Sex and Love - Knowing The Difference

Sex & Love

Sex is a BIG step and it most often occurs throughout your teenage years or in early adulthood. In society today, sex is regarded in many ways. It is both glorified and used to sell things and get peoples attention and it is also thought of as taboo, and not talked about openly in a real way. For parents, sex is something that they don't like to think of their kids as participating in and it is hard for them when you become sexually active. Also, peer pressure can be quite upsetting as it may seem that you are being pressured into doing something you may not feel totally comfortable to deal with.

As well, everywhere you look, you see warnings and horror stories of teen pregnancy, STD's, AIDS and abortion. Put all of that on top of the fact that it is your first time experiencing sexual feelings etc. and you get one confusing and scary topic! No wonder so many teens feel frightened to address these feelings that they are experiencing and why so many of them are uniformed about sex. Hopefully, this section will help you sort out some of these complications and give you a clearer understanding of sex. Also see the sections on STD's, contraception and teen pregnancy for more information.

Why do some teens have sex?

You may be wondering why so many teens seem to be having sex. There are many common reasons. Some teenagers have sex because:

* They want to feel accepted.
* It feels good.
* It's "cool" to have sex.
* It's easier to have sex than to talk about it or say no.
* They want to feel close to someone.
* They feel peer pressure.
* They're in love.
* They want to experiment.
* They have raging hormones.

The difference between love and sex?

A lot of teens get confused between the feelings of love and sex. Often sex is referred to as "making love." Sex and love are involved with each other, but sex can occur without love and love can exist without sex. Here is a little list to help you determine the differences between the two:

Love
* Love is a feeling (an emotion).
* There is no exact "right" definition of love for everybody.
* Love involves feelings of romance, attraction.
Sex
* Sex is an event or act (physical).
* There are different kinds of sex, but all kinds of sex have some things in common.
* Sex may or may not involve penetration.
* Sex can happen between a male and a female, between two females, between two males, between more than two people, or by one's self (masturbation).