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Imagine walking into your sexual education classroom in middle or high school and
hearing these statements coming from your teacher: "If you have sex, your penis will fall off and
land in another dimension populated entirely by dogs who will eat it.” Or the statement, “having
sex means you’re in Al-Qaeda.” In the episode of Family Guy, “Prick Up Your Ears,” these
precise words are spoken by the sexual education teacher at James Woods High School. In this
episode, the writers of this show explore the social concerns of teaching kids abstinence versus
safe sex in a school environment. The show takes the stand that safe sex is a much better
alternative to abstinence by making sarcastic, crude jokes and extreme exaggerations about
Lois, the safe sex sexual education teacher, was replaced with a very stereotypical
preacher. Here, the writers sarcastically use the preacher as a means to show the propaganda of
sorts that the abstinence only teacher provides. He relates to them by using pop culture
references to connect to them such as claiming God likes The Matrix, and then by using a “God”
voice to tell them sex is bad and you shouldn’t have sex until marriage. All of the students are
told extreme lies, such as condoms fail 100% of the time and are unsafe. After hearing these
radical views, all of the children decide to become completely abstinent, completely blinded by
how “cool” it is, instead of searching for the reasons of being right or wrong.
In the next scene, the propaganda continues with a pamphlet they release to all the kids.
Meg gives Peter a pamphlet about sex, which directly states, "If you have sex, your penis will
fall off and land in another dimension populated entirely by dogs who will eat it.” Peter
promptly responds to this by pledging to be abstinent to avoid this fate. He learns that the
pamphlet says that having sex moves you down in the social ladder, which Peter quotes from
reading, “If a straight man has sex, he turns gay.” This propaganda, and the radical views noted
earlier, confirms, in a very radical way, their belief that abstinence education is based on many
falsehoods and uses propaganda to try and scare kids into not having sex.
Lois fights for safe sex teaching in the episode, bumping the preacher off stage,
giving a riveting speech to the students, claiming that every human being has natural urges, and
that if two people really have strong feelings for each other, it’s not completely wrong for them
to have sex. She stresses that if that is the case, you should be able to protect yourself by using a
condom, to which all the kids rejoice and claim that they will use condoms. This shows the basic
This episode presents one of the most basic arguments in society today - how should we
teach kids about sex? In America, the most prevalent teaching is fully or partially abstinence-
based. This is mostly because America is a predominately Christian nation, even though
Judaism and Islam also reflect this teaching. Christian morality has been preaching abstinence
since the Middle Ages, and as this is the most prevalent religion, it is also the most prevalent
teaching. The Christian way teaches us that sex before marriage is a sin, and that you should
Janet Smith, a Christian writer on ethical issues, writes, “Let us focus on three
fundamental truths about sexuality stressed throughout the Christian tradition: that marriage is
the only proper arena for sexual activity; that marriages must be faithful for the love of spouses
to thrive; and that children are a great gift to parents. (Para 1, Three Truths)” This represents a
basic tenant for Christians. They believe sex is a deep commitment that can only be built through
marriage, even though she herself notices the cultural trend of increasing failed marriages.
However, the cultural norms of this philosophy have changed over time. After World
War II, sexual freedom became a much bigger deal, and the social importance of abstinence
declined. The introduction of the first oral contraceptive pill suppressed many consequences of
free sexual behavior and social morals began to change. The hippie movement was also a huge
turning point in sexual freedom, as “free love” became a staple of the hippie lifestyle. By the
1970s, abandonment of premarital abstinence was no longer taboo in the majority of western
societies. It was actually beginning to almost reverse; the fact that members of both sexes would
have experienced a number of sexual partners before marriage was considered normal. Some
cultural groups continued to place a value on the moral purity of an abstainer, but abstinence was
This change in moral views over time has escalated into a fierce debate into today’s
modern world. Abstinence is making a comeback due to the prevalence of AIDS and
pregnancies. "Changes in Formal Sex Education: 1995-2002" reports 23% of secondary school
sex education teachers taught abstinence only in 1998, where only a mere 2% did so in 1988
(187). This is shown in the episode by the resiliency of the parents to protest against Lois’s safe
sex teachings at James Woods High. If set possibly a decade before, the parents may not have
been protesting, but as abstinence is making a comeback and more parents push for it, many
PTAs across America may get involved just like in the show. Federal aid is also pushing
abstinence only education programs, where teaching about the use of contraceptives in
prohibited. These programs have not shown any positive change of an abstinence only
education.
