8 Reasons to Have Sex Before You Get Married: Premarital Sex Isn't a Bad Thing

I once heard that sex is like pizza. Even when it's really bad, it's still kind of good.

I chuckle every time I hear that. But it also makes me think about the fact that if I just had one partner, I'd have nothing to compare the sex to. This is just one reason I am a proponent of premarital sex.

Let me just be clear up front. I believe in committed relationships. I am in one right now. I am happy with only having sex with him the rest of our sexually active lives. However, I am grateful for experiences with ex-boyfriends, college hook-ups and adulthood romps. Had I not had those experiences, I would never know the difference between sex and making love.

Let me also be clear that I do not believe in pressuring someone to have sex. If one half a couple wants to have sex and the other does not wish to, either they will have to deal with it or end the relationship.

Now that those disclaimers are out of the way, here are some reasons I feel sex before marriage should not be considered a bad thing.

Reason #1 to Have Premarital Sex: Everyone's Doing It

Not that peer pressure is a good thing. It's not. That headline is tongue-in-cheek. But really, almost everyone IS doing it. A recent study by New Yorks' Guttmacher Institute found that 9 of 10 Americans engage in premarital sex. To me, this shows that premarital sex is something that is outdated. See, in years past people married younger. Perhaps just after high school, perhaps to his or her one and only sweetheart. This meant that years of fooling around were limited. This leads me to point number two.

Reason #2 to Have Premarital Sex: People Are Marrying Later

Today, people are marrying later and later. Case in point: I'm 28 and engaged. My mom married at 16. This means that I would have waited over 12 years longer than my mom to have sex. I couldn't not see sex as being a part of my life over the past decade or so. It shaped who I am. My fiancé and I set a wedding date for 2008. I will be 30 then. (Ten years more and there would have been a funny movie made about me!)

Reason #3 to Have Premarital Sex: Test Drive