Sex and ‘Letting Yourself Go’

Regina Cano

In Cuba, the age for sexual initiation has declined considerably.

A long time ago female virginity existed as a moral question; it had to be maintained until marriage and following the blessings of the parents.

Today there exist a trust, a certain “liberality” and a welcome understanding between parents and adolescents, which the new times of civilization have also brought to Cubans.

Moreover, we necessarily wound up assimilating the changes that were imposed on us by the Special Period crisis of the 1990s.  This made us analyze these things; what’s more, when the impact hit us, the transition occurred very rapidly.

Coincident with this was —for the youth— the unavailability of housing to consummate one’s commitment, the lack of a sound personal financial situation, the desire to follow or keep up with fashion, values that revolved around the immediacies of life, and the desire to escape a reality that could dash one’s hopes.

Presently there is no obligation or pact to fulfill, nor are there intermediaries or the occasional imminent predicament of pregnancy, which makes the younger generations consider that sex is not something “so easy” to achieve.

These days, to descargar (to “let go”) is an attitude that is “modern,” voluntary and without mediating promises.  After youths have fulfilled their “duty” of studying or their self-imposed “requirement” to “luchar el quilo” (hustle for a buck), nowadays they attempt to drown their boredom in music and alcohol, and easy sex.

From this are not exempted others who are a few years older, those who adopt the new trend with nerve that sometimes comes with knowledge, because in relation to this issue there is a great deal of adolescence even among those who are the most adult.

The lack of places demanded for intimacy, and the fact that some people do not protect themselves from infections owing to their being in a rush or their loss of perspective (not being afraid), make it risky for the exhibition of physical, spiritual and psycho-social changes that are decisive for health.

Thus, returning to “letting go,” only physical interest is now indispensable for establishing the agreement of “just sex,” where everything ends up with a “Nos chivediamo! (see you ‘round).