Nearly 50 years ago, Americans transformed their views of sexuality. Women took charge of reproduction with the invention of the birth control pill and demanded the same pleasure men enjoyed from sex. The psychedelic '60s brought a wave of drug and alcohol use, lifting inhibitions and allowing a freer environment for casual sex.
Today, blatant sexuality has become commonplace. The number of birth control methods has multiplied. Lingerie is the newest fashion statement. Tupperware parties have evolved to sex toy parties.
But one ASU group is asking, is this progress? The non-religious group, The New Sexual Revolution, is pushing a now radical idea: abstinence. This group puts a twist on the traditional meaning of sexual revolution, leaving ASU students and sexual health experts debating if today's view of sexuality is broken and if sexual chastity is the way to fix it.
The New Sexual Revolution
With a modest 10 active members, the New Sexual Revolution has had difficulty in spreading the word. They started out as a Facebook.com group last year with 32 members and grew into an ASU-sponsored group with a message and agenda.
NSR dedicates itself to promoting discourse on the purpose and meaning of sexuality, and the benefits of abstinence of premarital sex. Launching off history's initial sexual revolution, NSR asks today's generation: "Are we happier? Are we healthier? Where do we go from here?"
Philosophy junior Andrea Summers says watching some of her friends fall into patterns of casual sex inspired her to form NSR, because they all exhibited either unhappiness or self-esteem issues because of the pressure from partners to engage in sexual acts.
"It kind of sparked me looking into the studies on sexuality and what are they really showing," she says. "The more I have researched, the more I realize that my views are substantiated and that there are so many of my peers that need to be hearing this."
Summers points to research that shows a physiological attachment created during intercourse, as well as rates of STDs and unplanned pregnancies.
Within the last three months, ASU's Health and Wellness Center screened and confirmed 30 pregnancies according to chief of medical staff Stefanie Schroeder. Unplanned pregnancy is one reason that Summers will not have pre-marital sex.
"We're obviously not ready for the possible consequences," Summers says of her four-year relationship. "And no form of birth control or contraception is 100 percent effective."
In Summers's case, the reasons for abstaining are rooted deeper than just not wanting a child while feeling unprepared.
"I know that the guy I want to marry is a guy who has integrity, respects me as a woman and respects my dignity," she says. "And I'm not going to find that guy by sleeping around with a bunch of random guys."
Born-again virgin
One NSR member, biology and philosophy junior Ty Rosensteel, says in his first relationship during high school, he did everything he could to make his girlfriend happy. He brought flowers and chocolate to school, but eventually, she didn't appear as happy, so he gave her the best thing he could think of: sex, for the first time.
"I used to worry about what kind of flower to get her," he says. "But then I had to worry about what kind of condom to buy and then stress over the fact that she might get pregnant."
On prom night, when he and his girlfriend went to a hotel room, Rosensteel says he remembers feeling a churning feeling in his stomach. After they had sex, he says he realized that it was nothing more than an empty promise.
"It turned into a game, because the sexual intimacy made everything seem like things would be all right, and it definitely skewed our ability to end the relationship," he says.
This occurrence may actually be caused by the hormone oxytocin, which has been scientifically proven to be released during sex in both men and women. Oxytocin is the body's natural way of bonding sexual partners, especially in women. More recently, scientists found that the hormone also increases people's willingness to trust, which could also create sometimes false feelings of commitment in relationships.
Rosensteel has been abstinent since the end of the relationship four years ago, though he says there have been struggles sometimes, including with the next serious girlfriend he had during college. Rosensteel says the prevalence of STDs has reinforced his decision to abstain.
"I never had to deal with the physical pains [of STDs] in an intimate relationship, and I have been super fortunate in that respect," he says. "For me, the big part has been emotional stuff and [heartbreak]."
Putting STDs into Perspective
ASU student Katie* has human papillomavirus and genital herpes. She has had two sexual partners, each in the context of a relationship, but she still contracted both infections. She says she felt completely different and isolated among her friends when she found out. It's just not accepted or discussed in the social sphere, she says, which is why she requested to anonymity.
However, Katie certainly isn't alone. One in three women age 14 to 24 have human papillomavirus, and one in six people have genital herpes, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Last year, of the 189 STD cases reported by ASU's Health and Wellness Center, 96 percent were HPV or genital herpes.
Earlier this month, the CDC also reported jumps in the number of gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia, which surpassed 1 million cases for the first time last year.
Katie says the physical pains of STDs don't rival the emotional and psychological turmoil they cause.
"The symptoms weren't that bad," Katie says. "It was the feelings surrounding it that made it so hard: feeling unattractive and feeling disgusting. There's a stigma surrounding STDs and everyone talks about it like a plague."
