Editing Adolescence (section)

===Sexuality===
Many cultures define the transition into adultlike sexuality by specific biological or social milestones in an adolescent's life. For example, [[menarche]] (the first menstrual period of a female), or [[semenarche]] (the first ejaculation of a male) are frequent sexual defining points for many cultures. In addition to biological factors, an adolescent's sexual socialization is highly dependent upon whether their culture takes a restrictive or permissive attitude toward teen or premarital sexual activity. In the United States specifically, adolescents are said to have "raging hormones" that drive their sexual desires. These sexual desires are then dramatized regarding [[Adolescent sexuality|teen sex]] and seen as "a site of danger and risk; that such danger and risk is a source of profound worry among adults".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fields |first1=Jessica |title=Sexuality Education in the United States: Shared Cultural Ideas across a Political Divide: Sexuality Education in the United States |journal=Sociology Compass |date=January 2012 |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.1111/j.1751-9020.2011.00436.x }}</ref> There is little to no normalization regarding teenagers having sex in the U.S., which causes conflict in how adolescents are taught about [[sex education]]. There is a constant debate about whether [[abstinence-only sex education]] or [[comprehensive sex education]] should be taught in schools and this stems back to whether or not the country it is being taught in is permissive or restrictive. Restrictive cultures overtly discourage sexual activity in unmarried adolescents or until an adolescent undergoes a formal rite of passage. These cultures may attempt to restrict sexual activity by separating males and females throughout their development, or through [[Public humiliation|public shaming]] and physical punishment when sexual activity does occur.<ref name="Connolly J 2004"/><ref name="Ford, C. 1951">{{cite book |last1=Ford |first1=Clellan Stearns |last2=Beach |first2=Frank Ambrose |title=Patterns of Sexual Behavior |date=1951 |publisher=Harper |oclc=569957165 }}{{page needed|date=October 2022}}</ref> In less restrictive cultures, there is more tolerance for displays of adolescent sexuality, or of the interaction between males and females in public and private spaces. Less restrictive cultures may tolerate some aspects of adolescent sexuality, while objecting to other aspects. For instance, some cultures find teenage sexual activity acceptable but teenage pregnancy highly undesirable. Other cultures do not object to teenage sexual activity or [[teenage pregnancy]], as long as they occur after marriage.<ref name="ReferenceB">Steinberg, L. (2011). "Adolescence", 9th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.{{page needed|date=October 2022}}</ref> In permissive societies, overt sexual behavior among unmarried teens is perceived as acceptable, and is sometimes even encouraged.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> Regardless of whether a culture is restrictive or permissive, there are likely to be discrepancies in how females versus males are expected to express their sexuality. Cultures vary in how overt this double standard is—in some it is legally inscribed, while in others it is communicated through [[social convention]].<ref>Diamond, L., Savin- Williams, R. (2009). Adolescent Sexuality. In R. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), "Handbook of adolescent psychology" (3rd ed., Vol. 1, pp.&nbsp;479–523). New York: Wiley.</ref> Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth face much discrimination through bullying from those unlike them and may find telling others that they are gay to be a traumatic experience.<ref>Furlong, Andy (2013). "Youth Studies", New York, NY: Routledge.{{page needed|date=October 2022}}</ref> The range of sexual attitudes that a culture embraces could thus be seen to affect the beliefs, lifestyles, and societal perceptions of its adolescents.