Infant and Child Sexuality: A Sociological Perspective - Ipce

was more inquisitive than sexual.
Both heterosexual and homosexual encounters are interspersed in
early childhood. Unlike the case above where the experience was “more
inquisitive than sexual,” in the case to follow the homosexual
experience was “more like scientific research.” It is clear that the
demarcation between what is erotic behavior and what is not is not
segregated in the mind of the child as it is in the mind of an adult
observer. For this reason children often feel that adults over-react to
childhood sex play.
As a child I (a boy) experienced several
incidents of homosexual exhibitions, many
heterosexual exhibitions, and several instances
of heterosexual play. This exploratory stage was
experienced chiefly between the ages of four to
seven. A secluded spot would be secured for
purposes of observing and touching the opposite
sex’s genitals. This happened repeatedly with
two girls, one older and one younger. Initiation
for each experience seemed to be about fifty
percent my effort.... At the age of six or seven
my friend (a boy) and I had a great curiosity
for exploring the anus. It almost seemed more
like scientific research.
The following homosexual encounter involves oral-genital contact,
but even with such intimate contact the encounter cannot be described
as erotic, at least not for the informant who is a year younger than
the aggressor.
My friend, a boy age five, was giving me (boy
four years of age) a lesson in human anatomy
(that is, sexual anatomy) and my curiosity and
respect for him put a strong sense of importancy
on what we were engaged in. I didn’t remember
then (and don’t now) ever having consciously
paid much thought to my genitals before, so this
was quite new to me. Our discussion involved
visual and tactile encounter as we had unzipped
our pants and upon his direction compared
penises in size, shape, and color.
I remember the tactile experimentation quite
well. He wanted to touch his mouth to my
genitals (just before this I had climbed down
from the trailer and urinated). I allowed him
oral-genital contact, and he came up spitting
and exclaiming that it tasted awful.
In homosexual encounters, a young child, usually a boy, is not
infrequently propositioned by an older boy as in the case above. A boy
aged seven may suggest sexual activity which his partner (a boy aged
four) is unwilling to cooperate in, as in the following case. This
results in exhibition on the part of the older boy with obvious
satisfaction for himself and at least interest on the part of the
younger boy.
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