That’s the point I heard someone make today in my office. She made the observation that more people are harmed by not knowing much about their sexuality and sexual health, and about relationships, than are people who don’t know much about history. Not that learning history was unimportant. Obviously, a good education is important for getting a better paying job.

But think about it. Because of lack of sex education, the Center for Disease Control last month told us that 25% of teenage girls have a sexually transmitted disease. We have the highest teen pregnancy rate in the Western world–and not because our teens are the most sexually active. We have 20,000 people under the age of 25 contracting HIV every year.

And that’s just the direct fallout. What about psychological fallout? Because we don’t teach healthy ideas about sexuality, our young people get their information from watching television and films. They learn to sexualize their relationships, making them all about how “hot” a partner is, and not how loyal, communicative, or open. They also learn that intercourse is the “gold standard,” that only wives lose interest in sex, and that old people (you know, like 40) stop making love because that’s “gross.”

What about you? Have you educated yourself about healthy sexuality? My blog and newsletter are one place to start. So are websites like www.sexualhealth.com and WebMD’s Health & Sex Center. Understanding good sex is more than looking up positions (”sex positions” is one of the most popular web searches). Take charge of your sexual health and avoid heartache.

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