Of Seduction and Other, Similarly Frustrating Subjects

Hello Hello
 it feels like it's been ages, but it's only been two day. So I'm back, from my extremely short hiatus, with a ready-to-rant mind and fingers prepared to type away. Today... or rather tonight, I will be ranting on about the fine art of Seduction. I know. So exciting. 
In our society, seduction is rather one sided, wouldn't you say? You never really hear about a man trying to seduce a woman. Guys don't go out and buy sexy boxer briefs to put on for their girlfriends. No, it's always the women who are expected to put on all their bells and whistles and be physically appealing for others. And there I go again, using old-lady phrases. Anyways. There is a whole clothing industry specifically revolving around women and their seduction. Victoria's Secret. Fredericks. Then there's the music industry, filled to the brim with mediocre rap songs about sexy women and lines like "up in the club". We girls/Women/female things hear this music, sung (or rapped?) by famous artists, and feel that they need to have X,Y and Z qualities, as listed in the song, for men to notice them. One major one being nice hips, or more eloquently put, a nice booty. There is this obsession for women to have tiny waists, and disproportionally large butts and busts. If you haven't gotten where I'm going with this, I'll just go ahead and show you.

Yes, everyone's favorite song "BABY GOT BACK" has been permanently etched into everyone's mind. I knew the first few lyrics (which are really the only one's that matter) of this song when I was in 3rd grade, I kid you not. I have no idea how, but every child learns the line "I like big butts and I cannot lie" before they reach the 5th grade. It's like a right of passage. 

But I digress. My point is that women are constantly hearing that to be "sexy", they need disproportionally large assets, and regularly sized limbs. 

Back to the whole "only women have to dress up to be sexy" thing I kinda introduced in the beginning. Yes, men can put on suits (do I need another Barney Stinson Gif? I don't think so.) and charm the ladies with their blazers and skinny ties, but really. It is nothing in comparison to what women have to wear to be "sexy". Short skirts, tight shirts, high heels, low cut, see-through. off-shoulders, strapless, midriffs, nice legs, daisy dukes. Show some skin here, some there- but not too much (remember kids, there's a confusingly blurred line between "sexy" and "slutty" that no one really gets). Then there's makeup. smoldering, smokey eye makeup, and rouge lipstick, with bold eyeliner, and lashes as long as Yzma's from the Emperor's New Groove.

Yeah. So you get the picture. Unrealistic expectations. 

And yet... we girls/woman/female things do it. We go out and buy short dresses, and provocative underloos, and we doll ourselves up, as to attract the male attention that comes with lookin' hot. What is a bit... unfair about the whole Seduction Shebang. 

Girls/Women/Female things are expected to have this natural-born knowledge of how to seduce. For some reason, we are expected to know what guys like. We're supposed to know that granny-panties are not acceptable forms of underwear when on a route of seduction. Somehow, we're supposed to know that playing hard to get is actually "cute", and acting eager is just... "desperate". But then... innocence is hot? So Ok... We have to play hard to get, but be innocent... while maintaining a provocative style of dress, though not overdoing it to the point of desperation. Makeup is good, but not too much because *DUH* it's like a given rule on that one list of the RULES OF SEDUCTION that doesn't exist. 

(I couldn't resist adding a Breakfast Club quote. How could I not?)

There's this pressure for girls/women/female things to know exactly what dudes wants, sexually, physically, emotionally. It's about the sex. I'm going to plainly state it, because I've been beating around the bush thus far. Seduction inevitably leads to sex. Women, like I've mentioned in many a posts past, are often seen as simply these objects, that are really just good for carnal purposes (and not much else, in the eyes of my arch nemesis: society). Women dress in their provocative articles because it adds to their sex-appeals (thus their sexiness, which I've been discussing previously). And it makes me so mad that not only to men, and society demand these qualities of women as to give them sex-appeal, but also the fact that women just let it happen. We accept the indirect discrimination delivered to us by society that is delivered in the form of complements, and male attention. (INTERNAL SCREAMING). Why don't women just stop letting men and Society demand of them to be constantly sexy, constantly provocative  flirty, hot, fine, whistle-worthy and all those other, wonderful adjectives.Women don't stop it because we've become so accustomed to this treatment over the course of history. Yes, women can vote, and there are women senators (though that doesn't really say much because of the 100 senators, only 20 are women so...). But have we really made the strides we should have in the course of the time that has elapsed since we gained suffrage? No. Girls/Women/female things are still often (but not always) seen as docile creatures who are best at looking pretty and fulfilling the carnal needs of men.

