Infant and Child Sexuality: A Sociological Perspective - Ipce

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year olds in Elmtown about 15 percent of the boys and 20 percent of the girls had begun to date. (Hollingshead, 1949, p. 224-225). Later studies by Smith (1952), Lowrie (1956), and Cameron and Kenkel (1960) indicate a higher incidence of dating at early ages. The 1958 Office of Education Survey indicated that in most schools some dating may begin as early as fourth grade. This national survey, involving data gathered from fourth, fifth, and sixth grade teachers, supports the observation that in some schools boys and girls do not appear to feel a need to separate from each other during preadolescence. (Lewis, 1958, p. 30- 31). In fact, as low as the fourth grade and continuing through the sixth, they frequently asked for activities such as folk dancing and table games together. Boys groomed themselves (some beginning in the fourth grade), carried a comb and used it, washed their hands voluntarily, and occasionally wore a tie. Girls wore lipstick and nail polish and groomed their hair. A few children wore “steady rings.” In sixth grade they showed that they like each other in a friendly way. Cross-sex friendship is clearly demonstrated in the study by Broderick and Fowler (1961). In the fifth grade (ten and eleven year olds) 45 percent of the boys and 36 percent of the girls claimed to have had dating experience. By the seventh grade (twelve and thirteen year olds) nearly 70 percent of the boys and 53 percent of the girls claimed to have had at least one date. Some experience with kissing is common at these ages. There is no comparable data from earlier decades. When preadolescents were asked whom they liked best of all the children they knew (four choices were permitted), the choices across sex lines ranged from 19.7 percent in the fifth grade to 14.6 percent in the seventh grade. Percentages of those who chose at least one of four friends across sex lines give more dramatic evidence of a new look in boy-girl relations during preadolescence. 51.9 percent of the children in the fifth grade and 37.7 percent of the children in the seventh grade chose one or more friends of the opposite sex. It would seem from this that although most boys and girls still prefer the companionship of their own sex, many have bridged this friendship gap between the sexes. Cross-sex antagonism during preadolescence has been explained as partly due to the efforts of individuals to identify themselves more closely with their own sex and as a result of parents and others instilling into children the difference between boys’ and girls’ roles. These differences are diminishing. In the last generation the sex roles have become more flexible and now overlap in many areas. The contents of the two sets of expectations are becoming more similar as women have achieved many prerogatives previously regarded as exclusively masculine and men have begun to share many traditionally feminine responsibilities. As these roles converge and the experiences and values of the two sexes become more similar, cross-sex hostility becomes less appropriate. Rejection of the values of the opposite sex loses much of its purpose when values are similar. Similarly, as the social status of the two sexes approaches equality, many boys appear to feel less need to defend a shaky claim to superiority. Some of the most convincing evidence that times have changed comes from the Broderick and Fowler study. (1961). Children were asked to rank the desirability of a companion of the same sex, a companion of the opposite sex, or no companion at all in three different situa- 122
tions--eating, taking a walk, going to a movie. They could rank the cross-sex companion as first, second, or third choice. In the sixth and seventh grades, the majority of boys and girls reported that when taking a walk or going to a movie, the companionship of the opposite sex is to be preferred above either of the alternate arrangements. Both sexes were more conservative when choosing an eating companion, but in the seventh grade the proportion preferring the opposite sex rises to nearly a half. In the early stages, dating may primarily be done because the group expects it. (Crist, 1953, p. 25). A primary group in the form of a gang or clique of a bisexual nature plays an important function in the preparation of the individual for dating by helping to minimize anxieties, fears, frustrations, and shyness. Individuals who indicate an abrupt change from the one-sex gang to dating, without first having experiences in the heterosexual gang, are prone to find their early dating more awesome and fraught with uncertainty. There are social factors that may contribute to bridging the involvement gap between boys and girls along with sexual-erotic precocity which cannot be ruled out as a factor contributing to early involvement. Winick suggests that even the popular mannequin dolls that little girls play with help to prepare the female child for early dating, beginning with Betsy McCall in 1954 and culminating in the popular Barbie in 1959. Barbie is a sexy teenager, and playing with her involves changing costumes and preparing for boy-girl dating relationships, according to Winick. The rehearsal for dating provided by Barbie and her imitators may accelerate the social development of their owners. The effect of sex dreams that I had paralleled the feeling I received when a girl friend and I played with the sexually mature Barbie doll. Curiosity of the doll’s body led to fondling of the doll’s breasts and produced an excited feeling. By and large dolls sold in the United States are devoid of genitalia, however, contributing to the asexual socialization of children. A college student, on reading one of Broderick’s articles on the stages of heterosexual development, wrote the following which corroborates the data that we have presented in this chapter, namely that not only is preadolescence not a period of latency as has been surmised, but also that boy-girl relationships are often quite sexual and erotic. As I recall, this was a period of great experimentation, exposure, and discussion of sex. Elaborate games which we thought disguised our motives quite well, were created in order that we might expose ourselves in what seemed to us a permissible manner. The fourth grade was characterized by serious boy-girl relationships in which “making out” was a vital component. In the fifth and sixth grade the boys my age were getting their thrills, much to the horror of us girls, by taking pictures of each other experiencing an erection. The longer I spend, recall- 123
