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According to an article published in the London Times today, we Brits are now the most promiscuous nation in the world (of the western industrial nations, that is). In terms of one-night stands, total number of partners, and our "relaxed" attitude to casual sex, we beat Australia, the United States, Italy, and France. France! Where having extra-marital affairs is a favorite national pastime! If nothing else, at least now we might lose our reputation for being frigid and repressed.
In all seriousness though, Britain has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Europe as well as the highest teen STD infection rate in Europe (although both are significantly lower than here in the United States, where abstinence-only sex education doesn't seem to be helping much). Premature sex education in British schools (it can be taught to children as young as 4) has long been blamed for the epidemic, along with the inappropriate sexualization of children by toy manufacturers and the media. But here's a thought. In Britain, we also drink more than any other country in Europe (apart from Ireland and Finland, bizarrely), and our alcohol-related death rate has doubled since 1991. We've also, according to this reasonably insulting story in the New York Times, been causing havoc on summer vacations with our abhorrent, booze-soaked behavior. Could there be a correlation somewhere between the beer goggles and the newfound sluttiness?
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Ann, I have long been creeped out by the endless sex advice doled out by Christian ministries. This practice began in the '70s by none other than Tim LaHaye, of Left Behind fame, who wrote a very explicit guide to what he then called "the marital act." What began as a slightly squeamish enterprise has now turned into a publishing and preaching empire, with hundreds of guides and manuals extolling the joys of "Christian sex." (Dagmar Herzog chronicles the history of this genre in this book I reviewed for the Times.) Many of the books seem like thin excuses for Christian authors to titillate their readers with so called "morality tales," a la Daniel Defoe. All of them leave teens with a confusing message: Sex is dangerous; it could leave you emotionally scarred, sick, even kill you. Until you get married, and then it's godly and awesome.
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