Sexuality: usually a word people tend to shy away from, it is one of those ‘scary’ words, like homosexual, menstruation, testicle, breasts, queer (in some contexts), rape, you get the gist. Not everyone has an outright problem with these words, but no one can deny there is a large population of people who either avoid these words at all costs, or, when necessary to voice, do so in a whisper, so as not to be heard. Coincidentally, the same thing happens with actual sexuality: the capacity for sexual feelings. People try to steer clear from expressing their sexuality, or acknowledging its existence at all.

Sexuality may even be considered a social taboo in some senses, not merely the word, the actual thought of people having capacity for sexual thoughts, preferences or actions that someone may not want to have out in the open for all the world to see.

This shun of sexuality goes back a long time. We all know the older customs in some cultures of not showing skin, staying a virgin until marriage, and making sure to not let anyone know you have ever done anything mildly sexual with anyone.

However, if anyone takes a look around them, that’s not quite how things are these days. Women and men alike are showing skin on a daily basis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average age for virginity loss is 17.1 years, and people seldom marry so young; it is evident most are not saving themselves for marriage. Not only are married folks shown sleeping in the same bed on television, as they often did not used to be, people are even shown having sexual contact! *gasp*.

Sexuality is obviously in a much different place than it has been at any time in the past, being much more evident in everyday life, as well as in media today. Everyone is very aware that sexuality exists, and the majority are not opposed to a little PDA every once in a while.

So if sexuality has come such a long way, why is it still being repressed? People are afraid of sexuality. They’re afraid to show their feelings, to show that they think about sexuality, to admit that they might do sexual things. People are afraid of judgement. Although, if everyone just let loose, and put everything out in the open, would this fear go away? There would probably still be that one person giving someone a look as they walk past them, that one group of people who get real quiet when that one person passes by. Despite those people, should anyone really care?

Most students obviously think there’s some sort of limit to this ‘putting everything out there’ theory. No one would even think of coming to school naked or discussing sexual feelings in class or with strangers, or at least I wouldn’t. But look how far we’ve come. Who knows how this may change? We’ve gone from not showing ankles to maybe not wanting to see someone’s whole ass hanging out of their shorts, so is it completely absurd to think of a future when people are even more free with their sexuality? Honestly, I hope that future exists. Maybe not to the full out ‘not wearing any clothes, telling everybody every detail about your sex life’ extent. There is hope for a future when people aren’t so scared to discuss sexuality. Everyone obviously thinks about sexuality and it sucks that society, everyone at this school, and myself included, are so hush-hush about the whole shabang.