"The fact is that young people are going to have sex whether you like it or not"
About this Quote
The second-person jab - "whether you like it or not" - is the sentence's engine. It identifies the real audience: not teenagers, but adults, policymakers, school boards, and anxious parents who would rather treat adolescent desire as a problem that can be shamed into silence. Thompson's subtext is that a lot of sexual "concern" is really about control and discomfort. By framing youth sexuality as inevitable, she flips the burden of responsibility back onto institutions: if you can't prevent it, your job is to reduce harm.
This works because it punctures a recurring cultural fantasy: that abstinence rhetoric or censorship can freeze time at innocence. The line also smuggles in a moral claim without preaching it. Acceptance here isn't permissiveness; it's pragmatism with an ethical edge - comprehensive sex education, contraception access, and honest conversations. Her intent is to drag the debate from purity to public health, from wishes to consequences.
Quote Details
| Topic | Youth |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Thompson, Emma. (2026, January 15). The fact is that young people are going to have sex whether you like it or not. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-fact-is-that-young-people-are-going-to-have-141325/
Chicago Style
Thompson, Emma. "The fact is that young people are going to have sex whether you like it or not." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-fact-is-that-young-people-are-going-to-have-141325/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The fact is that young people are going to have sex whether you like it or not." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-fact-is-that-young-people-are-going-to-have-141325/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.





