Collegiate Times

Part of it has to do with our culture. American attitudes toward sex stem from Victorian era prudishness and Puritan values. These values saw sex as only as a means of procreation. The moral argument was that sexual promiscuity is sinful. The pragmatic side of this was that promiscuity led to unplanned pregnancies, which in turn led to strains on families and social structures. So there are valid reasons why certain sexual taboos develop.

But times have changed. Technology has given us the ability to control our bodies. We're a civilization of condoms, birth control pills and Viagra. We have things our ancestors couldn't dream of.

And even in ancient times when our understanding was primitive at best, people went to great lengths to control their sexuality for purposes of procreation and fun.

There's always been sex for love, sex for pleasure, sex for money and sex in general. It's never going to stop because it's part of who we are. All throughout the animal kingdom there is sex and not all of it is just for reproduction. Monkeys and dolphins have been known to have sex for pleasure.

They've also been known to engage in homosexual sex. And believe it or not, the most common form of sexual relationships over the course of civilization is polygamy. So when people say they're for traditional marriage, they're clearly not aware of the history of humanity.

So why are we still so wary of sex? America does have a sexual culture. Pornography is big business and so is sexual health. But there are still lingering taboos that hold us back from being blunt about something we have no reason to be ashamed of. Now, granted, there is a dark side to sex.

Things such as rape and pedophilia are serious problems. But that doesn't mean we should all cringe at the sight of naked body parts. We're all naked underneath our clothes and we need to be a lot more mature as a culture and a society.

We're all going to be affected by sex sooner or later. And the better we understand it, the better our chances are of using it appropriately. Like anything else, we need to embrace the good and deal with the bad. It all starts with being more open about our sexuality.

There are so many more pressing issues in this world and we need to stop wasting time on outdated taboos.

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