Sex is a Rite of Passage

Now, this trope Sex is a Rite of Passage is a very popular trope because in coming of age drama you have characters who are experiencing wanting to lose their virginities or dealing with their sexualities, but they have a common question that any young adult would have. "How do I know if I'm ready?" because it's not really about the time or places it's about finding the right person. In BH90210 the character Brenda loses her virginity to her boyfriend Dylan on Prom night. This episode of the show received a lot of backlash from the parent as they thought that episode like this shouldn't be shown to teenagers. They couldn't be more wrong. Parents should realize a tv show shouldn't be the one educating their children they should. This episode of BH90210 inspired other shows to include a storyline like this because teenagers have leaned on sex as a way of becoming an Adult.

In DC they have one of the main characters Pacey goes on a journey of losing his virginity, but this time to an older woman. Now that maybe scary to most people but to Pacey, he saw himself as man and her as woman and they were just two consenting people who liked each other enough to go to that new level of intimacy. Now they didn’t end up together however this was a very important milestone for Pacey. In OTH other characters like Nathan and his girlfriend, Haley is not like the other couples on the show who have had sex because Haley is a virgin and is waiting till marriage, but Nathan has had sex before when he was in his rebellious stage, he developed a history which causes problems for the couple. The couple manage to work through it as they get married in high school. As this trope develops into storylines you question oneself to see if you’re ready to experience this level of responsibility. “How do I know if I’m ready? Should I express my concerns with my partner or let it all play out.

In The O.C two characters Seth and Summer are one of the main couples in the show as they both are virgins. They want to make this experience great for each other, but they don’t know how to make each other feel comfortable wanting to get the awkwardness out of the way in order to feel ready for each other. When looking back at these episodes it makes me ask a question like "Why is sex not being discussed between parents and their children?”. “Why are kids learning more about sex from teen shows then their own parents?” In this article Elizabeth Crowley Webber titled “The Liberatory potential OF DAWSON’S CREEK Panicked Reactions to Teen Sex and Television in 1990s US Culture” says “Although the majority of parents, scientists, physicians, and public health officials were interested in the first goal and therefore interested in the didactic depictions of sex recommended in Sex on TV, the second goal persisted as an undercurrent in the attempts to regulate depictions of sex geared toward adolescents” (5). I don’t think its goal is trying to get kids to have sex, but the goal is making sure kids and parents are more on the subject educated making sure they have the information they need.