Students, of College Age, and Sex

My speech students always want to try to do a titillating kind of speech that includes discussing "sex." But they never want to say anything "real" about it at all.  They want to quote statistics, warn everyone about std's, perhaps even scare them about unwanted pregnancies (the younger college students); but they never want to actually "talk about anything real about sex." They don't want to get into what it might feel like, how it might mess up their moral code, how it might rearrange their priorities, or even about how it works--or should work--and often doesn't work! 

Nope "sex" is dealt with like metaphysical terms: "God," "the devil," heaven, or even "the soul." We can't say too much about "sex" because we might embarrass ourselves, or those who are listening. We can't say "anything" because we might step over the line and say too much -- and reveal something about ourselves. My 25-year-old students still smirk and giggle about topics like "masturbation" or "fellatio" or "love."  In the abstract these and other concepts and actions are fine -- but when spoken about directly no acknowledged details are forthcoming. My students are mostly still children -- and not tuned even to the ways of their own bodies. How sad! How American!