CRISPNG parliament: ‘Virginity or safe sex’ — which should be encouraged among Gen Z’s?

By Genevieve Aningo

To cater for our human needs can be justified as the blight of human existence. As biological beings, humans cater for a lot of fragment needs all at the hallmark to provide either security or pleasure or both at the same time till death. 

For instance, aside from satiating hunger, an individual can relish in biting into corn kernels from its cobs while eating. Of all human needs such as food, shelter, excrete, excrete, respire etc, sexual need is the only one that comes with an embargo.

While everyone is cheered on to gratify needs as eating, sleeping, bathing, building a career, making money when desired — irrespective of status — sexual intercourse is an exception that comes with married status. 

Sexual needs before 21st century has been controlled under the purviews of religion or social constructs. All religions have always been champions of chastity before marriage and tag the act as not just a physical exercise but spiritual.

In the Islamic religion, for instance, sex outside marriage is termed as ‘haram” — meaning unlawful — while indulging in the act before marriage for the Christians is seen as defying ones ‘temple’ (body) and transferring spirits between or among the sexual partners. 

Likewise, the society’s construct of virgins being more acceptable desired by all classes of  men, not to mention affluent ones, encouraged women to be pure.

There is a tale by the Yoruba and Igbo cultures as well as foreign tribes that primitive society honoured the bleeding of the hymen during the first sexual experience by a virgin bride which has also promoted the idea fleeing from sex until marriage. 

These tenets, though bias, made women the gate keepers of purity and men as creatures with no sexual discipline. The responsibility of making sure that both men and women are sexually innocent was saddled on a female gender championing her to dress modest and deny sexual advances until a man marries her. Marriage was the only ticket to sexual intercourse. 

 However, in the current dispensation even decades before us there have been sexual revolutions. While the religious views about the premarital sex may not have altered, social attitudes about sex have transformed giving freedom to what was impermissible. 

Wide from premarital sex which can exist in a monogamy relationship, the society has become liberal to open marriages, polyamary, sex toys,  cheating, keeping mistress, side, chick/guy, use of contraceptives, pornography, hook up/one stand experience and  masturbation   which limits the sacredness of sex which religion preaches. 

Society bases for liberating sexual intercourse that like any other needs is that sex as a biological need should be pursed with no limitations and there is no right or wrong way of having it. Society has deferred from its primitive era before 1920’s when pre-marital sex was still offensive. Today, sex outside marriage is encouraged. 

This paradigm shift poses a great challenge among different generations. A baby boomer who was born between 1947 to 1964, when premarital sex was outrageous, may still be silent about his or view about the subject than a Generation Z (born between 2001 to 2020) who came into the world when all restrictions to sex has been eliminated. 

If there is any moral message about sex today, it’s tilted towards precautionary measures than avoidance. Religion view of sex today is subtle and the society view prominent. 

 In this edition, CRISPNG Parliament examines if safe sex should be the focus for Gen Z’s or virginity.

Cynthia Alo –  Journalist

“They can defer good from bad! It is always good to keep to yourself if you can. It will save you a whole lot of trouble. Sexual activity is a thing of choice, you can only do your best in telling them the consequences of giving in and whether you like it, GEN-Z likes to explore very well. So, all you have to do is educate them and go ahead to tell them to practice safe sex”. 

Aroundegbe Rukayat Opeoluwa- Mosque Clergy 

“If you are a virgin, stay away from men until you get married to a man you desire. If you are not a virgin, you should stop if you don’t want to increase your body count in immorality. Engaging in sex before marriage trains you for adultery.  It is good to keep our virginity till marriage despite societal pressures or views”

Micah  Oke –  Talent Manager 

“I strongly don’t believe in being a virgin. It’s almost impossible to be a virgin till marriage. Virginity is broken without sex at times, a lot of ladies or men get it wrong. You lose your virginity the  day you kiss a guy or get mushy with any guy, to engage in a sexual act is the advance. There are not so many men looking for women with unbroken hymen”. 

Mary-Anne Emenalom –  Christian Clergy

“Fornication and sexual immoralities are sin and  as such should be avoided. It’s good to keep our virginity till marriage despite societal pressures or views”.

Akuamaka Onyejekwe – Baker 

“I’ve always been of the opinion that virginity is applaudable. Regardless,  society places too much importance on it.

“This GEN-Z is very curious and inquisitive to say the least. It is easier for them to learn from experience. So I’m of the opinion that they should be sexually oriented and educated, and then allowed to make their own choices. They should create their own sexual values, it shouldn’t be created for them. They should decide”.

Justin Akusu – Engineer 

“Virginity is still the best even though society may think that this is old school.  If I have a girl child I would encourage her to remain chaste as possible including young girls of today who are yet to experience sex but but for my sons I would love them to experience it before marriage because I don’t want anyone to control them. This may be dicey or make me seem partial but that is my opinion.”