Here’s what Angelina Jolie said about her first time..

“I had my first boyfriend and had sex with him when I was 14. In a moment of wanting to feel closer to him, I grabbed a knife and cut him,” she said. “He cut me back.”

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – People who start having sex at a younger or older than average age appear to be at greater risk of developing sexual health problems later in life, a new study suggests.

The findings, according to researchers, cast some doubts on the benefits of abstinence-only sexual education that has been introduced in U.S. public schools.

Using data from a 1996 cross-sectional survey of more than 8,000 U.S. adults, the researchers found that those who started having sex at a relatively young age were more likely to have certain risk factors for sexually transmitted diseases (STD) — including a high number of sexual partners and a history of having sex under the influence of alcohol.

On the other hand, both “early” and “late” starters were at increased risk of problems in sexual function. This was true primarily of men, whose problems included difficulty maintaining an erection and reaching orgasm.

The findings are published in the American Journal of Public Health.

It’s not clear from the survey why both early and late starters tend to have more sexual dysfunction, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Theo G.M. Sandfort of Columbia University in New York City.

But the findings, they write, “only partially support” abstinence-only sex education — which encourages teenagers to save sex for marriage.

“Although our findings support an association between early initiation and long-term (STD) risk, they also suggest a more complicated picture of sexual functioning,” Sandfort and his colleagues write.

Delaying sexual activity may “create health risks by impeding development of the emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal skills that are crucial to satisfactory sexual functioning and general well-being,” they add.

On average, respondents said they had sex for the first time around the ages of 17 or 18. Those who had their first sexual encounter at average age of 14 were considered “early starters” and those who started at age 22 or older were considered “later starters.”

It’s not possible to determine cause-and-effect from the survey data, according to the researchers. For example, young men with sexual problems may start having intercourse at a later age, contributing to the link between later sexual “debut” and higher odds of sexual dysfunction.

However, Sandfort’s team adds, the findings lend credence to other studies suggesting that abstinence-only education may actually increase the risk of certain health problems.

“Sexual education that is more supportive and acknowledges the diverse needs of young people might prevent the negative outcomes observed here,” the researchers write.

JAKARTA (Reuters) – A plan to carry out virginity tests on female high school students in a district in Indonesia’s West Java province has been dropped after a public outcry, media reports said.

The head of Indramayu district, Irianto Syafiuddin, is reported to have made the proposal for virginity tests after a video showing two high school students having sex circulated via mobile phones.

“Because many people oppose it, we cancelled (the plan),” Syafiuddin was quoted as saying by online news service Detik.com.

Syafiuddin could not immediately be contacted, but according to media reports he will look for an alternative way to prevent students from engaging in pre-marital sex.

Students, parents and activists viewed the planned virginity tests on thousands of high school students in the district as a violation of human rights, the Jakarta Post said.

“We can’t accept this idea. It’s unfair as the porn video was just an isolated case,” a female student, Gita, was quoted as saying by the Post.

Many in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, place high value on virginity, although pre-marital sex is not uncommon among the younger generation.

READINGTON, N.J. – Organizers think they’ve found the secret to good weather for this weekend’s Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning — a virgin.

According to an imported superstition, good weather can be assured through a ceremony involving a virgin, some knives and fresh, whole onions and peppers.

And, no, Victoria Brumfield won’t be sacrificed.

Festival organizer Howard Freeman said a colleague heard about it in Singapore several years ago. For the past two years, it has worked in Readington. Partly because of the superstition, Freeman no longer buys weather insurance for the event, which is expected to draw 175,000 people.

Brumfield, 28, has worked with Freeman in the past and is a devout Mormon, proud of her adherence to the church’s rules, including not drinking, smoking, gambling or cursing — and no sex before marriage.

She became the festival’s official virgin last year after her younger sister, who had that role in 2005, moved to California.

It’s a mixture of “fun and embarrassment,” she told the Star-Ledger of Newark.

Here’s how she does it: She drives a golf cart to the four corners of the festival site, picks up some grass, mumbles some random words, then penetrates the produce with a knife before jamming it and the knives into the ground. The ritual was scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

The pressure is on this weekend. The National Weather Service says there’s a chance of rain each of the three days of the festival, which was scheduled to start Friday.

LONDON (Reuters) – A teen-ager whose teachers had stopped her wearing a “purity ring” at school to symbolize her commitment to virginity lost a High Court fight against the ban Monday.

Lydia Playfoot, 16, says her silver ring is an expression of her faith and had argued in court that it should be exempt from school regulations banning the wearing of jewelry.

“I am very disappointed by the decision this morning by the High Court not to allow me to wear my purity ring to school as an expression of my Christian faith not to have sex outside marriage,” Playfoot said in a statement.

