The XX Factor: Slate women blog about politics, etc...

Maybe kids shouldn't wait

In answer to your question, Emily, no, I don’t think it would be good if 12 became the new 16, and suddenly preteen sex seemed perfectly normal or even yawn-worthy. That said, I think we as a culture do too much gnashing of teeth over the preservation of virginity. Few of my precocious friends regret their early encounters, and none of them seem emotionally stunted or scarred.

In contrast, I think it can be harmful to wait too long. I had a couple friends in college (OK, they were girls) who had a fairy tale view of sex and kept delaying the act. They waited and waited until suddenly all their potential partners had lots of experience while they had none. That’s not a great state of affairs.