A Change in Sexual Morality Essay

The development of sexual ethic in contemporary American society has changed a lot from times such as the 1900’s. Whether it has to do with religion or simply by choice, nowadays there’s not enough self-respect to go around. American life is no longer based around morals or standards. There is more premarital sex and affairs outside marriages. Sexuality on the whole has become more open and introduced to girls and boys at a much younger age resulting in conflicting issues. Back in the day you’d only be intimate with your spouse. Now there is more premarital sex and sex outside marriage. Even religious people don’t bother thinking of premarital sex as sinning because it is so oftenly commited. Saving sex for marriage is a great obstacle, especially for males (â€Å"11 Known Facts About Premarital Sex†). Girls are being forced into sex at a young age, not by boys, but by the world around them. The media portrays such actions as â€Å"cool† or â€Å"with it. † A lot of young teen girls can’t have a decent celebrity role model without them having some history of a sex scandal. Music is also a big influence on teenagers. In current day songs, girls are known as just toys you play with once, but the guys are known as the â€Å"cool cat† for having a different toy each day of the week. The degrading sexual references make a difference on how both genders see each other (â€Å"Sexuality, Contraception, and Media†). The fact of the matter is, boys aren’t against premarital sex, so if a young girl deceides to give it up no one is going to say no. This kind of mentality is ruining young people to the point where there is no self-respect. Sex before marriage doesn’t seem like a big deal, but reminisce back a couple decades. Weren’t things a lot more conservative back then compared to now? Besides sex before marriage, infidelity is another issue that occurs in half of the marriages aross the country from both men and women (â€Å"When Does Infidelity Occur? â€Å"). No one feels as ashamed of commiting such a hurtful deed as they did decades ago. There seems to be no respect barrier between men and women. That leads to the theory of men not caring about anything emotionally and women too busy trying to show off what society thought of as a disgrace. There are many reasons for such problems. Look past cheating as just another thing to deal with in relationships and look at in a questioning perspective. Both genders have evolved into more open personels when it comes to infidelity. How come cheating is more common today than it was 50 years ago? The asnwer is society. It makes us lose our conscience in all the commotion. We end up not realizing right from wrong. Sex shouldn’t be an excuse for infidelity, and if it is, that says it all. Women tend to show off a little more because they feel free too and feel confident doing so, right? Unless they’re a prostitute, women don’t seem to realize the kind of message they’re sending off. In modern days women are in competition with the next female who is beside her, whether it be in the office, at school, or just another shopper at a grogercy store. The media portrays women to be lean and fit with super slim waists and average bust sizes, so they try to show as much of that as they can. What the female viewers don’t understand is that they are being targeted and singled out. Having women think they need to look a certain way will definately bring out their promiscuity. That can be a bad thing, especially if you have a daughter that is around the age of 12. Sex is introduced at the youngest age of 10 (â€Å"Talking to Your Young Child About Sex†). That doesn’t mean kids younger than that aren’t already asking questions (â€Å"Talking to Your Young Child About Sex†). The world around us isn’t very good at keeping such things out of earshot of youngsters. By their early teens, kids will show an interest in sex or sexuality. Television shows talk and joke about sex, but it does make a difference in a teen’s sexual desicsion (â€Å"Teen Sexuality: Abstinence†). Shows and commercials are filled with sexual messages and images that have effects on teens of all ages (â€Å"Sexuality, Contraception, and Media†). Around 14 to 17 years old, they’ll assume they’re all ready for sex. Teen sex is nothing shocking nor is it anything important that would make someone actually stop and think. It’s apart of teen life, and teen virgins are considered a â€Å"rare species. â€Å" Now that contreceptives are being offered to teenage girls, it is allowing them to think about having sex now knowing they’re safe. Birth control is like a gateway to sex. It says that, â€Å"Since your protected, what’s the harm of having sex? â€Å". What people tend to forget is, young girls and boys are still developing their brain and body. They’re most likely to make mistakes especially throughout adolescence, so having sex might just be another one. It is the most naive and gullible stage a person can go through. Giving girls birth control may be a smart move but nowadays it’s not about the moral view. It’s about preventing something from happening (pregnancy) instead of trying to eliminate that thought completely. Kids are starting to act, look, and dress older because society is pushing it upon them and they don’t even realize it. Sexuality in any aspect has evolved over the years. Leaving some moral traditions behind and bringing in new ones, the world today is a completely different place. There’s no shame in any game. Sex overall has got to be the most undermined issue. It doesn’t mean anything anymore just physical attraction.