How High?
In a society where sexual exploration is the norm, is there such a thing anymore as having too many partners?

- Holly Clay

     Shante Jackson is an attractive, 26 year old professional woman. She is family oriented, a mother of a two year old daughter, Ashley, and she one day hopes to get married. Fun, kind, and classically put together, she is not necessarily who you would think of when you think of a woman that has had a lot of sexual partners. Yet, to date, after becoming sexually active at 18, Arden has had 15 sexual partners in and out of relationships. And in a day and age where saving ones virginity until marriage is as out of style as gauchos, Jackson sees no problem with her number.

     "I don't consider my number high," explained Jackson, who associates her number of partners to the free, fun environment she was surrounded by when she was in college. "I think of sex differently now rather than when I was in school. Today, it's not just for fun. It's more so something special with another person. As you get older, you start looking at things differently."

     While many of us are raised with ridged sexual values, Jackson's mother and family were always open with her about sex. And as a teen, she decided to lose her virginity to her first boyfriend. Fifteen men later, Jackson continues to date. However, she is not readily upfront with the sharing with the men she encounters the number of people she has had sex with.

     "My disclosing my number depends on how serious the relationship may or may not be," said Jackson, who admittedly sees a high number of sexual partners for a man an indicator of his experience. "How many people a guy has slept with is not information I seek from the men I date, so they don't seek it from me."

     Since the beginning of time, the rumor has been that men will sleep with anyone, but at the end of the day, would prefer to marry a woman who has guarded her chastity. .Jackson, however, does not see her number of partners interfering with her one day tying the knot.

     "I do one day want to get married, and I don't think that my number of past partners will prevent that from happening," she said. "I don't think that a real man will look at my number. Most men have high numbers themselves! If he has a problem with it, there is a guy out there that won't. Honestly, I think that the bigger obstacle for me is finding a man that is okay with my having a child."

     In hindsight, Jackson does see that her number of partners could have done damage to her reputation and could have put her at risk for contracting a sexual transmitted disease. Yet she does not regret the partners that she's had in the past.

     "I don't think you should live your life with regrets," said Jackson. "I don't see anything wrong with my experiences and lifestyle during the point in my life with my number escalated."