Mona Charen

Sex education programs should not promote masturbation, argues syndicated columnist Mona Charen in the following viewpoint. Educators who advocate instruction about masturbation subscribe to the “hydraulic view” of sex—the idea that sexual urges must find release because they are too powerful to resist. Emphasizing masturbation as a “safe” form of gratification, Charen contends, denies the fact that teenagers are moral beings who have the ability to delay sexual activity until they are in a mature, committed relationship.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. Which major publications defended Joycelyn Elders’s proposal to teach masturbation in the schools, according to Charen"

2. Those who promote education about masturbation base their arguments on what two assumptions, in the author’s opinion"

3. How have liberal sex educators damaged relationships...