Warning: Graphic Comments
A newly released video by Planned Parenthood features a sex education instructor teaching young people that virginity is a “completely made-up concept” – a term that was “created simply to control and shame people – mainly women.”
The video is one of several recently published, in English and Spanish, by the abortion and transgender hormone giant. The instructor teaches in a classroom-like setting, with props that include a skeleton wearing a t-shirt that reads, “Sex Ed is Power,” and signs that say, “Virginity is a myth” and “Sex Defined by You.”
“[M]edically, ‘virginity’ isn’t a real thing,” the instructor states in the video, arguing that “the status of your hymen doesn’t actually mean anything.”
“Another reason the idea of virginity is whack is that sex means different things to different people,” the hostess continues, adding:
Generally speaking, society tends to define sex in a very narrow way: penetration – penis into vagina. But where does that definition leave queer people? Or folks who can’t, or don’t, have penis-in-vagina sex, and choose to have oral, anal, or another type of sex instead? And not everyone’s first sexual experience is consensual, meaning that they were forced or pressured into having sex.
The Planned Parenthood instructor goes on to chastise “society” for casting “shame” on women for having sex.
“It’s time to throw away the notion of ‘losing your virginity,’” she recommends:
What if instead of “losing” something we reframe it as “gaining?” Because the truth is when we make our own decision to become sexually active, we aren’t setting ourselves up to lose anything at all! We hope we are gaining things like intimacy, self-insight, pleasure, and empowerment.
The Planned Parenthood instructor also declares to young people that sex has no restrictions or limits. It is
defined by one thing and one thing only – you! You get to decide and define what sex – and virginity – mean for you. Maybe that’s being fingered for the first time. Maybe it’s having anal sex. Maybe it’s having your first orgasm. Maybe it’s masturbating for the first time. Maybe it’s when you enthusiastically consent to sex.
Monica Cline, foundress of It Takes a Family and a former sex educator who was trained by Planned Parenthood and LGBTQ organizations, commented to CatholicVote that the videos typify the Planned Parenthood strategy of encouraging children and young teens to “explore” sexual behavior.
“Planned Parenthood trains their sex educators to expel parents from the crucial conversations about sex that they need to have with their kids,” Cline explained:
This is how they secure their customer base. I was trained to talk about anything and everything to kids – some even younger than middle school – about explicit sexual content, exactly like these videos portray. That was in classrooms and conferences. Today, it’s even easier to bypass parents to get to their kids, encouraging them to “explore” their sexuality without boundaries, responsibilities, or even basic correct biology.
In a second video, the Planned Parenthood hostess tells young students that once they make the decision to have sex, they should talk to their partner about “what you want, ask them what they want, and make sure you’re on the same page. That’s called consent! (And it’s sexy as hell!)”
The instructor then goes into further detail, letting young teens know “sex can mean a lot of different things: anal, oral, fingering, using sex toys, vaginal – but what’s important is that you get to decide what ‘having sex for the first time’ means for you!”
Planned Parenthood’s hostess then talks “lube,” noting, “lube is essential for anal sex.”
A third video explores “How do I know if I’m ready to have sex?” and while the hostess asserts “Pressure should never be the reason you have sex,” the next instruction sounds like it might create quite a bit of pressure for a young person who may be having sex for the first time:
[T]hink about what you want physically out of your experience. Remember – there are no wrong answers here! Do you want to have oral, vaginal, or anal sex – give, receive, or both? Are fingers on genitals okay? Do you have any no-touch zones? And beyond the physical part, what emotional needs do you need out of the experience? Do you want to be in a committed relationship before having sex? Does your partner want that? Are you okay with each other’s expectations? It’s a good idea to talk all this through before having sex.
Cline said the overwhelming amount of information given to young people in the Planned Parenthood videos should serve as a warning to parents.
“As a former sex educator trained by Planned Parenthood, I urge parents to have open and honest conversations with their children about intimacy,” she cautioned. “Because if they don’t, Planned Parenthood will.”
