Anonymous asked: For the age question I'm going to have to disagree. You say it's a personal choice, whenever you're ready? When I was 13 I had no fucking clue about anything sexually related. I could be manipulated, easily. There NEEDS to be an age limit because CHILDREN cannot think for themselves therefore wouldn't be able to make adult decisions.

The key thing there is that you had “no fucking clue about anything sexually related,” meaning you were not educated about sex enough to make those decisions and that’s why you could have been easily manipulated. I’m not saying that all 13-year-olds are ready to have sex, but they are ready to learn about it and should learn about it to avoid precisely the manipulation you are talking about. 

When young teens learn about how to have healthy relationships, give consent when they’re ready and say no if they’re not (along with the importance of consent and respecting a partner’s feelings), how to have safe sex to avoid the emotional and physical consequences of STI’s/pregnancy, and how to respect each other’s sexuality as well as their own, they can make informed decisions for themselves.

 Which isn’t to say they don’t need supportive parents, friends, teachers, and other adults in their lives to guide them along the way. It’s just saying that they need access to comprehensive information about sex because many will have sex whether they are educated about it or not. And when they’re not educated, the consequences can be life-altering.

And that’s why sex education is so, so important. 

-Rachel

P.S. I know plenty of adults who know less about sex than some 13 year olds—it’s not about age, it’s about maturity.