Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

Women were said to wait several months before they get intimate with their newly found love. They would go on dates, get to know each other and even kiss, but sex was on the back burner until the woman felt that the time was right.

But is this still happening?

"Not at all," was the response from George Marshall. Things and times have changed and I can tell you that none of my friends would sit and wait for six months before they have sex with a girl," he says.

In fact, he notes that based on his experience, three weeks is the maximum period he has ever waited. "Even the girls who say they are in the church give in without waiting," he says.

"Why should I wait?" Trudy Gayleasks rhetorically. "If you have sex in a day or if you have it five months after, I don't think he will have more or less respect for me, so why should I try to play hard to get and deprive myself of some good sex," Gayle tells Saturday Life.

She notes that depending on the chemistry between herself and a guy who she is interested in, sex could be on the agenda on the first date.

"We as women are very hypocritical and pretend that we are goody-two-shoes, but a lot of us do have sex on the first or second date and I really do not see it as a big deal," Gayle says.

But Milton Grey says the length of time that a woman takes before she jumps into bed with him is important.

"I don't want to go out with a woman on the first night and then she ends up having sex with me."

He says a woman who sleeps with him too soon would not be considered 'wife material'.

Romance still strong

While she admits that a woman should get to know a man before she sleeps with him, Sandra Gayle says she slept with her partner of more than five years "relatively soon" but the relationship is still going strong.

"We were both out of a relationship and we liked each other. The time and chemistry were right, so we went for it and here we are today, still in love," she relates.

"Getting to know each other is a nonsensical argument," Carlene Weirtells Saturday Life. "Even if you are with the man for 10 years, you still don't know him, so I don't know what is the big deal about waiting," she says.

Michelle Carlsondisagrees. She says she will not give in on the first night or week.

"I don't think I'll ever give in to someone in a week or two weeks, it has to pass a month," Carlson tells Saturday Life.

Her rationale for holding out is because she believes waiting gives her a "sense of pride".

"At least, if he goes after the month, I would feel as if it was worth it because he had to wait for some time," she explains.

While the Ministry of Health and the Church have been preaching abstinence, Louise Brown believes that some people are holding strain, but others find it too big a temptation to resist.

"I had a friend who tried it for a while, but then she went right back," says Sandra.

"Once you start (having sex), it is difficult to stop," she admits.

Names withheld

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com

Waiting before having sex