This video explores the forces influencing young people's decisions about sex: media, friends, family, religion, love, AIDS, alcohol, and homophobia. Teen Sexuality in a Culture of Confusion is a unique, accessible tool for facilitating an informed, balanced discussion about these and other influences on young people. In the age of AIDS, such talk can save lives. When young people tell their own stories, their peers listen. In this program, award-winning documentarian and photojournalist Dan Habib features the stories of eight young people, ages Two of the eight talk about living with AIDS. Interlaced with the first-person stories are experts' observations about the messages young people get from popular culture.
A Collision of Culture and Nature: How Our Fear of Teen Sexuality Leaves Teens More Vulnerable
Navigation menu
Adolescent sexuality is a stage of human development in which adolescents experience and explore sexual feelings. Interest in sexuality intensifies during the onset of puberty , and sexuality is often a vital aspect of teenagers' lives. Sexual interest among adolescents, as among adults, can vary greatly, and is influenced by cultural norms and mores , sex education , as well as comprehensive sexuality education provided, sexual orientation , and social controls such as age of consent laws. Sexual activity in general is associated with various risks. Contraceptives specifically reduce the chance of pregnancy. The risks are higher for young adolescents because their brains are not neurally mature.
Starting the Discussion
Episodes of group oral sex that rocked a well-heeled New England prep school—coupled with similar incidents in a diverse set of communities across the country—raise important questions about early intimacy among teens and the physical, social, and emotional toll it can take on young lives. Just as important, it points to the "reality gap" between increasingly normative sexual behavior among youth and commonly held perceptions of adults. Perhaps the public nature of these private tales may at last awaken the sleeping giant of parental awareness and action needed to keep teens safe. Sure, sexual behavior among adolescents is nothing new.
News is a nonprofit independent media publication. Your tax-deductible contribution helps support our research, reporting, and analysis. Elders is well-known for and has been widely honored for her work. The Chair is the first of its kind in the nation to focus on sexuality education. We congratulate Dr. Elders and the University of Minnesota. Efforts in the United States unlike those in other developed countries to address adolescent sex have been directed toward preventing teenage sex as opposed to understanding helping teens prevent adverse consequences of sexual activity. These efforts have been largely unsuccessful in stemming sexual activity because teenagers have a hormonal imperative to explore their sexuality.
