Sex Ed. in Walmart

I recently went to Walmart to pick up some necessities. The next day would be my fiance and I's anniversary and I wanted to get something special, so I made my way over to the "pharmacy" section in search of some his & hers products for us to have fun with in conjunction with our preferred method of contraception.

As I perused these items, a group of teenage girls stood huddled at the other side of the wide aisle. They seemed almost frightened, and kept shushing each other. I paid them little attention until one called out to me in a timid voice: "Hey! What condoms should I get? Should I get the thin ones?" I turned, smiled, and said "No, I wouldn't get those. Try to avoid ones with spermicide too. They can irritate you and actually make it easier for the condom to break." She then asked, "What's spermicide?" I felt a pang of sadness at the girl's ignorance, and explained to her what it is. She then selected the box of condoms that she wanted, and I told her to make sure that her "dude" knew how to put them on correctly. She then thanked me and walked off with her friends.

Looking back, I wish I had asked her to make sure to--if she could--get on birth control as well. I wish I had told her to make sure that she wasn't feeling pressured into having sex with her "dude" and that they both consented. Looking back, I wish I had asked why this "dude" wasn't with her at the time to help and support her while she was buying these supplies. There are so many things I could have said that I didn't...but I think this conversation that I had, in the middle of Walmart, speaks to a much more pervasive problem here in the United States.

It is obvious that this girl was--if not misinformed on the subject of sex and contraception--grossly uninformed. Our society has done, and is doing, a tremendous disservice to our youth by not educating them completely on the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of safe sex and relationships. Instead, we treat the subject of sex as taboo and leave the youth to fend for themselves in an era rife with misinformation and rumor. We leave the educating to random 23-year old strangers in Walmart.