On Sexual Behavior: How responsible is Responsible?
By: Hilda Monica Cao-Naval

The idea of being sexually responsible varies from person to person. There are those who think that behaving responsibly towards sex is all about prevention of unwanted pregnancy.  On the other hand, some people think that a person is responsible enough if he doesnt get caught either by parents or by their other sex partners. In general there are actually a lot more to mention regarding an individual punto de vista on this matter, and for obvious reasons I cannot enumerate all of those. So for brevity and practicality, I'd not bother to know all of it; human nature as a whole is indeed diverse, and each mind works so ingeniously we can come with millions of definitions for a single word. Suffice it to say that on these matters, it is hard to really determine how much sense of responsibility one should imbibe to say that he/she is being 途esponsible enough. And unfortunately describing it by merely looking for the lexical meaning of the term in the dictionary doesnt entirely solve the case; it is plainly theoretical and it doesn稚 account for real life situations. My ideas on the said topic are discussed in this article. Although my single piece could not completely clarify all concerns we are facing at hand, I do hope that the arguments I present would make us think again and reconsider.  

                In my opinion, acting responsibly in general requires someone to be educated and well-informed particularly by knowing the consequence of each available option he's facing, and then evaluate each of it before making any action.  Thus, it is strongly related to this idea of choosing wisely. To illustrate my point, if in the National Elections you are a responsible elector when you vote wisely, the same principle applies when it comes to sex. It actually follows that you are sexually responsible if you know very well and can prove that you will benefit from every choice you make. In other words you don't only know the opportunity cost of sex, but also where your actions will lead you.

            Speaking of consequences, I have observed that in most cases, the only risk that people see when they engage in sex is pregnancy (either being pregnant or impregnating someone). More often than not it all about it. I do not find this view entirely wrong, yet I have to be honest to admit that this is inadequate. In point of fact, if you would really look into this topic deeply, other than unwanted pregnancy there are other millions of risks people face whenever they choose to have sex at the wrong occasions. For one, the very long list of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and Infections (STIs) already account for thousands of it.  I cannot overemphasize the fatality of AIDS and I am assuming that you know very well of it. (If you dont then you are in serious trouble. When that is true for you I advice you that you read some articles on HIV and AIDS either on this site or on other sites and I assure you that youll find many). STDs (and unwanted pregnancies as well) are the physical manifestations of irresponsible sexual behavior, which I define as the following:

(1)  When you choose not to be safe or at least protected

            Necessary abstinence is 100% safe and effective. If it can稚 be practiced, however, choose to be protected by making use of condoms.  Although they don稚 necessarily guarantee that your affairs would be risk-free, they reduce the threats by up to 70% (as for the case of acquiring Cervical Cancer) or even higher (in some other STDs). But I reiterate:  you can never be too sure with it. They get damaged at some occasions, and thus it affects the expediency of these plastics. There are even books that claim that the AIDS virus is way too microscopic that it can penetrate even the surface of any undamaged condom. But despite all the shortcomings of this preventive measure, it is a lot better than 堵oing natural;・at that option you have no protection at all and thus facing a very high propensity in acquiring all the unwanted diseases.

(2)  When you arent picky enough with your partner

            Why is that so? Maybe you believe that love is blind so you offer yourself openly to just anyone who wants to hit you.  It could also be that you are just impulsive 99.99% of the time when you want it now, you NEED to get it now, even if you havent asked his/her name yet. Exaggeration? No its not. Sometimes, it does happen.

            As for the first cited reason, I say self-preservation should be among your top priorities in life.  No one should force you to risk your life and reproductive health for the sake of pleasing someone. For the latter, delayed gratification increases the magnitude of pleasure and makes things more meaningful. In addition to that, it is not rational to make a choice to be happy for one single moment at the risk of suffering for the rest of your lifetime. That 塗eat of the moment・you might refer too is thousands of hours shorter compared to 9 months.

            Think about it. Seriously think again.

(3)  When you dont know what is enough

            The more partners, the merrier? Not exactly. In fact having multiple sex partners (either in the past, present, or collectively over a period of time) is among the most cited reasons by doctors and other professionals alike why people acquire AIDS and Cervical Cancer. Take note that the medical experts, not only the so-called religious leaders, say it is wise to have monogamous relationships.

(4)    When you have no concept of time.

            Proper time for that matter. And when I say proper time, I am not referring to the most exciting and suitable hour of the day for sex. What Im referring to is a concept that goes beyond chronological time, and it usually comes when you wait until the time you are mature enough to make sound decisions on sexual matters.

Pregnancy and Sex Redefined

           Finally to clarify things, I want to emphasize that on my point of view, pregnancy is definitely not a curse; it is, on the contrary, a gift that has to be enjoyed. It becomes unwanted primarily due to lack of preparations, and when rush decisions where made that in the end they proved to be wrong. It has parallelisms with other events in nature. A fruit that has ripened in season is pleasingly sweet, and all the more tastes better in every bite. Otherwise, it is bitter and unpalatable. As was mentioned before, the key concept is waiting for the right time.

           Similarly, sex is God's gift to mankind, and I believe that it is not a sin in itself.  If enjoyed in the proper manner it becomes rewarding. On the contrary, it gives us a lot of problems if we abuse it out of foolishness. How well you can benefit from it depends on how responsible your conduct is with regard to it.