STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

i didn't know what sex was for the longest time -

i remember hearing the word sex and seeing teenagers on tv making out - or maybe it was "sexy"

i think i just thought it had something to do with kissing and girls in their bras - but i thought it was bad b/c my parents would always turn that off immediately -

i was so upset when my neighbor told me that's how babies were made and i refused to believe him -

i thought your body sortof naturally got pregnant sometimes ... lol

i don't remember how old i was when i learned what sex actually was but i was prob around 9 or ten - i read it in a children's encyclopedia ... i was so grossed out!!

 

I believe I was about 4 or 5, if not younger.  I had an older neighbor that was about 8 at the time who lived across the street.  She and I hung out all the time and one day she told me that babies are made when the boy pees into the girl!  I'm still actually pretty impressed with her knowledge at age 8--she wasn't 100% accurate, obviously, but pretty close!  I just remember being HORRIFIED thinking that there is no way that my mom and dad would do something like that and that there was NO WAY I'd ever let a boy pee into me to make a baby.  I remember thinking if that's what it took to make a baby, then I'd just adopt!

I got an official "sex talk" from my mom one day when I was in about 5th grade.  She popped in a video and everything and made me watch it over dinner.  It was terrible.

Random side note:  the girl that told me about sex also told me that her brother had been shot by one of the pirates in the Pirates of the Carribean ride at Disneyland right before my parents took me to Disneyland.  I didn't tell my parents about what she had told me, so my parents decided that we would all go on the ride.  I remember being TERRIFIED and screamed and cried the whole time we were on the ride thinking I was going to get shot.  It was quite possibly one of the most traumatic experiences of my childhood, thanks to her. 

I really have no idea. My parents never gave me "the talk" and I don't really remember talking about it with other girls at school. I guess I figured it out when I was in High School?

Seriously, I was so sheltered and naive. We used to play wrestle with our neighbors and after I got my first period I wouldn't play anoymore because I thought I'd get pregnant.

My parents never had a sex talk with me. I was a pretty earliy bloomer compared to the other girls in my school; I got my first period toward the end of 4th grade (not regularly, but...). My mom explained puberty, but not the sex part of it all. I learned from school in 5th grade. They took all of the 5th grade girls into one classroom and the boys in another. I was mortified, because there they were explaining that "in the next few years, your body will be going through some changes. This is how you make a baby... yada yada yada," and there I was already going through them. I remember looking around at all of the other girls, wondering "do they know?" because I was embarassed and didn't tell anyone about my "changes." The health teacher asked if anyone had experienced anything like that yet, and I was too humiliated to raise my hand. That was the most uncomfortable thing I'd ever done in my life... we were all sitting there, staring at each other, giggling, blushing... it was awful.

Off topic: I haaaated the whole puberty thing. I was the first one I knew to go through it. I was the only one in 6th grade to have boobs, and I was one of the tallest girls, too. I was so embarassed to stand out that I'd wear my older sister's baggy tees and jeans (was it ever "cool" anywhere else to wear a Nike tee, wide-legged jeans, big hoop earrings, and dark red lipstick? ) so nobody could see my body shape. That is... until the boys started to notice . Oh what I wouldn't give to be tall with big boobs again.... I haven't grown since 6th grade; I still fit into my elementary graduation dress.

We never had a "sex" talk - how irresponsible! I do remember telling my mom about making out with a guy when I was in the 8th grade & she said it bothered her because if I was already making out, people would think I was a slut & that only lead to other things (we were only french kissing, GOSH). I remember clearly just thinking that I shouldn't share those things with her anymore so I didn't get a lecture. And that set a tone for our relationship to this day!

ETA: i did decide to lose my virginity after I went to cheerleading camp & everyone else had already had sex. I was really just curious so instead of asking tons of questions, I just did it. Also very irresponsible.


-- Edited by laken1 at 11:54, 2005-11-28

My parents never gave me the sex talk - because they didn't have a chance to.  In 2nd grade, my best friend's mom sat us down and explained it to both of us.  Needless to say, my mom was pretty pissed that someone else's mother decided to tell me!

We never had the sex talk either!  What is up with our parents?!?

Though, I was an 'early bloomer' like Stephanie - except I had boobs at *7* and started my period at *9*.  So, yeah, I guess you could say all the 'This is what your body will go through' crap in the seventh grade at the ripe old age of 12 was a little bit lost on me!  I was, however, one of the most popular girl in the 6th grade, so tall and busty was I !

I faintly remember talking with my best friend in second grade about it - she had heard about it from her highschool-aged siblings.

Honestly, I felt like my parents had their heads in the sand in that respect.  Like if they didn't acknowledge it, it would never happen!  Which of course led to me thinking it was shameful, which isn't the best attitude for obvious reasons.  Literally, the only time it was ever mentioned was when I got an "I just don't want you to do anything that could cause things you'll regret later" when I was about 15 or so and headed over to FH's house where parents would not be present for spans longer than 15 minutes.  Let's just say it was a couple of years past moot .

-- Edited by LMonet at 20:26, 2005-11-28

Honestly, it's kind of a hazy memory.  I'm not sure how old I was.  I think my best friend's parents had just given her the sex talk and I either told my mom what she had told me or her parents let my mom know as a heads up kind of thing.  And my mom gave me an abbreviated sex talk. And I was just like, "Yeah, I know. Erin told me today at school."  And went back to playing.

On a side note, I remember there was a girl in my class who was completely obsessed with the idea, even though she probably (or hopefully) didn't fully understand it, but one day she drew what she thought was a penis on this little chalkboard and was showing it to everyone.  Looking back, I'm a little weirded out that this 8 year old knew so much. 

I didn't get the "sex talk" from my parents.   I got the basics, i.e. sex = how babies are made, but the main thing I remember was being told not to have sex before I got married, because if I had sex before I got married, the guy was just using me, and if I had sex after I got married, it was beautiful.  I think I was about 12.  So, you can imagine that I had erm... intimacy issues when I was in middle/high school.  I french kissed a boy when I was 15 and felt very guilty about it.  I'm sure my mom meant well, but if I have kids, I will *not* say that to them.  While I don't particularly like the idea of my (hypothetical) teenage kid running off and having sex before they can handle it emotionally, I'd rather he/she know about it and how to do it safely.

Thankfully, I got over said issues in college.  I learned all the "mechanics" of sex and childbirth in sex ed.  I distinctly remember the first depiction of sex outside of a health film was in the movie "Flatliners" of all things.  I was 12 or 13.  I was completely grossed out, thinking "Eeeeeew!! I *never* want to do that." Looking back, I was a little naive.