Sad Reality Of Lesbianism Amongst High School Students

By Ruby Orimba 

A few weeks ago, a school principal was accused of suspending students because of lesbianism. As the story caused ripples in the country, parents got a glimpse into the absurd things their adolescent children have been exposed to in high school. Virginity losing its relevance, as it seems most do not even react to the paraffin that is apparently put in their food in school, allegedly to reduce the hormonal outburst.

Nothing seems to be taboo to these minds that have completely erased African cultural beliefs on sex.

Hitherto a crime beyond redemption, these new generation finds sex as a pleasant past time, especially during school funkies and holidays.

The Internet and social media has done nothing but heightened the scales by giving paedophiles and perverts a ground to showcase their freak virtues, and gain followers who will do anything to quench the lustful nature of our human bodies.

Of major concern is the rising figures of teenage pregnancies and the unabated sale of contraceptives and sexual enhancement pills.

She can get it and so He can

Yolo (You Only Live Once) so goes the popular saying and students have taken up sex as the best way to vent. In single-gender boarding schools, they wait for opportune times like school funkies to meet up with ‘their’ girls from other schools and enjoy together, especially after being ‘apart’ for long during school time.

Gone are the days when sending letters was a polite way of asking each other how far they have gone with the syllabus, and how they are preparing for the final exams.

By Form Two all hell breaks lose, the often scented letters are a graphic description of the naughty things they would ‘do to each other’ when the opportunity to meet up finally appears.

The boys write out their dreams and the girls promise to turn them into reality. In mixed boarding schools, they share entertainment time; this means they have all they need to do what other teens do in movies. It scales the height of insanity for the day school students. With their phones in hand and Internet at their disposal, most of them spend their weekends trying to bash in every adult event going on. Renting rooms or having a friend over for ‘extra studies’ is the new normal.

According to Hamida Ahmed, a Psychology counsellor, students in high school are at a developmental stage where they are discovering and exploring their sexuality. Their hormones are raging; they have so much sexual energy. What they choose to do with the energy is different for different individuals. Deviant habits like masturbation take root as others experiment with sex.

It is at this stage that others get initiated into homosexual practices, as they get involved sexually and emotionally with members of the same sex.

The Lesbo Inferno

Conversely, with what is perceived as girl power takes root, young lasses are taking their pleasure from their feminine friends. In schools where girls get locked in for three months without sight of the male gender, most seek for ‘release’ from their schoolmates making lesbianism an in-thing.

Shockingly, sex toys are shared amongst friends, while others sneak out to meet up with their adult ‘dates’.

According to Hamida lesbianism is now a ritual equivalent to oath taking of a recruit matter, with some girls having no choice but to follow so that they can fit in.

“Some of the girls’ schools have the culture of lesbianism. The administration may or may not be aware of this practice. When students join such schools, they are initiated into the culture. Majority of the girls report to have never engaged in lesbianism before joining such schools; they mostly do it due to peer pressure. Remember the girls are at a stage where their sexual energy is high; they are naive and can easily be recruited to such practices. Some get hooked to this behaviour and are unable to stop themselves. They continue with this practice even after graduating from high school,” she adds.

Three is no longer a crowd

Walking into any popular club in town and one realises that ‘sharing’ has found a new meaning. During the ever green Jam session, this writer witnessed a girl young — enough to be 15 — dressed in clothes that left little to imagination, torn booty shorts and a tube top. She was sandwiched between three guys who kept on grinding themselves on her and caressing her, as if in search for some hidden treasure.

Oblivious, the girl continued dancing and shaking her derrière, further agitating the frenzied perusal of her yet-to-fully-bloom body. One of them even had the audacity to ask this writer to give him a lap dance, completely ignoring the obvious age difference between them. Most of the girls admitted to having switched from their long skirts and dresses on their way to town. They leave their decent clothes in a friend’s house only to come and wear them later on in the evening on their way home. Their excuse, when they get home, is that they spent the afternoon at a youth meeting in church, blinding their oh-so trusting parents and keeping them in the dark, hoping that an unfortunate day when their bellies become a glaring issue never reaches. This also happens at functions when the young guys get the chance to mingle with the girls and dance to their favourite riddims. In the midst of this raving madness, most of them end up in corners with their skirts up and zips down, completely disregarding the fact that they are vulnerable to Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and early pregnancies.

The rhyme between

romance and finance

Some girls opt for working class men who promise them the earth and heaven for their bodies. An extra Sh1,000 for pocket money and a personal ride home gets girls going home a day after closing, just to spend the night with their beloved ‘boyfriends’ with the excuse they were going for games or representing the school in a co-curricular activity.

Most do it because of peer pressure, to feel like they belong to certain cliques and so that they can get a little bit more money to spend at school and look like they come from rich families. Miriam Kyavoa, a teacher in a school in Thika, recalls a case where two girls left home but reported to school a few days later. The girls had been sent home for fees because they were just about to do their final national exams. They left home on Friday but reported on Monday, arriving in a Prado with their men in it. As if that was not bad enough, they continued making out outside the school premises, not even noticing the passer-by who reported the case to the school principal.

The shocking part about this is that the men in question were actually family friends of the girls’ parents who were married and had children.

“Most girls do it because they think they are not pretty enough to fit in with the other girls in school, and so by having these men to fund their luxuries, they can buy their way to popularity and fame in school,” Hamida says “According to developmental stages, adolescents have a lot of sexual energy, and in trying to get their own identity, test limits and generally try to be autonomous. They want to make their decisions including sexual matters. Due to lifestyle change, many parents don’t have time to talk them through it and guide them accordingly.”