Back in the 1960’s they called it “free love.” The idea was that men and women should feel free to have a sexual relationship with whomever they wanted whenever they wanted, and not be “stuck” in a one-one supposedly “boring” lifestyle. “Break free from the norm!” they cried. “Let it all hang out!” “When you’re not with the one you love, love the one you’re with!” “It can’t be wrong when it feels so right.”
It didn’t take long until physical problems arose from all the sexual activity, suggesting that perhaps all this free sharing wasn’t so good for people after all. But once the train had left the station, so to speak, people wanted to keep what they thought they had gained and women said that it would be against their equal rights if they weren’t allowed to join in recreational sex.
One could find statistics about how this has adversely affected family and social structure and also find connections to the current widespread use of anti-depressants, but for now, let’s just look at one way that it’s affecting our state. According to the South Dakota Department of Health, the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea diagnoses have gone up 60 percent over the past five years. Chlamydia is up 18 percent. In 2010 alone, there were 3200 cases of Chlamydia, with 72 percent of those being females. Most were between the ages of 15 and 24.
This last statistic leads one to wonder if it’s really an addiction to sex that causes these young women to have sex with several or even many partners, or if it is more of an addiction to popularity. In many cases, young women at this age start out more by experimentation or to get popular with the guys at their schools, rather than for the sheer recreational “joy” of the sex itself. Lon Kightlinger, the state epidemiologist with the department commented that, "The best protection is free. The best prevention is abstinence or a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship."
Chlamydia and Gonorrhea have the symptoms of abdominal pain, burning during urination, painful intercourse and vaginal discharge. They can be successfully treated, but if not, they can lead to infertility and other difficulties. It is possible to have Chlamydia and not even know it. Both are highly, highly infectious, so if a person has it, then all of the people with whom that person has had sex must also be treated, and all of the people that they have done it with should be tested as well.