Katie says society should deal with STDs differently, because currently, they are always at the end of a joke. This makes it even harder for people to cope with STDs, especially for those like her who used protection and were not casual about sex — those who never thought they could get one, let alone two or three. Katie emphasizes that being abstinent won't guarantee safety from STDs, because she got herpes from oral sex, and HPV can be spread simply through skin-to-skin contact.
"It's hard to look at [my situation] objectively and realize that I don't have anything to be ashamed about," she says. "I still feel dirty from it, and sometimes I still feel like I did something wrong."
The best piece of advice she could give to others suffering from STDs is to put it into perspective. A lot of people do have them, she says. They just don't talk about it.
"It's only the psychological aspect that will drive you insane," Katie says. "You just need to remember that there are a lot of great, beautiful people all around you that likely have [an STD]."
The best solution: abstinence?
The debate over abstinence has spilled over into the public policy arena, as well, where questions over the focus on abstinence in education have been raised.
Psychiatrist Miriam Grossman has treated thousands of students at the University of California, Los Angeles. Grossman published a new book titled "Unprotected," which "tells the stories of college students who are casualties of the radical activism in [her] profession."
"Inaccurate and ideology-driven 'health education' misinforms our sons and daughters, increasing their vulnerability," Grossman writes in "Unprotected." "Despite substantial failure rates, condoms are endlessly enshrined. … The emotional consequences of STDs and abortion are downplayed."
Her conclusion: abstinence.
"We need a single agenda, and it has nothing to do with personal freedom or withholding judgment," she writes. "It would start with expressing our belief in the tremendous potential of youth, and a vote of confidence in their ability to make wise decisions."
ASU professor Madelaine Adelman, a gender and sexuality expert, says abstinence is not the only solution to combat STD and pregnancy rates. It comes back to sexual health education, and this country is failing in those regards, she says.
"People need comprehensive, inclusive, medically accurate sexual health education, and they need it early, and they need it often," she says. "And we are failing miserably."
She says "No Child Left Behind" has severely hurt access to sexual health education because of funding issues in regards to this type of education. There will never be any improvement, either, until people are more comfortable talking about sex.
In regards to Grossman's plea for abstinence, Adelman says studies have shown abstinence-only programs can be even worse than no education at all.
The State Press reported in April on a study showing that abstinence-only education had no impact in delaying when teens become sexual active. The study said $87.5 million in federal and state monies goes to 700 abstinence programs across the country.
"People with this kind of education might delay their entry into sex, and then they're not using condoms or other kinds of birth control to have safer sex," she says. "The intention was probably very good, but the outcomes have been actually very dangerous for young people."
'It comes down to choice'
Communications senior Garrett Ross says it's great for people to stay true to themselves by doing what they believe in, no matter what their choice is. However, abstinence isn't the path he chose.
"Abstinence is one road I chose not to take," Ross says. He views casual sex as fun and a learning experience.
"I'm finding out what to look for when I decide to settle down," Ross says. Sex isn't the most important aspect of a relationship, but it's definitely a big part, he adds. "Sex makes relationships stronger and more intimate."
Adelman says being sexually open can be a benefit for people because they learn what they enjoy and look for in a sexual lifestyle.
"College, for some, can be an opportunity for students who otherwise thought sex was something perhaps negative or something they had to follow a certain set of rules," she says. "They're open to the possibility that there are other ways of organizing their sexual lives."
If you want to be sexually open, the best thing you can do is protect yourself, Ross says, but know you are at risk for STDs and unwanted pregnancies, he says.
"It comes down to choice," Ross says. "If people want to stay abstinent, then more power to them. But I don't want to live my life in fear of all the things that can go wrong. I know the risks, and I'll deal with the consequences if they come my way."
'Trying to engage discussion'
One of the biggest obstacles to dealing with sexual problems such as STDs is the lack of discussion on these topics, Katie says.
"It's nearly impossible to tell anyone because you feel like you will automatically be judged or thought of as a slut," she says. "It should be something less scary for people to go through, and we should have ways dealing with it in society other than a joke."
Katie says she doesn't know exactly how it should be handled, but she believes sex and sexuality should be more openly discussed.
"The fact that NSR is trying to engage discussion is fantastic," she says. It would help people gain more knowledge on the realities of certain sexual issues, and then decide if abstinence is the answer for them, she adds.
Ultimately, questions about having or not having sex need to be communicated, Adelman says, because there is no single right or wrong answer that applies to everyone on the best way to avoid pregnancy, STDs or a broken heart.
