Day 10 - I can finally see some light at the end of the tunnelToday has been weird. I knew something was wrong when I woke up without morning wood. I haven't had a single boner today and I haven't been feeling horny at all. I sure hope daigong's "if you don't use it, you'll lose it" quote ain't true. But this day made me start thinking that maybe sexual abstinence isn't so bad after all.
I have been feeling great today physically and mentally. I'm not depressed or annoyed at all and I haven't even been thinking about sex all the time like usually. I felt so energetic that I didn't even need a nap
However I think this is just calm before the storm and I'm surprised if tomorrow will be as easy.
Lesson #6 - Benefits of Sexual AbstinenceFreedom from Pregnancy:
Worry of becoming pregnant or causing a pregnancy,
or birth control cost and possible complications,
or the consequences of making abortion/adoption decision,
or raising a child without the help of a supportive spouse.
Freedom from Sexually Transmitted Diseases:
Loss of normal sexual function and/or infertility.
Unsightly growth on, and disfiguring of, sexual organs.
Loss of sexual pleasure.
Reproductive pain and/or early death.
Freedom from Emotional Injury:
Uncertainty about partners motive and commitment.
Pain of feeling sexually used.
Depression associated with a broken sexual relationship.
Scars of past memories.
Popularity and effectivenessThe advent of AIDS helped restore the momentum of the favourable view of abstinence. But currently there are issues as to what abstinence means: is it an abstinence from sexual intercourse or from sexual behaviour? Movements such as True Love Waits in America which asks teenagers to refrain from sex before marriage are heavily subscribed but surveys of sexual behaviour indicate an increase in the popularity of oral sex. Oral sex is not perceived as being "real sex." Teenage girls are able to indulge in sexual practices while claiming the traditional virtues of the virgin in cultures that admire it.
The effectiveness of abstinence programs and movements remains debated. The study "Promising the Future: Virginity Pledges and First Intercourse" by Peter Bearman and Hanna Brückner examined the relationship between virginity pledges and first sexual intercourse. From the abstract [1]:
Since 1993, in response to a movement sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention, over 2.5 million adolescents have taken public virginity pledges, in which they promise to abstain from sex until marriage. This paper explores the effect of those pledges on the transition to first intercourse. Adolescents who pledge are much less likely to have intercourse than adolescents who do not pledge. The delay effect is substantial. On the other hand, the pledge does not work for adolescents at all ages. Second, pledging delays intercourse only in contexts where there are some, but not too many, pledgers. The pledge works because it is embedded in an identity movement. Consequently, the pledge identity is meaningful only in contexts where it is at least partially nonnormative. Consequences of pledging are explored for those who break their promise. Promise breakers are less likely than others to use contraception at first intercourse.
The effects observed in this study (and a followup [2] study) could be explained as mere correlations: Adolescents who feel the desire to take part in the virginity movement are more likely to remain abstinent for a variety of reasons, and less likely to have knowledge about contraception. Critics of abstinence-only education point to studies that show that teens who take virginity pledges are just as likely to have sex, but are more likely to do it without protection. Some studies have found that school-based abstinence programs actually increase the incidence of pregnancies (see sex education).
Topic: The Struggle 2005 - No Wanking Until January 1st Project Diary (Read 58525 times)