This statement is bothersome:
“In the U.S., there’s plenty of evidence that we aren’t offering girls an understanding of sex that helps them to negotiate its risks and responsibilities well.”
Who is the “we” here? Who or what is this mysterious force that’s responsible for shaping young girls’ sexual attitudes? Society? As we’ve seen, indeed, as has been the entire point of this opinion, society has and will fail miserably at giving *anyone* (let alone teens and pre-teens) healthy sexual attitudes.
For every pre-teen who leaves the house in a mini-skirt and revealing shirt, there’s a parent who’s too busy or too indifferent to stop her. For every kid who gets the wrong message in school sex-ed class (whether it’s condoms or abstinence), there’s a kid who isn’t getting the right message at home. For every kid who is indelibly marred by pop culture, there are parents who have wholly abrogated their responsibilities to that child.
Let’s start to solve this problem by bringing parents and parenting back into the equation.
