Saturday, September 26, 2009

Complex Connotations (of a Seemingly Mundane Subconscious Experience)

There are certain topics in this world that individuals attempt to steer away from as often as possible. One such topic is religion, an issue that many find unsuitable for conversations in the workplace do to its heavy social influence and tendency to raise tempers. The same goes for politics which has different subject matter but not-so-coincidentally producees similar results.

Strangely, when I think of small issues that rarely come up in some form of conversation among my peers, these are the only two that come to mind. This, however, doesn’t mean that we’re constantly discussing issues of racism, world hunger and LGBT rights. In fact, more often than not we’re cracking jokes about them – and I’m okay with that on most levels. But when it comes time to discuss a natural part of our lives and we can barely say the word without giggling or shutting down out of discomfort or genuinely finding it funny, there really is a problem. There’s no way I can’t say it.

SEX.

It’s something we need to be capable of talking about without laughing or numbing up at the thought of. At this stage in our lives things like friendship, individuality, freedom of speech, boys, girls and all that other jazz start seem more and more intense and are amplified to the extreme level. Our parents and teachers along with most other adutls are starting to badger us with speeches about birth control, STD’s and the trials of unplanned pregnancies. “Don’t forget to use a condom, son.” “Honey. Abstinence is the best birth control.” Worse still they could be telling us nothing about it (Just to clarify, “pulling out”  doesn’t work).

Knowing the facts about sex is incredibly important. Without that knowledge the teen pregnancy rate would be substantially hired and STD’s would spread like wildfires. However, I feel that when it comes down to us attempting to speak honestly about this topic the focus becomes incredibly uneven. From what I’ve heard as a teenager walking throughout my high school, it is quite rare to find people talking about sex on a level other than that of the stereotypical hormonally overwhelmed adolescent. And I truthfully feel, that it isn’t at all healthy.

Recently, I awoke from what to me was a rather unsettling dream. A rather graphic sexual image of young woman I had hardly known and had barely thought about recently wouldn’t seem to remove itself from my mind. It was a topic I felt I like I couldn’t discuss with anyone I knew, not even my closest friends. When I finally brought myself to tell somebody something about it I was relieved to find that I wasn’t judged and my mind was freed from the image but not from its subtext. I soon came to realize that what truthfully bothered me was on more of an emotional level of not knowing what significance this girl holds for me and even know, I barely feel capable of saying anything to anybody.

Now I realize that sex itself is not to difficult of a subject for us to tackle. When can joke about, talk about it’s mechanics and shoot some bullshit about how great this “fine ass hoe” I was with was all we want but that’s all the easy stuff. There is a different between talking about intercourse or  fucking, and sex because when you’re talking about the former two everything is guarded in some way whether it be the science of it or the artificial nature of the things that you’re saying. However, when you’re really talking about sex, or at least when I am, you’ve made yourself completely vulnerable by exposing yourself intellectually, emotionally and in any other way you can think. And in discussing our own experience (or inexperience) in these matters we aren’t just discovering more about sex and it’s connotations but more importantly ourselves. Which brings me to the point of this post.

I have a challenge for you.

During this time of adolescence, we are deep into one of the most emotionally challenging parts of our lives and on a daily basis we are either having a nuclear or meltdown or gearing up for yet another one. We need to know that we aren’t alone in what we are going through. It is crucial that we are understood as more than the hormonally challenged subjects of Hollywood films. 

For this reason, Dream Weaver Productions is launching a special project for teenagers specifically. Using the testimony of you wonderful people here at This Space Intentionally Left Blank, I would like to express on film the impact that sex has on people our age.  If you want your voice to be heard, you can either post a comment below or send a personal message to me or A.  To achieve the most honest expression of the human experience possible all submissions will be anonymous. No one will be judged no matter what they say so please be as open as you can here.  You may talk about anything you would like whether it be losing your virginity, not losing your virginity, relationships, etc. If you have any questions e-mail me or leave a comment.

Any assistance an putting this project forward is greatly appreciated. Let’s try and start something.

E-MAIL: allowmetojackyou@hotmail.com

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