She picks out her clothes thoughtfully, analyzing her outfits and the possible outcomes of tonight. As she dresses for her date, she thinks about what will happen. Will we kiss? Will we have sex? Am I ready to have sex with him? She puts on her makeup slowly, thinking about the night ahead of her. She questions the level of both her maturity and her relationship.
Are teenagers mature enough to handle the consequences of sex?
Senior Rachel Peck said that some couples are ready to have sex.
“It depends on both people and the relationship they’re in,” Peck said. “It needs to be something that’s talked about.”
Peck said that understanding the physical and emotional consequences involved is necessary before having sex.
“The majority of teenagers are not ready to have sex,” Peck said. “If you’re not in a committed relationship, you shouldn’t be having sex. Whenever a person is at a place in their relationship to accept all of the consequences of any of their actions, sex being one of them, they may be ready for sex.”
Peck said that sex is a choice based on maturity and understanding, not necessarily on age.
“You can’t generalize whether or not teenagers can have sex in the same way you can’t generalize whether or not adults are ready to have sex,”
Peck said. “You can make responsible and irresponsible decisions about sex at any age.”
Psychology teacher Brian Verde said that he feels teenagers are too self interested to handle sex.
“In order to be a person who is mature enough to handle the consequences of having sex, [you] need to be ready and willing to give up self interest,” Verde said. “In order
to have a baby, there needs to be no more selfishness.”
Verde said that most teenagers are not ready to have sex. He said that the part of the brain that helps people see consequences of future actions does not develop until they are 18 to 22 years old.
“[When] it comes to the decision to have sex, teenagers cannot make fully informed decisions because they’re physically and neurologically incapable of realizing the consequences of their actions,” Verde said.
Verde added that people who have sex for pure pleasure are making relationships worse.
“Part of what makes sex pleasurable is the complete trust and oneness you feel with someone else,” Verde said. “Teenagers have not yet reached the level of maturity to completely give themselves up to someone else.”
Junior Tyler Johnson said that discussing the “what ifs” and other consequences of sex before having it are important.
“[Teenagers] are ready if they’ve talked about it and discussed the consequences,” Johnson said.
Johnson said that he believes teenagers in relationships are generally ready to have sex.
“If there are emotions entwined in the equation, its fine,” Johnson said.
He added that he also disagrees with the idea of one night stands, or sex for purely pleasure.
Junior Gina Voterro agrees, saying that she feels sex needs to be more than merely a physical experience.
“It needs to be meaningful,” Vottero said. “Some people use sex as pleasure instead of something special.”
She said that often the expectation of sex can be too high.
“I’ve seen relationships destroyed because sex is pressured too early in the relationship,” Vottero said. “On the other hand, if you’re at the right point, I feel like sex could really strengthen a relationship. You have to get to the point where there’s complete trust.”
Verde said teenagers have always had sex and will continue to, whether or not they are mature enough to handle it.
“If our society and educational system was more open to [teenage sex], we could prevent some of the negative consequences,” Verde said.