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INFANT AND CHILD SEXUALITY A Sociol
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About the Author Ph.D., Sociology,
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PREFACE We know very little about s
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Many persons played significant tho
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in infancy and childhood in hormone
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cause psychoanalytic theory, though
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and differentiating adults by such
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questions about his penis. He watch
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(Korner, 1973). The male infant has
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milk. Breast feeding is significant
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infant. Not only the amount but als
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According to the middle class stand
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myths about this practice. The Chil
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three hundred (one percent of the f
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Infants deprived of touch--holding,
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pervasive aspect of one’s total p
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The mother of a five year old told
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ate count as to the number who do,
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een aware that autoeroticism--eroti
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had erections when playing with gir
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they will eventually select their m
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and I can remember being scolded nu
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the arousal, but I was aroused. Chi
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was more inquisitive than sexual. B
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In both of the following cases, as
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emember to this day the nauseated f
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I remember one scene very well. He
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and he’d done it! The only penis
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of dwellings. He based his work on
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ents. Bandura and Walters conclude
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1965, p. 225). Children often contr
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shocked, told me not to do it anymo
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all children who are told to get
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cide that the child is “not old e
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little”; “they grow out of the
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that there was a “place in mommy
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tivity, and especially that which i
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His next approach was to tell me ab
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My father when undressed was a sour
Page 80 and 81: In other words, I was to avoid him,
Page 82 and 83: The general taboo on sensory-affect
Page 84 and 85: held by the eight year old. An inte
Page 86 and 87: asked each boy to rate his response
Page 88 and 89: It was not until high school that I
Page 90 and 91: fondling between the ages of eleven
Page 92 and 93: invited on an individual basis. Oft
Page 94 and 95: parents didn’t allow me to go any
Page 96 and 97: me. I repeatedly told her that I wa
Page 98 and 99: grade girl) was so embarrassed and
Page 100 and 101: societies that are considerably mor
Page 102 and 103: attempts at fellatio. Other cases i
Page 104 and 105: it. I felt a tingling all over my b
Page 106 and 107: me to look at a cunt as soon as pos
Page 108 and 109: Sex Instructions fondle me and inve
Page 110 and 111: ing. This pattern continued on to j
Page 112 and 113: long as I had started it, I could r
Page 114 and 115: As far back as I can remember my pa
Page 116 and 117: mal sex education from my father du
Page 118 and 119: with their immediate descendants. T
Page 120 and 121: fully initiated but not yet married
Page 122 and 123: nificance in the presence of childr
Page 124 and 125: sexuality nor for the quality of se
Page 126 and 127: Literature One indirect method util
Page 128 and 129: love, sex, and the opposite sex. Th
Page 132 and 133: ing attitudes, conversations, and a
Page 134 and 135: Outcomes of Preadolescent Sexual En
Page 136 and 137: Positive in love romantic really li
Page 138 and 139: anticipation, and satisfaction. Wha
Page 140 and 141: IV. A FEW WORDS OF MY OWN It is goo
Page 142 and 143: BIBLIOGRAPHY Abelson, H., Cohen, R.
Page 144 and 145: Crist, John R., “High School Dati
Page 146 and 147: Ketcher, Allan, “The Discriminati
Page 148 and 149: Newton, Niles and Michael Newton,
Page 150 and 151: Woody, Jane Divita, “Contemporary
Page 152 and 153: INDEX Ford, Clellan S., 8, 15, 49,
Page 154: INDEX in early childhood with adult
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Infant and Child Sexuality: A Sociological Perspective - Ipce

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