Thursday, September 6, 2018

A Novel Idea

For a lack of anything else to watch last night, my wife landed on Born This Way, a reality show about living with Down Syndrome. It ended up being pretty interesting. The two "stars" are getting married. At the bachelor party for the groom, one father asks another, "Have you told your son anything about sex?" "Oh, God no!" came the response, "There's plenty of time for that."
Mind you, their sons are in their 20s. Well, you can imagine my reaction. In a way, I think this is worse than parents not informing a "normal" son. Does that father think his son doesn't get erections?
If parents won't explain things, and the school systems are balking more and more as things move further and further toward the conservative-religious right, how in the world - where in the world - are young people supposed to get information?
Well, it appears many are turning to the internet. All fine and dandy if those websites and e-zines are doling out actual information, rather than "alternative facts" or "Giuliani truth."



Taking part but not knowing anything can be a harrowing experience, as Stella Smith explains in her article on Medium. She suggests several web writers she uses as her "go to." Even so, parents, or at least knowledgeable friends or trusted adult role models, should be consulted for corroboration of facts. Or, here's a novel idea...


 


6 comments:

SickoRicko said...

Yeah, reading books is a lost art.

Xersex said...

wanktastic!

AOM SoulFood said...

It is a shame of shames for parents not to make sure their kids have the right information - it is a form of mental and emotional torture allowing their kids to find their own way - we make sure to teach them how to drive, how to eat, hot to potty, how to throw a ball - but sex - shhhhh that's just nasty no no stuff. Insane! Wishing you a bonerific day, bro. Hugs, Licks, and Strokes

Unknown said...

Trust things are working out for you! Things have changed so much in my lifetime (84 years) but yet sexual information still seems to be very taboo in so many families! Great post as always. Spring is in the air here today!

Anonymous said...

It’s unbelievable that, nowadays the youngsters have to go to the internet to ger information about their own and natural sexuality.
When we grew up, back in the ‘80s our families were reluctant to explain certain things about sex and our sources of information were older friends and porn (and everybody knows that porn is everything but real)... BTW, some of us were lucky enough as we were explained the sex issue by our parents or even at school, but in a plaib view, there was a lack on information.
BUT, nowadays?
We live in the information era. Our youngsters are completely surrounded by different sources to know whatever the want and so their parents. I can’t understand why they’re coming back to the past.
The easier and more natural the explain everything, the less problems and complexes theis children will get.

Anonymous said...

My dad just took me to the nearest Planned Parenthood. Out of state because red states. It was mostly informative, though I did wonder why the anatomical drawings of the penis were all circumcised. (I'm not. I grew up with one token white friend who was.)

With Dad's obvious discomfort but distrust of "a school system run by Republicans and Republicans with a D next to their names" as he put it, I volunteered to teach my brothers when they were old enough.