The one that must not be named!

Stereotypes, Prejudices, Superstitions, Taboos and Myths have been part of our society for thousands of years now. Either as a social weapon to keep the gender (read females) lower, portray male dominance, or just maintain the hollow image of 'holier than thou'. Many generations have reformed and transformed yet none can deal with them, resulting in every individual facing this challenge of right and wrong and getting to terms with it. Societies have been ignorant about the need of humans and have always catered to those dogmas which favored either the power or the male section. Expectations are converted into norms and then made stigmatic for the generations to suffer. These expectations based on the experiences of the family strongly create a hindrance in the sexual and psychological development of a child.

Sex is considered as a bad spell in most sections of society and unguided education has increased crime rates against women including rape, molestation, sexual harassment, eve-teasing etc.

Statements like 'Let us not talk about it it's not the right age, they will understand things their way, we are civilized people we shouldn't talk about it' have always left our children in dilemma. Moral dilemmas being the most common. They even use these experiences as one’s ability to behave in ways that are considered morally acceptable within a particular historical, cultural or religious context. Acceptability becomes complex and to fit in they cater to all norms, whether they agree to it or not.

At the same time, the right to educate a child about sex, in a particular way, lies with the parents. Norms set by the family are strong predictors of the comfort levels for future discussion. As odd as it may seem to talk about the moral development of children as impacting an adult’s ability to openly speak about sex, this is precisely where it starts. Despite this right, many parents choose not to do so.

These predominant figures failures to address sex and sexuality at the appropriate stages result in greater consequences. Given that education remains an ongoing process throughout the developmental continuum, the sooner the dialogue begins, the less likely someone will be to suppress the natural desire to understand it this topic or worse yet, seek understanding in places where the information provided is woefully inaccurate.  It is our ethical and moral duty that we stop making sex a taboo.