Adolescence can be a hazardous and perplexing time and for teens, girls especially, and they do not deserve to have their authority figures teach them that their bodies and their natural human desires are things that are shameful. No adult should teach a child that they should cover or hide their bodies in disgrace. For preteens and young adults, living in one 's own skin is already hard enough, the added disrespect is not at all necessary or helpful. Abstinence only curriculums often promote sexism and can leave young people, especially girls, with the impressions that doing something that is very natural somehow degrades them, lessens their worth, or makes them dirty. This is detrimental to not only the way women view themselves but also to the way that men perceive female sexuality. Materials often shown in Abstinence Only classrooms compare women who are not …show more content…
Social justice activist Beth Leyba wrote in her article for The Huffington Post that “the idea that a shame-based campaign that shrouds sex in mystery would result in teens having less sex is both misinformed and mind boggling” (Leyba). In one of her health classes, she recalls a story their teacher told him where a prince abandons his princess in a tower because she gave her opinion too much. When this material was shown to her class, she was eleven. Seeing how abstinence-only programs portray women in such a degrading and shameful light from such a young age, it’s no wonder why women experience depression at roughly twice the rate of men and Girls 14-18 years of age have consistently higher rates of depression than boys in this age group (“Depression in Women). Sexism and misogyny are both deeply rooted in Abstinence only programs, it’s time to make a change and break away from this patriarchal