. Both women espouse the notion that sexuality is not something to be tamed or reined in, because this is merely oppression in disguise. "I thought she should be supported if she were having sex. It's her sexuality, and any attempt on our part to rein it in would be disingenuous and oppressive,  I reasoned. Sure, she's young, but with the proper guidance and support, she can gain wisdom from others"(p.116,Shah) I agree whole-heartedly. Ignorance yields very few positive results. Though experimentation (in a safe environment) we gain valuable knowledge. Information travels far to fast and much to easily in today's world for anyone to imagine that suppressing truths or keeping secrets is possible. Being fully candid with your children, peers, siblings etc is much more productive than masking the truth and suppressing exploration.

I also really liked the point that Walker made about how we frequently leave it up to television and the rest of news media to teach us about sex. I discussed this notion, and its negative impacts, in my Newsflash. Our culture has a disturbingly difficult time separating fiction from reality. We think what we see on television and in film is real life, and thus have a very skewed perception of truths. To grow up with no guidance aside from this alternate reality seems quite dangerous. 

Personally, I remember thinking I knew everything about sex when I was younger. In reality, all I knew was that there was a boy and a girl (I feel I should make commentary on this close-minded statement, I dont know when I learned about non-hetero sex, so just bare with me) and the end result could be a baby or it could not. I didn't know how it was accomplished, I didn't know it was supposed to be pleasurable, and I didn't know why or how babies had anything to do with the process. I don't remember having "the talk" with my parents. Most of my knowledge came from conversations with friends (most of that knowledge was incorrect, as I've discovered later in life, thanks guys). But looking back now, I wish I had a big sister like Sonia to say to me what she said to her little sister. I think it would've been helpful throughout adolescence. But even without that guiding light, I still believe that its better for one to learn through their own personal journey then to be confused, tossed about, and pressures by images pushed on us by society. We fear what we can't control, but I don't believe the solution is to still try and control it.