Mary Renee Smith

Sex education should include information about masturbation, argues Mary Renee Smith in the following viewpoint. Schoolchildren should learn that self-gratification is a normal and acceptable type of sexual behavior, she contends. Since students are instructed about intercourse, condoms, and STDs, they should also be taught that masturbation is a commonly practiced, no-risk sexual activity. Smith is a journalism and mass communications student at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What are some of the past myths about masturbation, according to Smith"

2. What is the main reason that people have sex, in the author’s opinion"

3. According to Smith, why was Joycelyn Elders fired from her position as Surgeon General"

You can have unprotected sex with someone you know very well, someone who knows exactly what you...