True Love Waits

I read an interesting article by Stephanie Rosenbloom of the New York Times on Chastity Rings today - part of an ongoing effort to get teens to wait for sex. Apparently, these rings are all the rage today and I am all for anything that will help teens wait to have a sexual relationship. These rings are used in conjunction with a chastity pledge. Tiffany Kelly, the current Miss Massachusetts, is one of the people promoting them. In the article, she is quoted as saying she has no intention of breaking her pledge: "I think of it as the ultimate wedding present. . .It's saying 'you're worth waiting my whole life for.'" I think that is awesome and I hope that she does keep her vow.

Some say that such a message promoting abstinence only sets teens up for failure. I agree that teens should be educated about birth control. I went to a Catholic high school and learned about contraception in biology class. They didn't tell us to go out and use it, but any reasonably educated person does need to know about such things, as well as about their failings. We learned facts - like 97% effectiveness means that 3% of the time you can get pregnant. We learned that sexual behavior can lead to sexual diseases and while a condom helps, it is not foolproof. Only abstinence is completely safe. In religion class we learned about sexual morality.

Yet even going to a Catholic school, it was hard to be a virgin by choice. It was hard to watch my friends make other choices and to feel left behind. It was hard to have boyfriends and always have to say "no" even though I was very fortunate to date guys who respected that "no." So, if chastity pledges and chastity rings can make it a little bit easier, I think that is a good thing.