Susan Dominus

About the author: Susan Dominus, a former senior editor at New York Magazine, is the editor-in-chief ofNerve magazine.

A study that reported on the effectiveness of teen virginity pledges offers mixed reviews about the abstinence movement. While the abstinence pledge was effective at delaying intercourse among sixteen-year-olds, it was less effective among other age groups. The study also found the pledge was less effective if it was taken by too many or too few teenagers at the same time. In addition, abstinence pledges do nothing to lower the teen pregnancy rate, the rate of sexually transmitted diseases, or even rates of sexual experimentation among teens.

It must amaze teenagers that sex education can generate such political firestorms, given how dull it usually is. At my public high school, we took it...