Clad in their designer clothing, Blair and Serena from Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl series sleep around with handfuls of men while still being able to ride their daddy’s limos to school the next day. Carrie Bradshaw, sex columnist, struts around Manhattan in her Manolo Blahnik’s without a care in the world, and Christian Grey and his meek, submissive partner Ana indulge in all sorts of sexual endeavors in E.L. James’ 50 Shades trilogy.
In these examples and many more, it is easy to see that sex is a prominent topic in society, and has been for many years. From tabloids to television shows to book series, the subject is constantly being thrown in the faces of women and men of all ages, usually without any indication of the repercussions or risks that are associated with the act.
To elaborate, 50 Shades of Grey mechanizes the act of sex and provides a completely unrealistic ideal of what it is like for readers. Teens can be easily influenced by the concept of sex, and this is especially true regarding the pressures they face in high school. Some may give in to having sex before he or she is unprepared to deal with the mental and physical consequences.
Despite the sexual pressures that today’s youth face, recent studies have shown that there are correlating factors between the age at which females lose their virginity and the status of the relationships they hold later in life, indicating that some women have been choosing to wait longer and not give into societal pressures.
An article written by Bianca London that was published on Dailymail.com states that “researchers found that people who didn’t have sex until they turned 20 or even later are more likely to end up in a happy relationship.” In a recent study conducted at the University of Texas, participants were classified into age groups of having sex “early (younger than 15), on-time (age 15 to 19), or late (older than 19).” The result of this study was that “later timing of first sexual experience was associated with higher educational attainment and higher household income in adulthood when compared with the early and on-time groups.”
Despite being constantly desensitized by media, the study indicates that some people are choosing to wait until the timing is right for them to choose a sexual partner. There are many factors for waiting, whether it may be that a person is waiting for the right person, he or she does not want to risk having an experience with negative outcomes or have other things planned besides sex such as obtaining a solid job and figuring out adult life.
The above mentioned study is only one that indicates these results, and naturally a single study does not apply to everyone’s situation. One of the primary key takeaways is that “later sexual initiation was linked with significantly lower levels of relationship dissatisfaction in adulthood.” Again, this statement does not apply to everyone as each person’s situation is unique.
If and when a person chooses to have sex is based on his or her decision, whether it be because of societal or peer pressures, or it is because he or she feel it is the right timing. Blair and Chuck ended up together in the end, but this certainly is not the case for every sexually active couple.