Even in highschool. Girls walk around the hallways in these amazingly cute outfits, their hair perfectly done, and their makeup  spot on. I just want to throw them one of my many, signature oversized tee-shirts and say

"honey. It's ok to be comfortable sometimes". I respect every girl (and guy's) desire to wear the clothes they want because I know that the style of dress is greatly important to me, as well as others. But I know that these girls aren't dressing like that just for themselves. Popularity in highschool for girls is, unfortunately, majorly made up of the male attention they recieve, which is directly linked to the clothes they wear, and devastatingly detached  from things that matter more. like personality. Or number of Breakfast Club quotes memorized. 

I will admit, I do wear heels to school on very rare occasion, but I can usually be found in a teeshirt (of the homemade tie dye variety), jeans and chucks. Beauty doesn't need to walk hand-in-hand with glamour. Beauty is sweatpants. And messy hair up-does. Beauty is all that cheesy stuff 80s movies taught us. Beauty is also dresses and heels and makeup and all the things we wish we had time for every day. But UGHH that kind of beauty, the kind that we draw on with eye-liner pencils, and squeeze into with a pair of cute black stilettos is hard to keep up. And it's unnecessary so much of the time. Take out those hair extensions gurl, and wipe off that bronzer. Sex-appeal (from my teenage POV) doesn't need to include a sexy mini dress. I'm begging, on my hands and knees- please, can women stop doing such things solely to get the attraction and approval of men. Ladies listen. Don't dress up just for  the attention of the opposite sex. 

Seduction is all good and well, but can we just stop with this ridiculous perpetuation of these unrealistic expectations of what women should be physically and sexually. Women are smart, strong and sensual creatures. and We should be proud, and have high standards. Not accepting of the judgements and check-lists doled out by society, and certainly not tolerating of the expectations men have for our dress and our demeanor. 

Hugs, Kisses and piercing glares to misogynists,

Panteha

Artsy Fartsy

Hello Hello, my hopefully existant audience.

Tonight I will not be ranting, but rather showing off. After my "Of Promiscuity and Other Such Arbitrary Concepts" post (which you should certainly read if you haven't already), I began an art campaign focusing on ending what I hate most- "Slut Shaming".

Simply called "Innocent Bodies",  my collection of drawing is now ready to see the world. Though there are only four right now, I will be adding to the collection periodically with new drawings and excitements. 
Yes, I've done these digitally, but the work is all mine. 

Blood, sweat and tears went into these drawings, so I beg of thee- please enjoy. So without further ado, I present "Innocent Bodies"

Voila. And there you have it. I do hope you enjoy my artwork, and of course their message (I need not reming you that I wrote extensively on the message I'm trying to convey in that previously mentioned post). 

If you would like to tell me how you feel about these pieces, I'd love to hear it. Comments are welcomed with open arms, and of course, an email adress with which you can contact me is in the sidebar.

Goodnight from my feminist-cave,

 and stop "slut shaming"

-Panteha

Mondays...

Hello Hello fellow monday-haters
I just wanted to post the new ad for my blog that I've drawn. Hopefully I'll be able to put it up around my school, but if not I will make sure that my ad will reach every inch of the cyberwebs.

Please enjoy, and tonight I will be posting my new "Stop Slut Shaming" art campaign that I've been working on.

Happy Monday (if that's possible), and Say NO to patriarchy kids

-Panteha

Your Insults Insult Me

Hello Hello all you human things. 
My sincerest apologies for not posting last night. I was working on an art campaign for my blog... so look foreword to that being posted sometime in the next few days (and do try to contain your excitement, it's really overwhelming)...(sarcasm yeah).

