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A community assures that its members have access to developmentally and culturally appropriate sexuality education

A community provides access to sexual and reproductive health care and counseling

A community provides latitude to make appropriate sexual and reproductive choices

A community respects diversity

A community provides freedom from stigmatization and violence on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation

(A Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior, U.S. Surgeon General, 2001)

Healthy sexuality requires an understanding and awareness of one”s sexuality and sexual development
Healthy sexuality is respectful of oneself and one”s partner
Healthy sexuality avoids physical or emotional harm to oneself and one”s partner
Healthy sexuality ensures that pregnancy occurs only when welcomed
Healthy sexuality recognizes and tolerates the diversity of sexual values within any community
(taken from U.S. Surgeon General”s A Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior, 2001)

There have been several comments about people wanting to use the blog information for other educational purposes. It is my intent to provide factual, research based information and cite the author/reference/resources so that you may find more information on the subjects.

Sounds like many of you are enjoying the information. Thanks for connecting. 

I have asked my web master to work on the rss feed and that is on her list of things to do. Hopefully, that will be done soon.

According to surveys around the country, when asked, the vast majority of American adults, including parents and voters, support comprehensive sexuality education, disapproves of the government’s investment in abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, and rejects popular myths that suggest teaching about sexuality encourages teens to be sexually active. Nevertheless, the government currently spends over $175 million per year for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, in direct contradiction to public opinion.

Many parents believe that sexuality education can help young people make responsible decisions about sexual behavior and sexual health. The truth is that the majority of parents want sexuality education to cover a wide range of topics. In fact, most parents believe that it is appropriate to teach students about many subjects that are considered controversial, including abortion, masturbation, and sexual orientation. Not surprisingly, given the reality they face, young people also want sexuality education to cover many topics. ( Taken from SIECUS, 2008)

Steven M. Brown and Carl Schwartz state that as a culture, we are immensely conflicted about sexuality generally, especically child and adolescent sexuality. On our televistions, movie screens, video games and in our email boxes, sexual messages, images, innuendos are ever present. A 1997 study of prime time television revealed that the average adolescent in the U.S. views 1400 sexual references, jokes, and innuendos each year (Stasburger, 1997). However, only one in 85 of these references will mention abstinence, contraception, or marriage (Daves, 1995). Studies show that few parents talk with their children in a meaningful way about sexual health issues  (Warren & Neer, 1992; Goldstein & Connelly, 1998; Durex Corporation, 1997) despite children’s desire to hear their parents’ views on the topic. Compared to previous generations, today’s adolescents reach puberty earlier, have sexual intercourse earlier, and get married significantly later.

This is a continuation from the previous blog. Here is the definition of healthy sexuality taken from the Office of the Surgeon General’s A Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior

Healthy sexuality includes the ability to understand and weigh risks, responsibilities, outcomes and impacts of sexual actions

Healthy sexuality includes the ability to practice abstinance when appropriate or reproduce when one chooses

Healthy sexuality includes freedom from sexual abuse and discrimination

Healthy sexuality includes the ability of individuals to integrate their sexuality into their lives and derive pleasure from it

On July 9,2001, the Surgeon General of the United States, David Satcher, wrote a document introducing “A Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior.” This “Call to Action” came because of “alarmingly high levels of sexually transmitted disease and HIV/AIDS infection, unintended pregnancies, abortion, sexual dysfunction, and sexual violence in the United States.” The Surgeon General went on to document that if we were going to change these negative public health outcomes, that it was then necessary to appreciate what sexual health is. He began a collaborative process based on a series of scientific review papers contributed by experts in relevant fields: on recommendations developed at two national conferences; and on extensive review and comment from a wide range of experience, expertise, and perspective with representation from the academic, medical, and religious communitites, policy makers, advocates, teachers, parents, and youth. This collaborative process concluded that the many aspects of sexuality are a fundamental part of human life and include not only the physical, but the mental and spiritual as well, and that sexuality is a core component of personality, important throughout the entire lifespan, not just the reproductive years. Healthy sexuality includes not only individual responsibilities but community responsibilities as well.

Taken from: Introduction to Healthy Sexuality, a SANE perspective, self study module. 2009. Tina Godby-Ware, BSN, RN, SANE-A

You can find the complete A Call to Action document on-line. I would like to hear comments on what people consider healthy sexuality is on the Southern New Mexico Wellness Alliance facebook page.