Sexual attitudes — How far many go may be surprising

"Sugar, ah honey honey

You are my candy girl

And you've got me wanting you."

Jessica Turner has this playful chorus to the song "Sugar Sugar" by The Archies on her cell phone. The 16-year-old's cheerful voice breaks in: "Hey y'all. It's Jessica. Leave me a message. K. Bye."

Her 18-year-old boyfriend has his own cell phone, too, and he identifies himself on his recording as Eric "The Sexy Beast" Doxey.

Utah teenagers do a lot of talking about sex. They joke about it, they flirt about it, they pretend not to care about it or they brag about how much they are doing it.

Interviews with dozens of teenagers for "The State of Teens" series demonstrate a wide range of attitudes toward dating, sexuality and morality. And although little research is available about the sexual behavior of Utah teens, it seems young people here are following national trends that show the ages for sexual behavior dropping and experimentation on the rise.

The facts about Utah teens and sexuality are as follows:

• Sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise among teenagers age 15 to 19. Of the 716 Utahns who are HIV positive, 30 are between age 13 and 19.

• Pregnancies for most teenagers are dropping, but the rates for Utah females younger than 15 are on the rise.

• Utah's Planned Parenthood gives out more of the "morning after" birth control pills every year to women of all ages — including teenagers.

An informal survey of teenagers conducted by the Deseret Morning News showed most parents talk to their teenagers about sex.

And although pregnancy rates among most Utah teens are dropping, counselors and church officials say privately some young women have lost the true intent of "saving themselves for marriage" and are engaged in regular foreplay, "messing around" and oral sex while remaining what they call "technical virgins."

"The youths that I've worked with in the LDS Church know intercourse is wrong," said Cheryl Thompson, a teacher and counselor in the Provo School District.

"They know they should wait based on their religion, but . . . they think oral sex is OK because they haven't actually 'done it.' So they've done every other thing but intercourse."