Angelbrat asks: I’m doing a survey at school about ‘Why are teens preoccupied by sex?’ I think of you as a highly professional little ‘puppy’ and your opinion on that question will be surely appreciated!
Ha! I would love to see the results of that survey when you’re done, Angelbrat!
Well I have a few answers for you. First of all, there’s the simple biochemical one. When humans enter puberty, their bodies start secreting a lot of hormones that change them from being children into adults, and most of that has to do with sexual and reproductive aspects. Whereas children might develop crushes on people because they’re so attracted to them, teenagers tend to walk around in a state of perpetually heightened sexual preoccupation, because their bodies are forcing them into it. It’s absolutely natural – if humans stayed like children their whole lives, the species would never reproduce! (With us dogs, of course, it’s quite different. We tend to only get preoccupied by sex at times when females are in heat. Frankly, it makes the rest of our lives a lot easier than yours!).
But of course there are other reasons too. Even a dog like me is pretty fascinated with watching how teenage bodies change so fast, so it’s impossible for actual teenagers to not be interested in seeing each other’s changes too.
Also, though, there’s a shift in priorities when one’s a teenager. Teens aren’t as concerned with what their parents and other adults think as they used to be. They’re at a time in their life where their peers are the most important people. And especially, what their status is with their peers. And as well as sports, grades, talents, and humor, sexuality is one of the most important status symbols there is. He’s cool because he’s dating her. She’s cool because she wore a short skirt to school. He’s uncool because he’s not sexy enough. Etc. Frankly, to me, this is all pure silliness, but then I’m not a teenage human!
And then there’s the current culture. If you turned on a pop radio station fifty years ago, you’d hear a lot of songs about love, a lot of songs about dancing, and a good number of songs about other things, from historical stuff to politics to humorous satire to families. But today, it’s almost all about love and sex. In fact, I have to admit, I’m not hearing all that much love! Teenagers today are flooded with media about sex. Songs, TV shows, movies… it’s not like this subject wasn’t there before, it’s just that it’s so ubiquitous now (a four-syllable word for being all over the place – not bad for a highly professional little puppy, eh!).
Honestly, Angelbrat, I have no idea how teenagers today can possibly think about much other than sex. And that’s really too bad. Because they should be thinking more about… well… dogs! Feeding their dogs, walking their dogs, petting their dogs, playing fetch with their dogs. Oh and I guess a little homework and friendship and family time added in wouldn’t hurt!
Good Luck with the Survey!
Shirelle
