High school sexual networks

[pozorvlak]

Interesting article from LiveScience.com, about some researchers who investigated networks of sex and relationships at US high schools, and discovered that they're fascinatingly different from adult networks

Comments

[mi_guida]

I see two male homosexual relationships, actually, both in the same are of the chart. Still probably not as much as you'd think, though.

[liminereid]

May also be a symptom both of repression and not really accepting what you are doing as a homosexual rleationship. I mean how many people actually admitted to homosexual relationships at secondary school in proportion to how many people have subsequently come out/admitted to experiences or relationships? it may just be a case of people going "oh god I'm not gay/ bi /whatever so I won't admit to that relationship/experience"

[pozorvlak]

That sounds quite likely. Also, I suppose for a lot of homosexual sex acts, it's a lot easier to say "oh, it doesn't really count as sex, we didn't Go All The Way (TM)". I'm told that a big problem among US teenagers is that they don't think of oral sex as being Real Sex, and so don't realise that it can transmit STDs.

[liminereid]

Yeah. the girl opposite me at UNI still had that attitude in our first year. She was having regular sex with another girl but was gay or bi becuase it didn't count as it "wasn't real sex". If you are brought up with a repressive and hostile view to homosexuality (more than possible in most of America) just saying it's not real and not mentioning it at all may seem easier.

[pozorvlak]

Ah yes, you told me about her. Obviously she's to be censured for keeping you up at night, but I think she's to be pitied a bit as well.

[pozorvlak]

Good rule of thumb: if it's keeping the neighbours awake, it's definitely Real Sex :-)

[pozorvlak]

Hmmm, possibly... but then, they might also occur earlier - I can think of several friends for whom it was that way round.

I went to a pretty homophobic school, and was constantly surprised by the number of guys I knew at school who came out at uni.

[liminereid]

I know a lot of people, myself included, who found it far easier to fool around with the same sex and even have weird intense and unofficial relationships with them, than attempt a heterosexual relationship. But if anyone accused you of "doing anything" with the person you just denied it. Love that middle class repressive nature

[pozorvlak]

I see the data's also from 1995, when social attitudes were probably less liberal.