(05-23-2022, 03:58 PM)JasonBlack Wrote:

(05-23-2022, 02:46 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: I don't care that much about what is "supposed to be the norm." It seems to me that the traditional norms have supported tyranny and violence through the ages.

I usually don't either, but with regards to issues where they make a practical difference.

Quote:But I don't know what is right about sex. A part of me wants to respect people enough not to use them for sex objects and pleasure without intimacy. Another part of me enjoyed the relative ease of availability of sex in the late 20th century, without which I might not have "had any."

Many studies actually show that the people who get the best and most frequent sex....are married couples.

Quote:

Quote:It seems natural for younger people to play the field and to be promiscuous more than older people.

For men this is definitely true. For women it's a mixed bag, as youth lends itself to greater hedonism, emotionality and impulsivity, while women's sexual drive tends to peak nearer the end of their fertility window (the body's "I've only got one last chance!" if you will).

Quote:This has often been true, despite religious and legal restraints. It also offers the chance to find the right partner, which in times of "old norms" was not permitted.

I don't think either the old norms or the new norms offer a good chance to find the right partner. The former was sexually repressive, the latter a foolhardy opening of the floodgates and telling young people "just figure it out". It turns out...the majority of men, women, straight people, gay people and everything in between.....have pretty self-destructive notions of what they're attracted to. Attraction is not a choice, but I think we also need to better educate people on what many of the most toxic (if not dangerous) pitfalls look like, and alternatives to avoid them.

Quote:

Quote:It is also useful in our times of overpopulation to separate sex from bearing children.

There is no overpopulation problem in the United States (since that is the country for which we are currently discussing policy). That's happening primarily in impoverished African nations, and, to a lesser extent, areas of southeast Asia. The United States, Europe, China and Japan don't have anything approaching an over-population problem.

Quote:

Quote:On the other hand, there are drawbacks to free-wheeling sexual lifestyles, like hurt feelings, disease and irresponsible childbirths. So to have a moral compass is necessary. Treat others as you would wish to be treated.

that's a start, but I would argue that, in practice, relationships are an extremely complicated topic that most people could use better education on. Obviously, a lot of it will come down to experience, but we should at least give people as many tools as possible to mitigate the riskiest behaviors.