A Sex Rebellion in Chile

Chile was once one of Latin America’s most sexually conservative countries. Now the youth have gone wild owing to a combination of rising prosperity and technological progress represented by the internet and the cell phone. Practically every evening after 5 p.m., at disco after disco, boys and girls ages 14 to 18 are hugging and dancing snugly, often stripping off their shirts, revealing bras, tattoos and nipple rings.

According to the New York Times, “the place is a tangle of lips and tongues and hands, all groping and exploring. About 800 teenagers sway and bounce to lyrics imploring them to “Poncea! Poncea!”: make out with as many people as they can”.

“Chile’s youth are clearly having sex earlier and testing the borderlines with their sexual conduct,” said Dr. Ramiro Molina, director of the University of Chile’s Center for Adolescent Reproductive Medicine and Development.

The sexual awakening is propelled through Web sites like Fotolog. As expected, it is posing new challenges for parents and educators. Sex education in public schools has lagged badly, and very young girls suffer unwanted pregnancies.

The explosion of explicit content and social networks on the Internet is making the problem worse. Promiscuity is spreading fast and young boys are taking full advantage by “making out” with two or three girls in one evening.

Parents, educators and the health authorities are understandably worried. Where this is all going to lead, nobody knows. At the end of the day, undoubtedly the young girls are going to suffer more than the boys.