Statistics Show That More Teens Are Refraining From Sex
University and colleges are best distinguished by their academic programs and networking opportunities. Thousands of students matriculate in hopes of using their education as leverage to vie for a place in the seemingly ever shrinking market place.
But most students may agree that the social aspect of college life also makes the experience worth while. Aside from school football games, dinner at the most highly recommended restaurants, and trips to local museums, relationships and sex are topics that no one can overlook.
“Sex is very prevalent on college campuses. Students are enticed to explore their sexuality because they feel free; they’re away from home and restrictions. The expectation to be abstinent is not there,” said Arleya Ashburn, 23, a first year graduate mathematics student at Howard University.
On the other end of the spectrum, Wait Wear, a clothing line promoting abstinence, recently took its products to retailers nation wide.
According to the website, www.wearwear.com, “Wait Wear clothing is designed to bring about awareness of abstinence until marriage and about celebrating virginity.”
“Sex is used to sell everything nowadays. Abstinence is something that the media doesn’t believe in. Most times if you don’t form your own opinions subconsciously you take on the opinion of the mass media,” said Chinweizu Owunwanne, 24, Systems and Computer Science major at Howard University.
Statistics from a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that in 2002, nearly 43 percent of teens in the U.S. had never had sexual intercourse, which could translate into a substantial increase in sales for Wait Wear if this trend has remained stable.
Wait Wear’s goal is to combat the ideas about premarital sex and the images young people see in the mainstream media. In the past, the two–year-old company marketed the products on its website, and at niche events. Company president and founder, Yvette Thomas, hopes that the nationwide marketing campaign will successfully promote the message and stylish apparel to a larger youth audience.
“Everywhere I look abstinence education is gaining traction with parents and kids. I’m trying to tap into that and bolster it,” Thomas said, according to a press release on blacknews.com.