Today I will be ranting about insults.
 They're a part of all of our lives, whether we're giving them or receiving them (it's impossible not to do both throughout life). When we were much younger, we threw around insults like "dumb" "stupid", and those first-grade equivalents to profanities. As we got older, "idiot" "jerk" "dumbass" entered the realm of out insult vocabulary (I would add "moron" but I've never really heard someone being called that seriously). Then highschool rolled around and suddenly the insults are "bitch" "slut" "ditz" "assholes" and many, many more that I will not go into for the sake of preseving at least some of the non-profane aire of this blog (/laughs just kidding. I think we're far past being non-profane). But one insult, or word-with-negative-connotation that particularly pisses me off is the word "gay". Why are we using a word for sexual identity as an insult? Please tell me, because I am quite angry.

UGHHH JOHN BENDER PLEASE DON'T DISTRACT ME FROM THE POINT AT HAND (/tries to ignore John Bender)

... Okay we're moving swiftly onwards. 

Back to my point. It is, quite unfortunately, very common in the adolescence of today's generation to hear the word "gay" being tossed casually around without any thought. 

In a long, boring class? - "This is so gay."

A guy doesn't like a 'hot' girl? - "dude, quit being so gay"

Someone doesn't look 'attractive'- "gay"

A flamboyant, outgoing boy/man/male thing or a short-haired, basketball-short wearing girl/woman/female thing? obviously "gay". My point is not that people are making assumptions about someones sexual identity judging from their clothing and personality (Though people do...). No, my point is that the word "gay" is used in direct replacement of words like "stupid", "lame", "ugly". This negative connotation has been tagged onto this word that should hold ABSOLUTELY NO NEGATIVE CONNOTATION (excuse my use of caps, but this is an urgent matter). 

Does it really make sense that a word used for personal identification is being used as an insult? It's so unrelated and nonsensical. It's like saying "oh my god. This is so freakin' tall" when talking about something frustrating. 

The word "gay", originally meaning "happy", but now used by the LGBTQ* population to identify themselves hold no negative connotation on its own. I hate to sound like the feminist killjoy I am, but the use of "gay" in our society just shows the underlying, homophobic attitude people have. You can't insultingly call someone gay and then claim that you're not homophobic. It just doesn't work that way kids. 

Think of how it feels to the LGBTQ* community when the word that some of them use to identify themselves is used as an insult. It's like all of society is bullying them, and beating them down with the use of this one word as an insult. Even when it's not being used as an insult and used as just a word-with-negative-connotation it's hurtful. I am a tall girl. I accept that. And I would feel very hurt... and pissed off... but mostly hurt if people started using the word "tall" to replace "ugly" "lame" "stupid" becuase that would automatically mean that I must be "lame" "Ugly" "Stupid" because that's how the word was being used. Now amplify that like 100X and that's how horribly insulting it is to a population of people that this society needs to start admitting is made up of actual People that have feelings, dignity, and the right to equal treatment and respect. This careless use of "gay" to insult or replace downer words is what makes people feel ashamed to come out, or to identify as part of the LGBTQ*. They see the societal discrimination and very bad things can happen. bullying, and suicide being the two major one. C'mon kids, we can do better than this. Just look at our friend Macklemore. He knows what's going on

Yeah, Macklemore wrote an amazingly beautiful song that perfectly captures what I've been trying to say. 

So if all this stuff you just read went completely over your head or you think it's just Mumbo-Jumbo,  please take a listen to "Same Love". 

Anyways. I have to take my afternoon nap (all this feminist ranting is quite tasking). 

So be well, watch The Breakfast Club, and stop societal discrimination

Viva La Feminista!

-Panteha

Of Promiscuity and Other Such Arbitrary Concepts

Hello Hello all you who seek my angsty rants
I am here to deliver [yippee hooray]. There are a couple things I want to rant about regarding the isolating and degrading nature of Society on Girls/Women'Female things and their personal life. I think we should just jump right into it    : )
Promiscuity-Put like any old lady would say it. Sleeping around. You get the idea. In our society, there is this huge obsession and perpetuation of sex, and who one's sleeping with, and even who they're not. As a teenage girl who is not part of this perpetuation and obsession, I can only observe and shed a tear for this horrid display of human ignorance. Unfortunately, like many things, there are great differences in the role of men in women in said obsession of sex and promiscuity.
For Men, having sex with many different women is praised by his homies, bros. His buddies, or whatever. I cannot speak from the standpoint of men, but It is my general understanding that sleeping with a lot of people is not seen as a negative thing. It's great. It's an accomplishment. The ability to bed women is a trait off that All American Masculinity that you all know is so close to my heart [eye-roll to emphasize sarcasm]. A man who has all the women fawning over him and begging him to sleep with them is a god among the male species in our culture.

