Sociologist says sexual revolution isn’t over

A noted sociologist is warning Iowa parents the sexual revolution among teenagers continues. Barbara Risman , a professor at North Carolina State University, spoke at Grinnell College this week about her research on the topic, which began after she saw articles proclaiming that the sexual revolution was over. She didn’t buy that, and dug through data at the Centers for Disease Control.Rizman found the decrease in sexual activity among high schoolers was only true for boys, not for girls. Rizman says the data shows about half of 17 year olds are sexually active, and girls are having sex at the same rate as boys. She suspects girls have become “empowered” because sex outside of a committed relationship has become taboo.Rizman also found the number of African American girls having sex has dropped to nearly the same rate as white and Hispanic girls. But Risman says it’s important to remember nearly half of all teens are having sex while still in high school and parents shouldn’t be lulled into thinking otherwise.Risman says as a culture, we should no longer pretend sexual activity is restricted to adults or married people. Risman says parents, schools and churches should consider this reality when decided what kind of sex education or abstinance programs to offer.