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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CWU chapter.

*opinion piece

Broken heart
Photo by Kelly Sikkema from Unsplash

In a religiously strict household, sex is rarely talked about. And when it is talked about, abstinence is the only option until marriage. But during puberty, teenagers are going through a lot of hormonal changes that can alter the way they view sex for the rest of their lives. In my opinion, teenage boys seem to experience more sexual urges than teenage girls do. This is simply from my observations throughout life and with discussions from different men. When sex isn’t discussed in a healthy way, teenagers usually find other ways to learn, mainly porn.

If you look on your average porn site, you’ll see titles with the words like “brutal” and “rough”. You can only imagine what the videos are like. Women being choked, tied up, etc. is usually all you see when you open Pornhub. If that’s where teenage boys are getting their basis for “normal sex”, then they are going to have a very skewed version of what sex really is. When you are taught by the internet that sex is a violent act, a huge lack of empathy for future partners can be an issue that turns abusive. 

Using sex as a violent act is taught, whether by an abusive parent or by porn. Teenage boys who turn to porn for their only form of sex advice can potentially lead to abusive sexual relationships later on in life. With better education on consensual, healthy sex, I think we can nearly erase some of these issues.

I’m all for healthy sex talk, as it’s something that is completely natural and, quite bluntly, human nature. 

 

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Self-love advocate and intersectional feminist with a passion for music, photography, and writing (she/her)