This Viral Reddit Thread Proves Just How Much Teenagers Need Good Sex Education

The wise Cher Horowitz once lamented to Bronson Alcott High School gym teacher Ms. Stoeger that "physical education in this school is a disgrace." In the real world, this statement is also true of sex education in many schools in the United States. In fact, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than half of American sex ed curricula actually covered all the topics recommended by the CDC, including safe sex and how to use condoms. 

So perhaps it's no surprise a Reddit thread entitled "People who didn't take sex ed, what was something you had to learn the hard way?" went viral earlier this week, with thousands of responses indicating just how much misinformation is out there when it comes to sex ed.

"I didn't learn until a senior in high school that a girl's period lasted longer than one day," one respondent admitted. "I always assumed it was just one day a month, until I made a comment and was told how wrong I was."

Others chimed in to say they were very confused about masturbation.

"When I was masturbating without actually knowing that was what I was doing, I came and panicked because I didn't know what it was and cried a bit," wrote one emotional masturbator. Another added that "I had a classmate when we were in high school [who] thought if you had clear pee that it had semen on them and it was the same as masturbating." What a horrible and limiting way to look at clear urine!

One redditor didn't even know what the actual process of intercourse entailed. "I didn't know about the in-out part until I found video porn," wrote another Redditor. "I thought you just put it in and left it there."

In conclusion: Sex education in this country is a disgrace. You can read the full Reddit thread here.