Yes, the Barney Stinson we all know and love is exactly what I'm talking about (but the fact that he's played by a gay actor makes is all the more enjoyable to watch, No?). 

Please, do take note that I am not criticizing the fact that men who sleep around aren't considered to be doing something wrong by society's standards. What I am going to criticize now is that women are criticized. There's even a word for it.

"Slut-Shaming"

Isn't that just cheeky. The fact that there is a word for the act of shaming a woman for sleeping around proves my very point. and Yes- the underlining, bolding and italicizing of that sentence was completely and utterly necessary. Women are scrutinized so closely by what they wear, their makeup, their hair, their speech, their walk. everything is put under close examination because there is supposedly this hidden message about what type of male attention we are tying to attract hidden beneath our external appearance [eye-roll to emphasize annoyance]. For some reason, women are expected to be doing everything we do to impress, tease, attract, satisfy or entertain the male sex. If a Girl/Woman/Female thing wears modest clothing and is a virgin, she's a "prude". If she wears revealing clothing and plays "Hard to get", she's a tease. And if she  doesn't wear enough clothing (by society's standards), she's suddenly too much to handle, and is forever branded with the most eloquent word in the human language: "Slut". Doesn't it just taste horrible? Why do we even have words like "tease" , "Prude" and "slut"? Why do we have distinct words defining the state of a woman's personal, sexual life. C'mon people- It's Called a "personal Life" for a reason. And then there's this catty hate towards women who have been branded "Slut" with the branding iron that is American Society (ugh metaphors. so good.). Opposed to the male sex, who is praised for sleeping around, women are demeaned and so harshly judged and Slut-shamed when they show even the faintest sign of "promiscuity". 

This society really needs to make up it's mind: Is having sex with many people a good thing or a bad thing?! Tell us already! It's SO confusing because the dudes are slapping high fives, but women are so afraid of this stupid word that people so carelessly toss around. 

Ah, Susanna. Nothing can aid a good feminist rant like a quote from Girl, Interrupted. 

She makes a very good point. Not only are women called names when they display signs of "promiscuity", but it takes significantly less... activity to be branded a slut. 

I can't be the only one totally infuriated by this, can I? I hope not.

We perpetuate sex, and sensuality and provocativeness. Sexy is good. Men like it when women are dolled up and attractive, and so does society. But god forbid that a woman crossed the line between "sexy"and "Slutty" which is GOD KNOWS WHERE. And then men call women "sluts", and it's insulting, and horrible,

 and It's dreadfully confusing because calling a man a slut is an utter joke. it doesn't happen. Literally, there is NO word for the "slut" equivalent of a man. 

I'm not sure what voice you read this writing with, but right now, please read it with an "angry" voice. thanks.

So can we just STOP with the sexual labels  Can we just let people mind their sex lives and personal lives and stop Slut-Shaming every woman that, may I add, is simply acting like a "man". 

There shouldn't even be slut-shaming. it shouldn't exist. but like many other things (like gender roles and stereotypes, and LGBTQ* hate and pro-life campaigns...) it does exist, so can we just join forces like the united country we Aren't and fix it?

thanks.

Yours,

a very frustrated Girl/Woman/Thing,

Panteha ♡

Look At Me Rebelling.

Hello Hello you rebellious scoundrels.
tonight, on this friday-eve I am here to grace you with my angsty opinions. 
As a teenage girl/woman/female thing, I am literally expected to be a rolling ball of uncontrollable emotions. I am so tired of adults slapping these hyperbolic, archetypal stereotypes onto us teenage boy/girl/men/women/female/male things. For some reason, there's just this misconception that kids in our teens are each combinations of all the worst traits in adults. I'll explain now, so I don't just seem like those horrid people who complain without justification.
A teenage girl is constantly under close scrutiny. What she wears. Her makeup. Her relationships. What she does, what she doesn't do. When it comes to sex...

yes. Well put Allison. Breakfast Club Gifs always deliver.

