Abstinence, Biology and Bozo on 'View'

Bristol Palin's comments about abstinence sparked a lively discussion about sex education on the Feb. 17 broadcast of ABC's "The View" in which Whoopi Goldberg insisted she would be okay if Bozo the Clown gave teens the information they needed about sex.  

Palin, a new teenaged mom and daughter of Alaska governor Sarah Palin, stated during her Feb. 16 interview with Fox's Greta van Susteren that sexual abstinence "is not realistic at all."

Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd defended abstinence as a very good thing to teach teenagers. Hasselbeck stated she didn't "think there's anything wrong with teaching an ideal to your child. It is ideal to be really nice to somebody, it is ideal to not drive drunk, it is ideal to wear your seat belt, it is ideal to not have sex until you're in a committed relationship. Why not?"

Goldberg shot back with, "I think that the biggest, at least to me, the biggest issue was that for a very long time, no one wanted to hear when you said, listen, teenagers, you cannot tell them, just don't do this, this is what you need to protect you."

But sometimes teens do listen, as shown by anti-smoking campaigns. Carol Platt Liebau noted in her book, Prude, that "like teen sex today, smoking was seemingly ubiquitous - not only tolerated but almost celebrated. Even so, all that changed, and relatively quickly, too. Smoking is now banned in public areas ranging from airports to restaurants all across the United States."

A health-conscious adult wouldn't suggest that teens shouldn't smoke, but if they do, to smoke cigarettes with less tar content. Yet sex educators continually say, "Teens should shoot for abstinence, but here's how to make sex less risky if that doesn't work."

Later in the discussion Hasselbeck asked Goldberg if she wanted schools teaching sex ed to kids. Goldberg insisted, "I want the kids to have the information. If Bozo the Clown is going to give them the information, that keeps them one step beyond getting pregnant, I'd rather have Bozo do it."

Soon after, Behar noted that sex educators are really teaching "biology."

 It's not surprising that Goldberg claimed it doesn't matter who teaches kids about sex. Lifesitenews.com reported in 2008 that Goldberg serves on Planned Parenthood's Board of Advocates. (Calls to Planned Parenthood revealed that a list of the Board of Advocates is not available to the public.) Planned Parenthood's Web site states, "Parents know that the best foundation for their children's success is a good education. When it comes to sexual health, Planned Parenthood provides what parents want for their children - medically accurate, comprehensive, and age-appropriate information to guide them through a lifetime of choices."

A search of Planned Parenthood's suggested curriculum and classroom activities, however, revealed that the organization offers much more than comprehensive information - it's an effort to push sex on kids.

Case in point: the "Desensitizing" classroom activity, suggested for children from middle school up, in which students stick a note with a sexual term written on it on their foreheads without looking at it. Students then ask their partners yes or no questions about sexual terms to guess which term is on their forehead. Afterwards, students discuss how they felt playing the game. According to Planned Parenthood, the objective is "to increase participants' comfort level with sexuality terminology in general, or with terminology related to a specific topic" and the recommended audience is "middle/high school students, or adults." 

"Two World Views - Fixed and Relativist," also featured in the "Classroom Activities" section, is a handout that outlines two world views. It is designed to help "participants understand their resistance to the open discussion of sexuality" and is suggested for adults.

Statements under the "Fixed or Absolutist World View" include such things as "The main goal of sex is marriage and reproduction" and "Strict gender roles in relationships with male active and superior."

Statements under the Process or Relativist World View" include "Sexuality is a natural and positive life force with both sensual and spiritual aspects" and "Flexible, egalitarian gender roles."

That's a little bit more than "biology."