Sir, – Ruairi McKiernan (March 27th) describes the offending SpunOut.ie article as “a relatively innocuous article designed to help informed responsible decision-making among young adults aged 16-25”. Most parents of teenagers are capable of judging it on its merits.
The article, graphically depicting a young man in bed with two girls, advised him to select someone for whom he had no feeling and to “change condoms when switching partners” in order to avoid “ending up with some pretty nasty infections”. How responsible!
It reads like advice to a guy about to pick up a prostitute and expecting to have a girlfriend willing put up with his narcissistic behaviour. Most self-respecting teenagers would have more sense.
In the midst of this he is advised to have respect for his usual partner and to have a code word ready which, if required, could apply the brakes to the shenanigans.
What is missing from it is any deep or meaningful understanding of human emotions or relationships. It is hard to believe that the HSE could be duped into spending public money on such drivel, all in the name of promoting sexual or mental health.
Can we not simply say to young people, “Avoid it like the plague” . – Yours, etc,
SEAMUS O’CALLAGHAN,
Bullock Park,
Carlow.