University of Virginia Library

Ahead By Paul Larsen

Americans Hold Misconceptions On Sex

I suppose it is rather common
knowledge that Americans hold
numerous misconceptions about
sex and that our attitudes grossly
inhibit our actions and make something
dirty and irregular out of
something beautiful and natural.
But still, it is rather horrifying to
listen to an authority in the field
speak about contemporary problems
and neuroses that people
have born and bred out of misconceptions
and ignorance.

In his lecture Wednesday night
at The Baptist Student Center,
Dr. William H. Sheppe, Jr. spoke
of the myths and false attitudes
that this country has raised and
advocated towards sex. Speaking
on "The Psychology of Sex,"
the Associate Professor of Psychiatry
at the University stated
that "today's hang-ups and problems
about sex have developed
from the myths and false-attitudes
that have grown up around the
subject. Sex, thousands of years
ago, was looked at with a very
positive attitude until we let misconceptions
and hypocrisy warp a
thing of joy and ecstasy into today's
problems and deviations."

Old Timers

Talking about several of the
myths that we have inculcated into
our minds, Dr. Sheppe said that
most of us feel that only youth
is interested in sex, when that
fact is that 70 per cent of married
couples over the age of 60
are still sexually active.

It is interesting to note that some
of the great causes behind so many
misconceptions are the false ideas
furthered by both the church and
the medical profession in the past.
Dr. Sheppe cited that in Genesis,
the Bible states "In the beginning
god made the earth...and all
therein was good." This included
the totality of the human being,
his genitalia, his sexual actions,
his positive attitude. But it seems
that minds began to be shuttled
in the wrong direction by such
religious leaders as Calvin and
Luther and by the medical profession
who hid from dealing with
arising sexual problems.

Afraid Of Sex

These attitudes have grown so
much that today, hundreds of years
later, we are still afraid of sex
instead of treating it as a normal
function of the human being. "We
are sexual organisms," Dr. Sheppe
stated, "and almost from the first
day of our infancy we become
interested in this aspect of our

life. But we have let past misconceptions
hang us up so that
sex has lost some of its meaning.
Looking at marriage, we find that
one out of four married couples
ends in divorce, and that perhaps
two of those four stay together
for the sake of their children or
their jobs or community impressions."

Because sex is still treated with
such clandestine and false
notions, we have created an entire
syndrome that affects much of our
lives, and makes it extremely difficult
to eradicate many existing
problems. Dr. Sheppe said that
for years we have hid our heads
in the hands and refused to face
facts. One severe problem that has
arisen in recent years which
we have refused to deal with is
abortion. Although there is no way
to determine exactly how many
abortions are performed each year
in the United States, Dr. Sheppe
said that there are at least well
over a million, 80 per cent of
which are performed on married
women over 30 with three or
more children. Dr. Sheppe gave
credit to Mrs. Finebaum, the Arizona
mother who in 1966 was
forced to travel to Sweden to have
an abortion on her deformed fetus
which resulted from taking Thalidomide
drug. Because of the publicity
surrounding her trip and the
drug, much attention was brought
to this problem which has recently
manifested itself in several
states by a modification of existing
abortion laws.

Unnatural?

Dr. Sheppe stated that although
there are still many people who
feel that masturbation is unnatural
and irregular, statics show that
98 per cent of male college graduates
and 50 per cent of female
graduates engage in the act. "For
many years," he said, "it was
held that masturbation led to
insanity and the such. If this was
the case then 98 per cent of the
male population would have been
locked in insane asylums, guarded
by the other two-per cent who
were eunuchs."

Citing other statistics that are
perhaps generally unknown, Dr.
Sheppe said that 75 per cent of
the males and 50 per cent of
the females who get married have
had premarital sex. Among college
graduates, men are more prone
to have premarital relations than
women. About 60 to 65 per cent
of college males engage in this
act while almost 100 per cent of
high-school drop-outs have premarital
sex.

Statistics on sex activity have
developed into many philosophical
theories, such as Bertrand Russell's
proposal that we accept "trial
marriage." This theory, said Dr.
Sheppe, partly resulted from the
fact that no one really knows his
marriage partner until about six
months after the wedding.

Parental Training

Responding to questions, the
psychiatrist said that parental
training of their children is extremely
important in the child's
attitude towards sex. He said that
parents can over train a child so
that he or she becomes very terrified
by sex. He compared this
with the child that, being told
repeatedly to stay out of the
street, becomes afraid of cars to
such a degree that he is frightened
even to ride in cars.

Over-training

Such over-training and false attitudes
towards sex can develop
frustrations and deviations. Also,
because sex is maltreated in the
minds of many, lives can be ruined
as a result of actions taken only
for the sake of appearances. Dr.
Sheppe gave as an example parents
who force their children to get
married when the girl has become
pregnant. He then cited the statistic
that 50 per cent of teen-age marriages
end in divorce.

In closing, Dr. Sheppe said that
the American society was guilty
of gross hypocrisy which has built
a stigma around sex and made it
a taboo subject. He said that it is
now time to approach sex with a
different, cleaner attitude, and treat
it as it is—an act of joy and love.