Unchaste subjects in high school?

  • Thread starter Thread starter AmericanRose
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

AmericanRose

Guest
So in school, from 9th grade to now (I am a senior) I have had to watch movies and read books in class with some content that can be slightly (often more than slightly) sexually explicit. I find that sort of stuff very uncomfortable, especially in a room of hormonal teenagers. The teachers say that we should be mature enough to handle it. I am, however, I prefer not to discuss things like that. In one instance, during a recent film of Macbeth, I was the only one to go sit in the hall during the sexual scenes. My old biology teacher liked to make jokes and assumed we were “dirty minded”. And some of the random conversations the class has…let’s just say I frequently feel a need to take a bath in holy water. (I didn’t, I don’t know where I would get that much haha)

My question is, why would teachers assume students either can handle the material or think it’s normal for kids my age? I have tried to stay as innocently minded for as long as possible, but especially during this year I have been exposed to things I did not want to see or know about until I’m married.
 
Wait…There are sexual scenes in Macbeth?

I don’t remember any in the play. Maybe a movie though.

Could you give us some examples of books you have to read that contain this kind of stuff?

I would say that reading some sort of sexual stuff in books is not necessarily always bad. And I’m saying this as a EF-going Catholic who has some pretty old-fashioned ideas. For instance, I read 1984 in high school which has some stuff in it. I also read the Iliad which has a bit of sexual stuff as well (of course that’s history/humanities which is a little different).

I would just say that it should be handled delicately especially with teenagers. Once you get 17-18 years maybe you can start getting a handle on it more so than when you were 16.
 
Last edited:
You know back in the early 2000s, English 11th grade class watched Romeo & Juliet 1968 Edition. Good memories about the jokes we made about this movie but it’s not for weak hearts. Please don’t be tempted to check it out until you finish high school.
 
To be honest, they assume most kids can handle it because, well, most kids can handle it.

I’ll also admit curiosity in terms of what you consider sexually explicit (ie, a kiss followed by next scene or “and then they had sex”) And as Entwhistler mentioned, context can be very important in some cases. Sometimes a scene can be uncomfortable because it’s meant to be uncomfortable.
 
It’s the 2015 movie adaption of Macbeth. Also very very violent. Almost everyone died in a horrible way. As for the sexual scenes. There was groping, half nakedness. I don’t know what else since I left the room but apparently it was s good thing I did, according to my friends. Some of the books liked to go into tooooo much detail. Lets see…Cold Sassy Tree, Divergent Series, Graceling, a few poems by people like five centuries ago that I hardly remember, (but that’s slightly more understandable as those were directed toward adults), 1984 creeped me out…others as well but I don’t quite remember. Ohhh wait. The Canterbury Tales. We watched a claymation adaptation of a couple of the stories and I had been advised by several of my fellow classmates mates, who watched it before my class did, not to watch it because they know how I am. I’m pretty sure I was redder than my lipstick.
 
Last edited:
Kissing doesn’t particularly bother me. It’s the descriptions of clothes coming off or getting too passionate with a kiss, (like French kissing ew) or in movies there’s half naked people…🙈
 
Oooooh. I’ve read Canterbury Tales. Hehe…

I don’t understand why they had to go and put sex scenes in Macbeth though. No reason for it per the play. Although Shakespeare does use a lot of wordplay innuendo. (FYI, Macbeth is my favorite Shakespeare play).

But I suppose I would say that sex scenes have to play a purpose in a story. And it can’t be toooo graphic in my opinion. But take 1984. That relationship made a point. And it was a good point. Big Brother was trying to dumb down mankind by taking away, among other things, sexuality and, ultimately, marriage.

But the sex scenes in Macbeth? Not so important to the story.
 
1984 did make a good point, now that I think about it. I just don’t like the book in general. We also had to read The Great Gatsby. It was…interesting, to say the least
 
Last edited:
That was my sister’s reaction to 1984. I can understand it. I think it helps to read it twice though. You aren’t as freaked out the second time.

I do need to read The Great Gatsby again. I read it over the Summer and it was interesting.
 
You didn’t like The Divergent series OR 1984? *flips table* 😉

So to get an understanding, it’s more the presence of sex, regardless of if it’s actually described. So would this be right? (I tried to make these bland as possible. [ ] denote the examples.)

[
Okay with you: He kissed her and she leaned in, hugging him.
Not okay with you: They kissed. He felt her tongue.
Not okay with you: They went to the bed. The next morning…
]

Side note on The Great Gatsby: Daisy sucks.
 
Last edited:
I reread it four times to try to understand it 😂 Never was able to until I found spark notes
 
mVitus said:
[

Okay with you: He kissed her and she leaned in, hugging him.

Not okay with you: They kissed. He felt her tongue.

Not okay with you: They went to the bed. The next morning…

]
Click to expand...
The first is fine, the second is a noooo, the third is awkward but not that bad.
 
mVitus said:
You didn’t like The Divergent series OR 1984? flips table 😉
Click to expand...
Nope. In fact I don’t check teen books out from the library anymore cause they ALL have awkward moments. I read stuff like Anne of Green Gables (the whole series. I’ve read them all at least ten times each except for the third.), Black Beauty, clean romantic poems, etc
 
I remember one book I read just cause the cover looked cool and the description was fine. There were hormones in the water at certain times during the year that, let’s just say made everyone feel the need to procreate with anyone and everyone for seven days. Descriptions included! I didn’t even finish the book
 
In regards to that book: The … wha? Doesn’t sound like something I’d read, but I have to admit curiosity as to what it was.

As for not reading the teen section: If you don’t read those books, it would be my lifelong sorrow, American Rose with a ‘e.’ (Never read the books, but did see a couple movies/shows.)
 
I once brought a book home from the library and unbeknownst to me there were some pretty graphically described sex scenes. Back it went!! 😠
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top