Sexual cautionary tales of my early young adulthood

“A cautionary tale or moral tale[1] is a tale told in folklore to warn its listener of a danger. There are three essential parts to a cautionary tale, though they can be introduced in a large variety of ways. First, a taboo or prohibition is stated: some act, location, or thing is said to be dangerous. Then, the narrative itself is told: someone disregarded the warning and performed the forbidden act. Finally, the violator comes to an unpleasant fate, which is frequently related in expansive and grisly detail. Cautionary tales are ubiquitous in popular culture; many urban legends are framed as cautionary tales: from the lover's lane haunted by a hook-handed murderer to the tale of a man who shot a cactus for fun only to die when the plant toppled onto him. Like horror fiction, generally the cautionary tale exhibits an ambivalent attitude towards social taboos. The narrator of a cautionary tale is momentarily excused from the ordinary demands of etiquette that discourages the use of gruesome or disgusting imagery because the tale serves to reinforce some other social taboo.

Cautionary tales are also frequently utilized to spread awareness of moral issues. For this reason, they are often told to children to make them conform to rules that either protect them or are for their own safety. The cautionary tale has survived to the present day in another form, especially with the rise of modern mass media such as film and television; many public service announcements and public information films frame themselves as cautionary tales regarding both societal issues and common dangers in modern life, pushing conformity by warning viewers of the danger and directing them towards avoiding the causes, or simply not doing actions that result in such dangers.” -Wikipedia

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