Timing of sex

I am writing in response to John O'Dea's letter (Teenage Sex, January 16) and subsequent replies by some other readers. It is not a case of jumping to Mr O'Dea's defence, however I must say that the issues pointed out are indeed real and any attempt to deny this reality would be a case of living in an alienated world.

Given that I am also a 22-year old I understand that some of Mr O'Dea's words provoked a sense of retaliation in other young people. I am sure that his aim was to ring some alarm bells and not to outrightly condemn Maltese youth.

The truth is that yes, we are living in a sex-crazed world where we are constantly bombarded with sexual cues. Sometimes it is easy to think of older people as being old fashioned when commenting about the present situation, however I do believe that we are being too liberal in our morals, especially in relation to our sexual lifestyles. I am pretty much aware of the current situation where sex is treated as an opportunity to have some fun and also as a way of being considered cool, and I feel very sad when I see that such a beautiful and powerful thing as sex is used so cheaply and out of place.

I also feel that we young people do not have many opportunities to be informed about the importance of the right timing for sexual activity and as a consequence we go through a lot of painful emotions and feelings. I was very happy to know that KDZ, Cana Movement and Dar Guzeppa Debono will be organising a seminar called Y Is Sex Worth Waiting 4? at the Millenium Chapel.

I had the opportunity to attend a similar seminar last year and I wholeheartedly encourage anyone who has asked himself this question to attend as the speakers will surely be giving some valuable answers to this burning question.