Anyways. Everything is such a big deal. Parents, though loving, don't always understand. Adults brush off issues we have in our life because they think they are huge exaggerations budding from the teenage girl's tendency to be an emotional roller coaster that just never stops rollin'. They look at us like we're ticking time bombs, about to explode at any moment with a catastrophic BOOM of rebellion and bad pop-music.

Please. Do not think that this is me bashing adults. I'm not that angsty. I just want this "Marking" of teenagers to stop. Not every teenage girl dreams of dating a human ken doll, and spends their daddy's money on getting their hair dyed blonde.

 Contrary to popular belief, we teens are actually humans too. Yes, we may have radical-dadical ideas and dress like we're trying to bring back the 80s (which I personally am trying to do), but we're not that different from the adults passing judgement upon us. we're just younger, more beautiful and have room to wisen up. 

I apologize for focusing only on the teenage girls, when the boys have it just at bad. 

Lay off the boys. They may be immature at times, and still laugh at the same poop jokes from 2nd grade. Yes, they may wear way to much Nike, and yes, they may be clueless at how to socially interact with girls (in ways not involving poop-jokes), but teenage boys aren't the enemy. Being a teenage boy does not mean all you think about is Suzy's Mom and getting laid on friday nights. It's not about drugs, and sagging pants. Surprisingly, it's not even always about poop-jokes (Key word: surprisingly). Just like teen girls are not rolling balls of emotions, teen boys are not horny, rolling balls of hormones. The teenage population is not composed of barbie and ken dolls who want to join forces to bring down the adult world and never want to grow up.

Sorry Peter. Not today (Nice tights though).

So all I'm asking on this friday-eve is to lay of the stereotyping. We teens will someday grow up and be the age of the adults judging us now. And they'll probably be dead. It's life- what can ya' do. So let us enjoy our youth, rebellion-filled or not as the case may be. Stop scrutinizing. Start feminizing. And goodnight for now.

-Panteha 

"That's not very lady-like"

Well too bad. I don't believe in gender roles.

I'm not going to put the word "rape" in the title...

Hello Hello humans

So, I am still cranking out these blog posts. The inspiration is still coming so savor it while it lasts, kids. 
Today was a good day. I wore My homemade tie dye shirt, smiled a lot and we're beginning a gender studies unit at school so my life has pretty much reached it's highest point. After a good day at school it feels good to sink into my bed and open up my laptop to write about a very important topic: Rape. 
I would love to rant about the pathetic excuse men give after raping a woman: "She was asking for it" "I couldn't resist myself because of her clothing". Oh, how I'd love to say that anyone who would accept such a loaded excuse for raping a woman in court is obviously deluded and should NOT be making decisions with such a bade sense of judgement. But I won't. I'm holding my tongue. 
No, I am here to talk about this huge misconception that only women are raped.  I know my past few post may come off as a bit... man-hate-ish, but contrary to popular belief, I am not a man-loathing feminism who goes around throwing copies of The Feminine Mystique and The Second Sex at people (Late New Year's Resolution: Stop throwing books at people). In fact, I'm quite in love with the supporting-men part of feminism because I'm in this for the equality and men should not be expected to be inhumanly stolid and "manly".
And with that I'll begin my rant. When a woman says she was raped by a man, it is a horrific thing. So why is it that if a teenage boy says that when he was younger he was raped by his female babysitter people often laugh and ask why he thinks that is such a bad thing. It's called "getting lucky" when a boy/man/male thing has any sort of sexual experience. It angers me so so so much that men are seen as these strong, burly creatures driven solely by sexual desire. This whole idea that men shouldn't show weakness and that a sign of greatness is the ability to bed women has bubbled over and gone too far. The very idea of refusing sex, or saying "No" to a woman's advances is disgustingly taboo. It's fine when a woman says she was violated, and taken advantage of, but god forbid a Man says he was violated. Is he not a man? How can he say he violated after having sex? The pressure on men to be these unrealistic lumberjack characters, with a wardrobe filled with plaid and rough, unshaven faces who can charm the ladies with a wink of their eye is grotesque discrimination of the male sex. We need to break down this barrier around men that society has created- stopping them from feeling free to be emotional and display feminine traits. There's nothing wrong with crying. there's nothing wrong with expressing emotions. And there's definitely NOTHING wrong about a man saying he was raped by a woman. People forget that the definition of rape is not just sex without consent from the woman. Someone's sex should not determine whether or not they're aloud to feel violated when they're raped. 
So please stop trying to turn every guy into a stone-cold lumberjack with the beard of a Viking, the body of the Hulk, and Morgan Freeman's voice. There should be just as much variation in the types of men as there are in women. 

