In a provocative article posted on CNN.com today, Hollywood sex symbol Raquel Welch “waves the red flag of caution over how low moral standards have plummeted.”

Margaret Sanger opened the first American family-planning clinic in 1916, and nothing would be the same again.  Since then the growing proliferation of birth control methods has had an awesome effect on both sexes and led to a sea change in moral values.

The upside is that it empowered women to make better choices in life.  

The downside is a loss of caution and, well, rampant female sluttiness.

One significant, and enduring effect of The Pill on female sexual attitudes during the 60’s, was :  “Now we can have sex anytime we want, without the consequences.  Hallelujah, let’s party.”

It remains this way.  These days, nobody seems able to “keep it in their pants” or honor a commitment!  

Sadly, there’s a huge difference between ’sexy’ and ’slut’ that too many teen girls are missing today.  A Golden-Globe-winning actress with 45 films to her credit, Welch should know.  She oozed a sexiness that men of several generations fantasized about and women tried to emulate.  But slut?  Never.  And even she’s shocked by today’s behavior:

As a result of the example set by their elders, by the 1990s teenage sexual promiscuity — or hooking up — with multiple partners had become a common occurrence.  Many of my friends who were parents of teenagers sat in stunned stilence several years ago when it came to light that oral sex had become a popular practice among adolescent girls in middle schools across the country.

The 13-year-old daughter of one such friend freely admitted to performing fellatio on several boys at school on a regular basis.  “Aw come on, Mom.  It’s no big deal.  Everyone is doing it,” she said.  Apparently, since it’s not the act of intercourse, kids don’t count it as sex.  Can any sane person fail to make a judgment call about that?

In reality, any sane person has to feel sorry for these pathetic girls, because sluttiness is never attractive to either gender. 

Women can be sexy as hell without decending into sluts, and Welch calls teen girls to a higher standard:

Seriously, folks, if an aging sex symbol like me starts waving the red flag of caution over how low moral standards have plummeted, you know it’s gotta be pretty bad.  In fact, it’s precisely because of the sexy image I’ve had that it’s important for me to speak up and say:  Come on girls!  Time to pull up our socks!  We’re capable of so much better. 

Yes, we are!