I Am Taboo

    I practice safe sex. I have only one sexual partner for whom I have very strong feelings and an immense amount of trust. I am faithful to my partner despite the pressures of being a 17 year old girl on her way to college.

    I am taboo.

   Why? Because my sexual partner, the person I love and cherish and would do anything for, is a girl.

    It doesn't matter how much we care for each other, how faithful we are, or how long we waited to have sex. We are automatically taboo simply by being gay. We don't talk about "that sort of thing", we don't acknowledge it. So, how do I benefit from a sex education class that only applies to heterosexual sex?

     I've heard more times than I can count how conception and pregnancy work. I know the ins and outs - literally - of a penis. I know how to use a condom. The problem is that these lessons cannot be applied to my life. Even lessons about emotional health are seemingly limited to heterosexual couples.

    So where do I come in? When do I get my sex education? What STDs am I at risk for? How do I protect myself? How is the emotional aspect of my relationship different? Is it even different at all? None of these are questions I could consider asking in class, unless I want to be harassed, ridiculed, and ultimately rejected. A teacher in a so-called sex ed class won't answer these questions - they're radical, rude, and wrong. I am taboo.