Infant and Child Sexuality: A Sociological Perspective - Ipce

She warned me never to let boys do that (touch
my genitals) because guys talk among themselves
and soon many boys would like me because they
considered me easy. She did not say anything
about intercourse and I did not ask any questions.
Both of us were uneasy. This was the only
time she ever told me anything about sex. I wonder
if she is waiting to tell me right before I
get married.
I think the reason for this (never confiding in
his father about sex matters) is that fact that
I know my father would be hurt if he knew something
was bothering me.
When I (a boy) was in seventh grade, I managed
to obtain a deck of playing cards with pictures
of nude women on the backs. I smuggled them into
our house and into the bathroom. There I was
enjoying myself when my father knocked on the
door. I slid the cards under the rug and tried
to shield my erect penis while opening the door.
My father peered in, excused himself, and backed
out of the room. I thought that my secret was
safe until later that day when he called me in
for a heart to heart talk. He told me what he
had seen and what he suspected, and that he was
very ashamed of me and if I was ever caught
doing anything like that again, held never be
able to trust me. This made a serious impression
on me and I can truthfully say that he
never again caught me. However, my bodily functions
could not be suppressed and the build-up
of semen in my body pressured me into further
masturbation despite the family pressure not to
continue.
The first time I menstruated, I was in seventh
grade.... My mother told me a little--like “when
you don’t get it you are pregnant.” To top it
all off, my period was very irregular, so every
time it was a little late, I swore I was pregnant--when
I had done no more than kissed.
The information that mothers give, if any is given, is usually related
to menstruation and pregnancy. Learning about contraceptives and
coitus is restricted to what is learned from peers. The mother may be
an inadequate source of sexual information, but the father is even
worse. (Gagnon, August 1965).
I asked my parents how it was possible for an
unmarried girl to become pregnant. My father
looked at my mother, then hid behind the sports
page. Mom smiled knowingly and said, “Well, it
can happen, but you’re too young to understand
why.”
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