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Physical Consequences Of Non-Marital Sexual Activity

Demo #2: Chocolate Chip Cookie

Buy or bake (you can use cookie dough from the grocery store) 3 huge (about 5-6 inch diameter) chocolate chip/chunk cookies for each demonstration; cool; place each cookie in a zip-lock bag (make sure you wash your hands first!). After you have spent a few minutes discussing specific STDs such as Chlamydia and Herpes Simplex II [‡‡ please do NOT use photos or slides of genital STDs], suddenly stop and ask if anyone is hungry. Usually at least one hand will shoot up! Pull a cookie bag out of hiding and hand it to the first person who raised his/her hand (he/she may eat it). Now ask if anyone else is hungry. Of course, almost every hand is now raised! Look sad, and tell them you couldn’t bring a cookie for every person; but you want everyone to share in these cookies, so you take a second cookie out of the bag in their sight, and hand it to a front person on one side of the room. Tell everyone to pass the cookie, touch, smell, and "caress" the cookie so they can enjoy the cookie "almost" as much as you did! Then continue your discussion about STDs. Many times, by the time the cookie gets to the other side, it is in pieces! Just collect what’s left and put it on the table while you finish talking about specific STDs. Stress in your discussion that generically, 80% of STD-infected people have NO symptoms.

When you finish the STD discussion, ask for a third time if anyone wants a cookie. Try to eye the first hand raised, or pick the male leader (Mr. Macho) of the class. Take the third cookie, clean and bagged, in one hand and the "passed around" cookie in the other. Go right over to the person you picked out and say, "Here, you can have this cookie [passed around cookie] and I’m going to eat this cookie [bagged one]". Of course, he/she will argue and say no, they want the one in the bag. Why? Because it’s clean – it doesn’t have germs. "Germs? Do you see germs? Show me the germs!" Well, they cannot, of course. Take both cookies around to many of the students in the class – walk all around the room! Ask them to show you the germs.

Then, say, "You think that just because this one (bagged) is in a bag, it doesn’t have germs. But how do you know that for sure? The person who put it in the bag could have coughed/sneezed on it or dropped it. How do you know that I didn’t pass this one around yesterday?" By now, the person who received the first cookie may be turning pale, thinking that the cookie he just ate had germs from a previous class! Assure him it did not; but remind him that he really had no way to know. With emphasis, back to the front and clearly announce, "You believe this cookie has germs because it was passed around; but you cannot SEE the germs. You can’t tell by looking at these two cookies which one has germs – and you CAN’T TELL BY LOOKING at a person if they have an STD!!"

There are other great lessons with this demo:

Ask the first student who touched the "passed around" cookie if he/she was tempted to eat it; usually they say they were tempted. Ask the last person to touch it; they rarely say they were tempted to eat it. Now ask the boys in the class to think about this: "when you get ready to settle down and marry that special girl for life, are you going to want the one who has saved herself for you and who is a virgin/pure, or are you going to want the one who has been passed around?" (hold up the appropriate cookie as you ask this question.) If you directly ask them, the vast majority of guys want the pure girl. The girls are usually shocked!

Then you can say [depending upon the group]: "OK, guys, listen up: you all know the studs and the stud wanna-bees who want to waste every girl they

can get, just to build up their own ego.

"Think about it: they not only don’t care about the girls they hurt; they don’t care about other guys either, because if you all want to marry pure girls and they are ‘ruining’ all the girls, there won’t be any pure girls left for you to marry!" [male students really seem to respond well to this]

 

Demo #3: Bubble Gum

This is especially useful if students appear pro-sexual activity and pro-safe sex.

Have a large pail of bubble gum on the desk. While talking about sexual activity, casually pick up a piece of gum, unwrap it, and start chewing it.

A student will probably ask for a piece of gum. Walk right over and kindly offer him/her a piece – the one in your mouth! They will, of course, refuse and ask for a "new" piece.

When you question why, they will say because you have germs in your mouth.

You counter that they cannot see germs, and what’s the difference? It’s just a body fluid, like all other body fluids. If they don’t trust saliva on a piece of gum because of the possibility of germs, how can they trust other body fluids that very well may carry STD "germs"?

 

Demo #4: Countdown

When talking about the power of sexual activity, ask students to begin a loud countdown for a rocket launching, starting at 10. As students get to about 4 or 3, quietly say, "Stop, Stop now" and keep saying this. How many students actually stopped? Not many. They had gotten into the excitement of the countdown. That's what sexual excitement does. They are not able to use good judgment because they are caught up in the sensual excitement, and sexual intercourse happens before they can stop.

 

Demo #5: Freddie the Frog

Similar to #4, this demonstrates how easy it is to slide into risky behaviors.

Few of us would jump into a kettle of boiling water; nor would we jump into risky behavior. Make cartoon pictures of Freddy the Frog.

Picture A — Freddy jumps into hot water and immediately jumps back out. That is what we would do — we would run away from a situation that we knew would kill us.

Picture B — Freddy now jumps into cool water. The situation does not appear dangerous, or we rationalize little signs of danger as "nothing to worry about – it's not that bad".

Picture C — The water heats up and Freddy is relaxed. He doesn't realize that the situation is getting dangerous.

Picture D — The water boils and "cooks" Freddy.

 

Demo #6: STD People

Make several paper girls and guys, about 12 inches tall, folded at hands (front and back of each paper doll joined at its hands).

On the inside, write one message in each doll: "Herpes Simplex II", "Human Papilloma Virus –> warts & cancer" , "HIV –> AIDS"; "Chlamydia –> infertile — can never have children"; "Emotional wreck –> attempt suicide"; "Gonorrhea –> infertile"; "Pregnancy – place my baby for adoption"; "Pregnancy – abortion"; "Heartbreak"; leave some paper dolls empty, etc.

Pick/volunteer a boy and several girls (or vice versa). Hand each girl a paper doll girl and ask the boy to collect them as he "passes" each girl [symbolizes a sexual relationship].

Then, ask the boy to open each paper girl and read what's inside.

Ask the boy how he feels about acquiring/causing all these things.

 

Demo #7: Car Care

To better explain the effects of having sex outside marriage, try this.

"A man buys a brand new, iridescent red Mercedes sports car. The car dealer tells the man to be sure to treat it well with premium gas and oil; that way, he will get the best from the car over the years. But the man chooses to use regular gas and to add strawberry jam instead of oil. What do you think happened to the car? (take comments from the students)…

"We have a similar situation. We can take the best care of ourselves emotionally and physically by carefully protecting our bodies and our beings for marriage; or we can destroy our bodies by doing things that harm us. We are worth far more than a car! Treat yourselves as unique and special! Don't settle for less than the BEST for yourself. Protect yourself and your future by avoiding sexual activity outside marriage."