The government also continues to try and contribute to abstinence programs, even to
people over the age of 20. During the Bush administration, a federal program was set up to
target 20-29 year olds, due to the high amount of unmarried pregnancies in that age range. In the
article “Unmarried and age 29? Abstinence is best, government says," James Wagoner says it
best: "To be preaching at these adults a message of abstinence-only is absurd because it simply
won't work. They've stepped over the line of common sense. (para. 5)" The CDC stated 90% of
adults age 20-29 have had sexual intercourse, proving Wagoner’s thoughts that abstinence only
education for those who have already had sexual intercourse does not work (para 6). It’s like
trying to tell Mark McGwire that he should abstain from steroids not to ruin his baseball career;
This translates to teens as well. Janet Smith writes that six out of ten teenagers are
sexually active (para. 1). Since the majority of these teens are also sexually active, it makes no
sense to preach to them abstinence when they are already having sex. Instead they should be
equipped with the knowledge of safe sex practices, while knowing the risks associated with sex.
One other major point for supporters of abstinence is the fact that without having sex, you
cannot get pregnant or transfer STDs. While the first may be true, the second is not. Some
STDs can be transmitted by skin-to-skin contact, and neither abstinence and safe sex can protect
you from them. In society, teenagers will often claim to be abstinent, but still explore sexual
opportunity through other ways that is not vaginal intercourse. This is represented in the episode
by the emergence of “ear sex.” It is labeled as the hip new thing to do to explore your sexuality
but to remain abstinent. It seems very silly that people would do this, but it attempts to show that
in real life, claiming abstinence but still doing other sexual acts is quite silly as well. Cynthia
Dailiard reports that one study states that 55 percent of college students claiming abstinence had,
indeed, performed oral sex (para. 9). Oral sex is the real life version of Family Guy’s “ear sex”
where kids perform another sort of sexual act but continue to remain “abstinent.” Oral sex can
also transmit several STDs, so if this definition olds true, being abstinent alone cannot fully
prevent STDs.
Dailiard also reports that over 60% of college students who had pledged virginity in
middle or high school broke their vow to remain abstinent until marriage (para. 7). If 60% of the
students who were affected by abstinence teaching failed, then something is either wrong with
the teaching being done, or the students also need to be taught the facts. That fact is so little
known to the students of an abstinence only education, and they deserved to be told. People
deserve to have consistent and accurate information about the effectiveness of all contraceptive
methods. If a success rate such as 100% is given for abstinence, they should also be told the
success rate for condoms. Most abstinence teachers also attack the failure rate of condoms but
never give a failure rate for those who have chosen to abstain until marriage. These rates should
be used in conjunction with one another, that way those who wish to abstain can and everyone
has a basic education of sexual practices and how to reduce the risks of sex, so that nobody
Family Guy expresses these ideas through many cultural referenced and over the top
characters to keep the audience engaged through humor, while at the same time promoting social
awareness of ethical problems. In this episode, viewers are contained within the story and humor
during the show, but the writers successfully convey their views through the story and humor.
This leaves the viewers watching for comedic entertainment, but after the episode is complete
developing a moral viewpoint of their own for the sexual education debate.
The changing moral ideals, the high failure rate of abstinence, and the high rate of sexual
activity in teenagers show that they need education. Safe sex is needed for this generation. As
most teenagers are already participating in sexual activities, they need to be prepared for the risks
and shown the proper ways to avoid such risks while being given the straight facts. Telling
someone not to do something usually isn’t effective and leaves them less prepared than if you
educated them about the topic. As shown through this episode of Family Guy, abstinence only
education is filled with propaganda. It exaggerates the risks of sexual behavior through fear
tactics of pregnancy and STDs. Having sex will not make you a member of Al-Qaeda.
Adolescents are exploring their sexual nature in this generation, taught abstinence only or not,
and equipping them with the tools to have safe sex rather than giving them nothing at all is well
worth it.
References:
"Changes in Formal Sex Education: 1995-2002." Perspectives on Sexual & Reproductive Health
“Prick Up Your Ears”. Family Guy. By Cherry Chevapravatdumrong. Family Guy. FOX. 19 Nov
2006.
Smith, Janet. "The Christian View of Sex: A Time for Apologetics, not Apologies." The
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0004.html.
"Unmarried and age 29? Abstinence is best, government says." Contemporary Sexuality 41.1
(2007): 8.