This study in the Journal of Adolescent Health is getting a lot of press because to jaded newspapermen it's a useful way to deride virgins.

In point of fact, the report found that teens who take an abstinence pledge "transition to first sex later, have less cumulative exposure, fewer partners, and lower levels of nonmonogamous partners." But, they have about the same level of sexually transmitted diseases as everybody else.

Why?

Because (here comes the bluntness again) nobody's informing these kids that oral and anal sex are SEX. And you can pick up an STD from these popular sports -- which are seemingly universal today -- as easily as you can from regular sex.

The authors of the study conclude that abstinence is not enough because "most of them [i.e., pledged teens] will eventually engage in premarital sex." But the real problem appears to be that nobody has educated them on what "abstinence" actually means in the first place.

If they can abstain from sex of the baby-causing kind (which they can), then they could surely keep away from the oral and anal varieties -- if society doesn't make them think it's all just harmless fun (thank you Bill Clinton!).

It is worth noting that a previous study of the same database came to a more positive conclusion.