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AJC.com > Living > Blog > Archives > 2008 > August > 14
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Not your mother’s dating scene
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In a recent NPR produced report for Youth Radio, correspondent Pendarvis Harshaw coined a trend among some young people: Unprotected sex, the new engagement ring.
When I heard the piece, my first thoughts were about young people and how scary this line of thinking could be for them. After further contemplation, I put this same idea in the context of mature people my age and older…and it is STILL scary in many ways. Do you think that making the decision to stop using protection is more meaningful than deciding to marry?
When many of us are delaying marriage, or skipping it altogether, it should not shock me that there are non-traditional ideals about commitment and intimacy in modern day romance. However, I wonder if we are developing a skewed perception about what it means to commit.
To wit: Mr. Harshaw stated that, agreeing to unprotected intimacy “shows trust, commitment, and the prospect of a shared future; an engagement more practical than spending money on a piece of jewelry for a marriage that might not pass the test of time.” What are your thoughts?
If you are dating someone, do you feel comfortable using unprotected sex as a sign of commitment? At what point are you willing to take it to this level? Is this a trust issue? Health issue? Both?
What means more commitment to you: engagement ring or unprotected intimacy?
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