Teens Who Have Sex Will Not Necessarily Become Delinquents

Good news: Teens who have sex might just fare alright in their lives! The bad news is that they’re probably still going to hell.

Kidding (though I’m sure that’s still a risk). However, researchers suggest that maybe we shouldn’t worry so much about kids who wanna do it and instead focus on the teens who are having casual sex. According to a study conducted by professors from the University of California, Davis and the University of Minnesota, teenagers who engage in sexual activity within a committed relationship are no more likely to ruin their transcripts than those who abstain. Turns out, knockin’ boots doesn’t make you stupid.

It can make you irresponsible, though. Or maybe it’s that the kids who engage in casual sex were sort of irresponsible to begin with. Either way, teens who report having casual sex had lower GPAs, cared less about school and experienced more problems in school than virgins. And for once, the slut-shaming isn’t just for girls: Male teens who have casual sex had GPAs that were 0.30 lower (versus the girls’ average of 0.16 lower) than kids who abstain.

Unfortunately, the Family Research Council decided to ignore the positive aspects of the study and focus on the negative consequences of casual sex. In a press release, they said they would “not interpret less severe education impacts on students involved in ‘committed’ sexual relationships as a green light for comprehensive sex education.” Which is just plain stupid. Instead of teaching teens about how to have sex responsibly, they would rather focus on the sex is bad message and run the risk of letting loose a bunch of ignorant, horny kids. While some kids may face the consequences of having unprotected sex, many others manage to get through their teenage years with a relatively healthy sex life. As adults, this should not come as a surprise. Sex can sometimes lead to negative experiences, like pregnancy scares and crabs, but it can just as often lead to orgasms, intimacy, and general happiness—this is just as true for both the young and the old.