No Sex For You

Stephanie Coontz
November 06, 2006

Stephanie Coontz teaches history and family studies at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., and is director of research and pubic education at the Council on Contemporary Families. Her most recent book is Marriage, A History: How Love Conquered Marriage (Viking Press).

The Bush administration’s recent decision to fund programs urging unmarried 19-to-29 year-olds to abstain from sex has unleashed a storm of indignation around the country. When I was asked to comment on the policy on two radio talk shows, I was surprised to find that I was actually less offended by this right-wing initiative than were my conservative hosts and their audiences. Callers overwhelmingly expressed their outrage at the idea that the Feds should be paying people to advise grown adults on how to conduct their sex lives.

My own reaction is, in the words of our president, "Bring ‘em on." Here’s why I welcome the attempt to target older men and women with the abstinence-only message: It’s so ludicrous it’s almost harmless. I’m even willing to offer the religious rightists who have gradually taken over America’s sex education and reproductive health programs some free advice.