Sex Education

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30190, 23 July 1963, Page 3

Sex Education

Sir,—The confused state of public thinking on the subject of sex and morals is truly appalling. Apart from ignorance of statistics, “HJ.E.” seems not to have read Dr. Turbott’s reply to recent allegations about venereal disease increases. Most people seem to have an entirely negative view of “morality.” Surely sexual deprivation is something negative like "malnutrition," and, if it is a virtue it is only because of something positive, because restraint may avoid unsuitable involvements and increase the chances of a high-level marriage with a fully compatible person. Only if negative chastity is regarded as a means to this positive goal, namely, a more perfect marriage, can it be logically regarded as a virtue. To insist on clearer thinking on these matters is not to “degrade man to the level of the brute’’ but to seek to reduce the proportion of poor-quality marriages in our “materialistically” oriented society. Yours, etc., MARK D. SADLER. July 22, 1963.

Sir,—ln defence of Dr. Comfort, I would suggest that chastity was deemed a virtue till now because contraceptives are a recent invention (or if they have existed in the past they have not been universally available till now). Chastity was advocated because the risk of illegitimate children or of unhappy shotgun marriages was too great. It was not simply that chastity was a "good thing.” Let us not retain old mores simply because they are "accepted moral principles.” Our ancestors may have had good reason for preserving them, but let us ensure that these reasons still apply.—Yours, etc., BENE TRADITA, BENE SER. VANDA? July 22, 1963.

Sir,—Chastity unmotivated by inner convictions is no more a virtue that fasting—a Yoga exercise, merely. Personally, I oppose sexual promiscuity between boys and girls. Childbirth without at least de facto marriage in view is a social nuisance and should be penalised accordingly. However, it is useless to ignore the fact that, in this civilisation, sexual maturity is reached around the age of 18, usually long before marriage is financially practicable, and also the fact that in New Zealand today there are 13,000 more males than females, and 8710 more males than females aged 20 to 30 years. Does anyone really expect these 13,000 males to accept an enforced chastity throughout their lives? And so society will probably continue to get what it evidently prefers: legal and illegal seductions and broken marriages, sexual violence, and a harvest of wrongful births.— Yours, etc., READER. July 22, 1963. [This correspondence may now cease.—Ed., “The Press.”]