Virginity pledges are no match for hormones. That's the finding of a Harvard study conducted by researcher Janet Rosenbaum. She analyzed data in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the only government-sponsored study that asks about virginity pledges.

The study, produced by the National Institute of Child Health and Development, interviewed 14,000 subjects between the ages of 12 and 18 in 1995 and again in 1996 and 2001. Fifty-two percent of those who took "virginity pledges" had sex within a year. Of those 52%, 73% forgot all about their pledge of virginity, denying having taken such a pledge when they were re-interviewed. Rosenbaum supposes, "This may indicate that they are not that closely affiliated with the pledge."

The adolescents who took virginity pledges were also more unreliable when reporting their sexual history. Nearly a third of those who'd already had sex before the first interview reported that they'd never had sex in a subsequent interview... after having taken a virginity pledge. Who knew it was so easy to get your virginity back! (And why, exactly, would you want it back?)

Rosenbaum admits that the unreliability of self-reporting "puts a lot of error in these studies." But Janice Crouse, an actual woman at the Concerned "Women" for America (who up until now seemed to mostly be right-wing religious extremist Republican men) has her own conclusion. She said, "The Harvard report is wrong." Thanks for clearing that up, Janice. I wish my reality could be so conveniently altered too; I'd wake up and say "The anti-gay hate industry does not exist" and poof, they'd disappear! Crouse believes that those taking virginity pledges "have shown greater resolve to save sex for marriage." I believe that Janice Crouse does not exist. Poof!

Those taking virginity pledges have at least shown greater resolve to buy merchandise from those pushing the "virginity pledges," including t-shirts, keychains, mugs, stickers, books, buttons, hats, and a $60 program for leading a small group, which naturally includes an order form and ring sizer for ordering "virginity pledge" silver rings.

"Virginity pledges," largely ineffective, also presume that sex is some kind of horror to be avoided at all cost; the "Silver Ring Thing" merchandise section even includes an ominous-looking sticker with the words "WARNING: SEX CHANGES EVERYTHING." Sadly, their reaction to sex is one of knee-jerk hysteria; the only possible solution to the problems associated with sexual intercourse is to stop sex entirely, whatever the cost.

I have to wonder if the people coming up with these programs stopped driving their cars the first time they heard about a traffic accident. I wonder if they oppose safety-belt instruction (or laws for that matter), reasoning that if you teach kids about safety-belts, they might start driving cars, and if they drive cars, they might get killed or injured. It's probably true that one could avoid being hurt in a traffic accident by staying away from any and all roads and never getting into a vehicle. Yet most people take a more balanced approach, recognizing that there's a certain amount of risk involved in any activity, and that these risks can be mitigated; in the case of driving a car, this means selecting a vehicle with a good safety record, utilizing the safety features of the automobile, and driving defensively and carefully.

So why the knee-jerk, anti-sex hysteria? Why not instead give kids actual facts about sex, love, and relationships? Why not introduce them to the safety features of sex: selecting partner with a good record, utilizing safety features like condoms, and keeping your cool and using your head when making decisions about when, where and how to have sex? Why this bizarre, psychotic, anti-sex obsession when such a strange reaction isn't manifested anywhere else in life? Sex is not, by default, depraved and dirty. Unless it's really good.

The answer probably has a lot to do with lingering psycho-sexual issues on the part of the people pushing these pledges and even more to do with the longstanding use of guilt by religious institutions to control their membership. Those who won't feel guilt or shame when they're told are going to be harder to control.

In response to the "virginity pledge" I propose that morons.org readers take my Sex Pledge. Repeat after me:

I, ______________, do solemnly promise to educate myself about sexual safety and hygiene. I promise to choose a willing, compatible partner, to discuss sex openly with that partner at an appropriate time in our relationship, and to have wild, hot sex with that partner, when the time and place are right for us. I promise to get sweaty, sticky and lubricated, possibly mildly scratched or bruised. Lastly, I promise never to let Janice Crouse or any of her right-wing religious extremist friends or business partners tell me when I should have sex or with whom I should have it... because not only do they not run my life, they have no idea what they're talking about.

In a year, we'll come back and find out how many of you have broken your promise.

---Nick

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