#adolecense

Sex-Ed In India: Why is India so sensitive when it comes to sex-ed

Sex-Ed In India: ‘Sex’ is a word, which still in many families and societies is a tabu. Since Indian society used to be too much male-dominated. Sex used to be understood as the right of males only female role was not considered at all or sex used to be the source of having babies only. Prostitutes used to be the source of enjoyment. 

Sex-Ed In India: Gradually the time changed ‘Education’…

If I were to propose a solution it would be the following (I admit that it may not be the best one but it is all I’ve got): When you turn 16 you start getting more and more “adult” privileges and responsibilities. Let’s say that (this is only for the European legislation, I’m aware that it’s already the case in the United States): You start by being able to drive a car. Then you start being able to buy alcohol and cigarettes. Everybody already does it, so this is really only a formality, but one I feel compelled to mention. When you turn 17 you should get an apartment of your own, that you should take care of, clean up etc. One would pay for said apartment with academic success for example, or with being productive with your time, in whatever way you see fit. It can be art, or manual labor or anything that contributes to your own growth as a person or to society. It could very well be a job, but for people under 18 that have to go to school, it should be optional, so you pay for your apartment however you see fit, as long as it conforms to some sort of (arbitrary, I acquiesce) list of productivity/contribution.

The whole point of the idea would be to give independence to teenagers, because trust me, not only is it craved, it is also necessary for their healthy evolution into “functioning adults”. As a teenager myself, let me tell you that the way we are being brought up (by the educational system and by our own parents) is in most cases completely wrong and so very counterproductive. I’m a fairly intelligent kid, thanks to how lucky I have been with my teachers and parents, but most people aren’t as lucky. And thanks to that, I can tell you that even someone as lucky as me is in a shitty situation. Because with being young usually comes this thirst for life and experience that we are being so denied by the adults in our life. The effect being that our identity is very unsure because we are being treated as adults and as children at the same time, whenever we would like to be treated as the opposite category. (Don’t even get me started on the stupidity of said categorization and the many connotations that accompany them). We are treated as adults whenever we fail to do our responsibilities, and we are treated as children whenever we ask for freedom and independence. So adolescence, instead of being “best of both worlds” and “the best time of our life”, ends up being the worst of both worlds and is accompanied by the anxiety and frustration so typical for us.

But this anxiety and this frustration shouldn’t be such a colossal part of adolescence. If we were to be given equal amounts of responsibility on one hand and freedom and independence on the other, I truly and wholeheartedly believe that things would be much better than they are now. Because we would be so much more productive, and in turn become much better people. It may be naïve or too idealistic of a thought, but I can’t help feeling that it’s important to be said, and that if these changes were to be made, we would better ourselves. I’m not saying that the myriad of problems that humanity has will miraculously be fixed, but I do believe that changing education could be extremely beneficial and that it would be a good start. I should also mention that the educational system is extremely flawed, but that’s so obvious and I don’t really see a point on commenting, because it has already been said so many times, and much better than I ever could.    

emilynsucharzewski©

I’m in the middle of creating a series about ambiguity and innocence of adolescence, including the different transformations through womanhood. There will be more photos to follow.