Sleep tight and don't let the gender roles bite ♡
Panteha

Why I went into highschool with high hopes

Hello Hello.
Before I begin writing, I would like to say that I have begun school again so... I might be more inconsistant with my posts. But I'll try my best. Also, I promise not to watch too much Netflix and forget about my blog (note to self: just because the Breakfast Club is on Netflix does NOT mean you have to watch it everyday). But with school comes great stress, and my stress relief is writing, so who knows. this just might work out. Oh, and I don't really go out on the weekends so... yeah. The first dance of the school year is coming up this saturday and I'm excited to announce that I will be spending it tucked under my comforter, a cup of tea in my hand, the familiar warmth of my laptop on my stomach, typing away on my blog. So look foreword to that. Exciting times [yippee]. 

Down to business- considering that it is 10:30 and I do enjoy sleep. When I was growing up, my pre-highschool self was obsessed with the idea of highschool. I spent my homeworkless hours watching shows like That's So Raven, and Wizards Of Waverley Place, and the other stupid shows that Disney used to brainwash me into thinking highschool was easier that junior high. Hahaha NO. I would sit in front of my computer, just like I am now, and eat up the stories of these highschool girls, who somehow wore heels to school everyday, and somehow managed to do absolutely no homework. Even if the character was a "good student", they literally never did homework. Once I moved on from the disney shows, I began watching the ABC shows, like Pretty Little Liars. Seriously, those girls are wearing designer clothing and five inch heels everyday, and have so much free time and money that I literally though that once I got to highscool my wardrobe would miraculously fill with fabulous clothing and I'd be able to strut around the hallway in my stilettos and be just like the girls I saw. If only life was that good. 
This isn't me bashing those shows. No, I'll watch an episode of That's So Raven any day. But I really wish that disney would stop making me think that every highschool has only three types of people: the anti social "nerds", with the stereotypical taped-up glasses and braces who will let you copy their homework if you do weird favors for them, the spunky and "different" group (who would be the main characters in the show), and of course the group of catty girls that follow one leader and wear either cheerleader outfits, or color coordinated outfits in either pink or purple. I though I'd have it all figured out as long as I was sassy like Raven, dramatic like the girls in Pretty Little Liars, said really, really cheesy things like every character in Disney highschool shows, and wore clothes that were questionably out of taste, but worked because they were worn on TV and somehow that justified it.  
Thankfully I also was able to watch shows that accurately captured what highschool is like. Shows like Freaks and Geeks ♥ and My So Called Life ♥ that made me laugh and cry. Those are the shows that I can relate to now, and that I wish every junior high kid would watch. 
Yes! Please Please watch all those highschool shows from the 80s! Watch the Breakfast Club. Seriously, the 80s birthed so many good highschool shows and movies that I wish I could live out my highschool days back then. Back in the days of high-waisted everything, and hideous prints that everyone secretly loved (and still love). When Birkenstocks were hot, and frizzy hair and chunky jewelry were trés cool. 
So please do not enter highschool with the Disney-influenced delusion I had, and watch the 80s movies. Just do it. 

