Ever since I was young, my parents have attempted to tell me what I can and cannot do with my own body. They told me that I was too young to understand how society would perceive me, depending on how I dress and how I choose to express my own body. They told me that until I turn 18, they are responsible for what I do to and with my own body.

This included my own virginity.

When I reached the age of 13, my mother told me that if I wanted to lose my virginity, I had to tell her beforehand.

“Promise me that you will tell me before you have sex, that way I can talk you out of it before you do”.

My initial thought was that even she was not being reasonable or logical. I’m pretty damn sure that no teen would ever willingly choose to tell their parents,

“So… I’m hormonal, horny, and in love… and since my boyfriend and I have been dating for a while, we’re going to lose our virginity together tomorrow night. Just letting you know, so you know, you can attempt to talk me out of it.”

And knowing that my mother was pregnant with me at the age of 18, and was uneducated at the time about her own sexuality, I believed that she had no actual right to control me or my own body. I was more knowledgeable than she was at her age, regarding sexuality and the use of condoms.

Despite what the written law dictates, my belief remains the same- that I am in control of my own body and what I choose to do with it. Being in control of my own body and sexuality has taught me self-love. Granted, I didn’t know the pleasures of masturbating until I reached college. But being responsible for my own body has taught me how to improve what I didn’t like about it, and to love what I can’t change.

Society should teach us at a young age that we are responsible for our own bodies. Instead of taking away our rights to our own body, they should educate us about our body, sexuality, and virginity. By educating us early on, we are learning how to be responsible before we become adults. Teaching us about our own body at a young age does not encourage us to have sex when we’re young. Being hormonal encourages us to have sex, educating us does not.