American teenagers are having less sex––a relief to most parents. In a society where pornography is readily accessible, “hookup culture” is perpetuated by social networking apps, condoms are often distributed for free, birth-control pills can be acquired without charge, and morning-after-pills can be purchased over the counter, having sex has never been easier. With an abundance of societal pressures promoting and encouraging sex, statistics exhibiting a decrease in sexual activity among teens appear to be counter-intuitive.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the percentage of high school students in the United States to have had sexual intercourse dropped from 54% in 1991, to 40% in 2017. Despite overwhelming statistics in support of this declining trend, public perception remains stagnant. Teens continue to believe that their peers are having a lot more sex than they actually are.

Across the nation, the idea of starting health class in early middle school and high school is to ensure students are prepared to have safe sex. Although students at Parker learn the basics in fifth grade, and then again in ninth grade, many students believe that freshman year should not mark the end of this conversation. “Freshman year, you are taught this stuff in health and you feel like it’s so far away from you,” said a second anonymous junior girl. “So you just laugh at it because it’s kind of uncomfortable, probably since you just got out of middle school. We should be having a little bit of sex-ed all the way up until senior year.”

Freshman year, students are enrolled in health class, in which they discuss topics of sleep, depression, and sexual health. Students can recall passing around a box of contraceptives, or playing games to exhibit how fast a sexually transmitted disease can spread.

Rigorous health education is often suggested as an explanation for why engagement in sexual intercourse is on a decrease. “I think sex-ed has gotten very intense, and especially at Parker, health teachers promote abstinence, and scare you with the possible consequences of having sex,” anonymous junior girl #1 said. “Although, I think it’s ridiculous that they promote abstinence instead of promoting safe sex. It’s unrealistic.” Regardless of student perception, it is important to note that Parker does not officially teach abstinence-only sex education.

Anonymous junior girl #1 claims when she first engaged in sexual intercourse, she was fully aware of the potential consequences. “When I had sex, I did use a condom,” she said. “I guess I actually did practice the things I learned in sex-ed.”

When asked whether they believe students are practicing lessons learned in health class, a group of 9th graders lounging about the second floor had mixed feelings. “I think people have common sense,” freshman Evan Ehrhart said. “Use a condom. Apart from that, I don’t know.”

Many students perceive the primary purpose of contraception to be pregnancy prevention. “I think people use condoms,” sophomore Ethan Neff said. “I think people who don’t use condoms ignore the possibility of getting an STI, because they don’t think it could happen to them.”

Although there is no available data specific to Parker, national data supports the notion that public perception of teen sex is skewed.  “Just from what I hear, there is a lot of sex,” anonymous junior girl #1 said. “No one really cares who you have sex with, you just do it whenever.”

According to sophomore Olivia Lansburgh, it is commonly perceived by students that Parker kids are having more sex than the national average. “Everyone at Parker is very close, so it’s easier to find someone you can connect with,” Lansburgh said.

The “hookup” or “sex” culture at Parker is very much a public conversation. “I think Parker is having a lot of sex because it is a very small school,” Lansburgh said. “When we have parties, it’s very mixed grades which brings an opportunity for kids to talk between grades. When people go out, a lot of people hook up, even if it might not necessarily be sex.”

Although sex is often considered intimate or, in many cultures and religions, sacred, it can also be regarded as a topic of gossip. “If you have sex at a party, people normally end up finding out,” Lansburgh said. “At Parker, everyone knows everything.”

Despite many students believing that a majority of their peers are having sex, there are also many students whose perceptions align with CDC data. “Sex is very much a culture surrounded by a certain group of people, and if you’re not a part of that group, you don’t experience it,” said anonymous junior girl #2. “One-time hookups usually do not result in people having sex. I think sex is only common when two people are exclusive.”

Similar to the results of Parker’s drug and alcohol survey released in spring of 2018, anonymous junior girl #1 believes that underclassmen are engaged in limited sexual activity while upperclassmen are exceeding national statistics. “I think Parker kids are having less sex than typical teenagers. Well, actually, I don’t know,” said anonymous junior girl, “I think freshman through junior year, Parker has way less sex than the national average, but senior year we have way above the national average.”

Throughout the duration of highschool, students often feel societal pressures to “fit in,” and oftentimes sex is perceived as a social norm. “As you progress in age, there is definitely more pressure to become sexually active,” said anonymous junior girl #1. “There’s pressure because the number of people hooking up and having sex increases as we get older.”

According to Lansburgh, there is a lot of stigma surrounding sex freshman year; however, by the time senior year rolls around, sex seems to be more widespread. “By senior year, you don’t have to be in an exclusive relationship to have sex with someone, versus freshman year where casual sex is not typical,” Lansburgh said. “I think it comes with age. Once people lose their virginity, they tend to be more sexually active because they have done it before.”

Despite there being numerous students who believe that “everyone is having sex,” it remains a stigmatized topic within the Parker community. Although it takes two individuals to have sex, it is overwhelmingly females that report to having felt judgement from their peers. “I think if you’re not in a relationship and you are losing your virginity, people can be very judgemental,” Lansburgh said.

When describing her personal experience losing her virginity, anonymous junior girl #2 reports feeling mocked by her peers. “I think I felt more judgement from boys than from girls,” she said. “I don’t know if that was of because of who I had sex with, but the boys made fun of me a lot.”

“If it’s a girl, people say, ‘I cannot believe she lost her virginity without a boyfriend,’” Lansburgh said, “but when it’s a guy, he is praised for having sex without the attachment.”