Goodnight from my cozy bed-cave

Panteha

An Open Letter To Schools Who Do Not Give Sex-Ed

Hello Hello humans of earth and other beings.
I live in the U.S., if you all didn't know (though my heart lives in Canada), and this country is still generally conservative. Yes, more and more states are revising their laws on gay marriage, and abortion is slowly but surely becoming more accepted, but still, there is a very sensitive and tentative attitude towards sex, whether on tv, between teens, unmarried couples, or between two people of the same sex. 
Now I am mostly surrounded by people who are not conservative in that sense, and openminded about all that, and I go to a very good school where sexuality is embraced and there is no bullying or sexual pressure (that I know off...). But my school does not provide Sex-Ed. This is a school with several branches that goes from kindergaten all the way to 12th grade. That means if a kid is enrolled from the time they're five until they're 18, they are not going to receive any Sex-Ed from school, and you all know how wonderfully awkward the sex talk can be with parents. I will tell you this now in case you are not a highschooler like me: Sex is something an average kid learns about in around 4th grade. I mean, c'mon. it's just naive to think that just becuase mommy and daddy don't talk to their kid about the birds and the bees, and the school doesn't either, then the child will grow up having no idea what sex is until they reach college. I'm pretty sure that's Impossible. Not only will they learn what it is from either the ever-reliable source: our friend the interwebs, from their friends, or a combination of both. This only leads to misinformation, and kids having no idea what is happening to themselves or all that feelings stuff that kinda comes with adolescence.  So now, without further ado, I present to you 
My open letter to schools who don't provide Sex-Ed:

Dearest Schools-who-don't-give-Sex-ed,
I'm sure you feel you are doing the right thing. Perhaps the school board is filled with overly protective moms who fear that their child hearing the word sex will ever taint the pure and innocent nature they raised them with. I'm not blaming you, or even the moms. Well, not that much. I'm just here to say that perhaps you should reconsider. To the moms, dominating the school board: Your son knows what sex is. Trust me, honey. How can you expect a 15 year old boy Not to know what sex is? Do I really have to lay it out for you? With all the lame "that's what she said" jokes he makes in class, followed by the chorus of laughter from the other kids, I'm pretty sure he knows that a crane didn't drop him into your lap. Not sitting these kids down and telling them plainly what sex is, even if they know already, can't do any harm. Not telling your teenagers about safe-sex isn't going to stop them from having sex. I'm sorry parents, but there comes a point in a teen's life where all you can do is hope you've taught them well enough to make wise choices. And when I say "Wise choices", I don't mean abstaining. This is NOT me saying that every highschooler is fully sexually active! I'm just saying that there are always those highschoolers that have sex. Not giving them sex-ed is only going to lead to them not having safe sex and catching all those wonderful things called STDs. Another thing, schools-who-Don't-give-Sex-ed, don't forget that highschool is the place where a lot of self realization happens! Yes, in highscool, it's when you realize that you like the Backstreet Boys, or maybe that you want red hair, or even deciding that you never want to eat yogurt again. Highschool is about learning, but it's also about influences. We teens are just aching to be influenced. We Want to start making life choices, early as it may seem to you non-highschoolers. It tastes so good to say
"I'm a feminist" becuase I know it's true, but I also know that it was a decision I made about myself. So I'm actually asking to use this... eagerness of ours to your benefit. Teach these highschoolers about consent. teach them about condoms, and birth control and getting tested and all the good things that will actually help them in the future. I know, it may seem scary when you see our cute, angsty, figuring-it-out faces in the hallways as we rush to class, to think that we're going to be having a sex at some point in our lives. But by keeping us in the dark, you're only disadvantaging us. 
So, schools-who-don't-give-sex-ed, please. Please see it this way, an teach the kids to be responsible before we're released into the world outside of highschool, which as you hopefully know is out of your censorship control.
 Sincerely,
A higschooler who knows how it is
Panteha Abareshi. 
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So I hope you all enjoyed my open letter to schools who don't give sex-ed ☺. Please feel free to comment kids, even if you hated it, I want to know! 

Stay safe lovelies.
Panteha 

EDIT: I forgot to mention that Arizona, which is sadly where I live, legally forbids the teaching of Sex-Ed in public schools. THAT in itself is atrocious. Apparently it's "Abstinence Only". Eew. I'm shivering with disgust. But that does not even apply to my school because I attend a charter school (yes I know. Charter schools are killing the public school system. I know I know) so I ain't even excepting excuses.