“I believe that the judge’s decision will mean that slowly, over time, people such as school governors, employers, political organizations and others will be allowed to stop Christians from publicly expressing and practicing their faith.”

Playfoot’s legal challenge was the latest in a series of disputes in British schools in recent years over the right of pupils to wear religious symbols or clothing, such as crucifixes and veils.

Last year, the Law Lords rejected Shabina Begum’s appeal for permission to wear a Muslim gown at her school in Luton. That case echoed a debate in France over the banning of Muslim headscarves in state schools.

Playfoot’s parents are key members of the British arm of the American chastity campaign group the Silver Ring Thing, a religious group which urges abstinence among young people.

Those who sign up wear a ring on the third finger of the left hand. It is inscribed with “Thess. 4:3-4,” a reference to a Biblical passage from Thessalonians which reads: “God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin.”

During the case, Playfoot’s lawyers argued that the ban by her school in Horsham, West Sussex, breached her human rights to “freedom of thought, conscience and religion” which are protected by the European Convention on Human Rights.

Lawyers for the school denied discrimination and said the purity ring breached its rules on wearing jewelry.

They said allowances were made for Muslim and Sikh pupils only for items integral to their religious beliefs and that, for the same reason, crucifixes were also allowed. But it argued that the purity ring was not an integral part of the Christian faith.

Playfoot said in her statement she would consult her legal team to consider whether to appeal.

LONDON (Reuters) – A teenage schoolgirl will appeal to the High Court on Friday to overturn a ban on her wearing a “purity ring” at school to symbolize her decision to abstain from sex before marriage.

Lydia Playfoot, 16, from West Sussex, says the silver ring is an expression of her faith and should be exempt from the school’s rules on wearing jewellery.

“It is really important to me because in the Bible it says we should do this,” she told BBC radio. “Muslims are allowed to wear headscarves and other faiths can wear bangles and other types of jewellery. It feels like Christians are being discriminated against.”

Playfoot’s lawyers will argue that her right to express religious belief is upheld by the Human Rights Act.

There have been a series of rows in schools in recent years over the right of pupils to wear religious symbols or clothing, such as crucifixes and veils.

Last year, the Law Lords rejected Shabina Begum’s appeal for permission to wear a Muslim gown at her school in Luton. That case echoed a debate in France over the banning of Muslim headscarves in state schools.

Lydia Playfoot’s parents help run the British arm of the American campaign group the Silver Ring Thing, which promotes abstinence among young people.

Members wear a ring on the third finger of the left hand. It is inscribed with “Thess. 4:3-4,” a reference to a Biblical passage from Thessalonians which reads: “God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin.”

Lydia’s father, Phil Playfoot, said his daughter’s case was part of a wider cultural trend towards Christians being “silenced.”

“What I would describe as a secular fundamentalism is coming to the fore, which really wants to silence certain beliefs, and Christian views in particular,” he said.

Leon Nettley, head teacher of Millais School in Horsham, denies discrimination, saying the ring contravenes the school’s rules on wearing jewellery.

“The school is not convinced pupils’ rights have been interfered with by the application of the uniform policy,” he told the Brighton-based Argus newspaper. “The school has a clearly published uniform policy and sets high standards.”

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Supermodel Gisele Bundchen stepped into the debate over birth control and sexual behavior in Brazil on Tuesday, saying Church opposition to condom use was ridiculous and women should have the right to choose on abortion.

Gisele is idolized by many young women in Brazil, the world’s largest Roman Catholic country, where debate over sexual issues has intensified around a visit by Pope Benedict last month.

The Pope stressed the Church’s firm opposition to abortion and contraception and railed against sex outside of marriage.

The Brazilian beauty, one of the world’s top models, told Folha de S.Paulo newspaper in an interview that when the Church made its laws centuries ago, women were expected to be virgins.

“Today no one is a virgin when they get married … show me someone who’s a virgin!” she said.

Asked about abortion, she said a woman should have the right to choose what is best for her.

“If she thinks she doesn’t have the money or the emotional condition to raise a child, why should she give birth?”

Gisele, who had just arrived from New York to take part in Rio de Janeiro’s Fashion Week, also defended condom use.

“It’s ridiculous to ban contraceptives — you only have to think of the diseases that are transmitted without them. I think it should be compulsory to use a contraceptive.”

The Brazilian government has clashed with the church over anti-
AIDS programs in which it distributes millions of free condoms and Health Minister Jose Temporao has called for a national referendum on abortion.

Other Brazilian celebrities have fallen foul of the Vatican over sex issues. Singer Daniela Mercury was banned from performing at a Vatican Christmas concert in 2005 because she took part in a campaign promoting condom use to prevent AIDS.

She denied rumors she was pregnant.

“Of course I want to have a family in the future. But not at this moment.”