HYPERSEXUALIZED AND CAREFREE, BUT WHO WANTS TO GIVE A DAMN
This week starts with a BBC headline “Porn ring behind Kenya Project X ‘sex party’” while twitter rants for over 48hours in demonizing the planned “house party” supposed to involve frenzied sex, thrilling alcohol and sensational drug abuse; but who wants to give a damn?
Among the threads circulated in publicizing the vile event, this lines catches our attention “8 DAYS TO GO TO THE BIGGEST CELEBRATION OF BAD BEHAVIOR IN THE +254…CHIQS…DUDES…AND A WHOLE LOT OF BOOZE…no rules…no regulations…everything goes…carry your own high…whether it’s herbs…pills…everything is legal, advance tickets are almost sold out!! no one goes home a virgin!”
Sadly, a section of social media users rise in support of the event, denoting it as a non-usual event happening everywhere today, also a daily thing in our local campus environments. At that point I realize I could agree with one thing; it happens nearly every day, but no one talks. The tragic bit is that we have conceptualized it as norm, with acceptance growing every day.
I recall my campus days where extreme parties took centre stage, with little or no rules. Chancy sex, weed, shisha and whatever else that came through was a typical part of the merry-making. If you were never enthusiastic to take part, you would be considered a conservative purist with little regard to civilization and the novel trends.
For today’s highly sexualized world (the hyper sexualized media, permissive sexual education at school, misguided how-to websites—as well as “sexpert” peers), young people exist in transitional stage, where they are vulnerable to copy the image generated by the popular culture. It is an experimental age wherein you try to fit in the shoe. At this stage, your definition of happiness is limited to the pleasure that you pursue. Thus, you are deaf to hear and blind to see what’s going on in the real world. The more you’re suppressed the more you want to break free. As a result, we have more young people engaging in early sex with little consideration to the after-consequences.
It may be a cliché to talk of penalties such as unwanted pregnancies, transmission of venereal diseases (some of which are incurable such as Herpes). But what if we add to the list, high chances of developing cancer of the uterus or cervical cancer? Findings of a study published by the UK Telegraph shows that women are at greater risk from the maladies by becoming sexually active at a young age.
Additionally, early sexual engagement holds emotional, social and behavioral consequences that the young may not be prepared to deal with. One of them is a potential emotional damage from a promiscuous lifestyle of multiple partners. Besides, having sex brings with it this feeling of being an adult. One feels that they can do things older people do, and for some that may include delinquency.
A research done by Ohio State University reveals that youngsters who start having sex significantly earlier than their peers, exhibit higher rates of delinquency in later years. Delinquency hereby meaning illegal or immoral behavior especially by young people; a concept of general irresponsibility.
While we may not have proven statistics to show, the risk of sexual dysfunction and that of depression still lurk. What young-adults (and teenagers) need to know is that “for every intimate action, loads of responsibilities awaits you.” It may sound to strong but better safe than sorry.
