Friday, October 06, 2006

From Here to Maturity

she's all me


There's been a lot of exciting sex talk on the blogosphere these days, and even I entered the mix before I heard what everyone else was saying. ... All more points to ponder, don't you know, as the discussion becomes more defined.

Some believe our puritanical society, which links sex and violence, as a cause of many ills. That if we were comfortable in our own bodies we'd be more comfortable in the world and less likely to snap from all the repression. Others believe that the sexualizing of "everything" from baby dolls to instant coffee is leading our nation down the path of critical debauchery, where the only thing we can look forward to is the white-knuckled waiting for results of our twice-yearly STD tests.

There are SO MANY great arguments on all sides of the debate that I have to wonder if the real problem (and solution) isn't somewhere in the middle? In some ways many of us seem to think birds are eating all the breadcrumbs intended to lead us back to reality.

Perhaps we should begin by agreeing that sex isn't bad. It is part of our biological makeup to ensure the human race is continuing to attract new runners. (Repeat it to yourselves a couple of times: SEX. ISN'T. BAD).

I think the problem really isn't S-E-X. It isn't that girls and boys (and any combination therein) are engaging in an activity that we don't even want them to know about. I don't even think it's about which is worse, repression or expression. I think it has more to do with maturity and security. And the quest for maturity shouldn't end just because we've reached the age of it - maturity that is.

We might all agree that a 12-year-old probably isn't mature enough to fully deal with the emotions that come with sex. It doesn't mean that he or she won't initiate the deed, nor think to themselves that they are fully prepared and they know what they are doing. All one must do is transport ourselves back in time to just about their age. If your memory hasn't failed you, and you can admit it, you we're once just as clueless.

But do we ever consider that women and men put off by public breast feeding probably aren't terribly mature either? Same goes for the people who can't turn off the televisions without doing their part to make sure you can't make the same choice for yourselves. I don't think I have the energy to discuss all those people who put their own need for satisfaction first.

We all know (and accept) that our society makes rules that govern what it collectively deems to be a standard ethic. As times change these mores also evolve. Sometimes the ideals seem to conflict. It seems the only thing we all typically agree on is that adults cannot have sex with children. Otherwise, just about everything else is gray area. Is it good? Is it bad? The only thing for sure is that it's a tough call.

Brittney Spears, Bratz Dolls, rap and hip-hop, provocative clothes, fellatio and cunnilingus clubs (in junior high school) ... we think that the world's going to hell in a handbasket. Yet there are many who say it's pretty much the same now only different. Kids are no worse today than 25 years ago. They grow up, the grow out of it. Life moves on.

And every moment of every day I'm stuck right in the middle.

I have known people whose parents encouraged them (as teenagers) to have sex when they felt ready. They allowed them to bring their significant others home, rationalizing in a time -- a decade after Son of Sam -- that it was safer for them to have sex at home, under their roof, than in a parked car on the sly.

Although I'm not offering empirical data, it has been my observation that those kids fared no better in long-term relationships than those whose parents wouldn't let them date until they were 17 and refused to accept any behavior other than abstinence (whether their kids heeded the warnings or not). And isn't that what we're going for? To make sure that our kids' early experiences ultimately lead them to make good choices in mates later on so that they don't have to deal with divorce court or domestic violence.

I can honestly say I have NO idea what is best course of action here, or if there even is a best course. I happen to be modest by nature, so my feeling is that sex should be a personal expression. The details, especially. I also think that the only way sex is fulfilling is when each person really is safe rather than just feeling safe: when each person knows where they stand (so to speak) when they are laid bare (literally and figuratively). Honesty and maturity is where I think the security part comes from. How we get there, I suppose, will always be an individual journey.

Perhaps, though, as we're working on teaching our kids to understand how precious they are and how wonderful sex is, maybe we have to work on our own maturity. Maybe we parents have to realize, again, what's really harmful before we label everything with a skull and cross-bones.

6 comments:

Her Bad Mother said...

I'm still all over the place on this one. Hell in a handbasket for sure, but how to do we pull back from hell without teaching them that sex is the devil? Especially when we sometimes have trouble teasing out the good from the bad in this hyper-sexualized world? Tough one.

Anonymous said...

The pic is funny. I argee.

the stefanie formerly known as stefanierj said...

It's like a variation of my mom used to say "I'm not afraid of YOU and your views on sex, I'm afraid of everyone ELSE and their views on sex." I mean, what if he has terribly healthy and mature views on sex but comes up against a Mark Foley? I hate that I have to teach my child to even take predation into the mix of sex, morality and maturity, but there you are--maybe *that's* what makes me think we're going to hell in a handbasket.

Anonymous said...

I hear you loud and clear. Mother of two teenagers and a pre-teen. My parents were prudish and skittish when it came to answering our questions about sex. It was taboo and treated like it was filthy...until marriage...and then it was holy. Who can make that leap?

We just try to keep the doors of communication open with our kids. And int the case of Mark Foley, I still try to reiterate to my kids that there's difference between a pedophile and a gay man. Statistically speaking, most pedophiles are heterosexual men. Hope that's not too off topic here.

Anonymous said...

I'm plunked right here in the middle of this with you, as in I don't know which side I fall. On the one hand, I see a scantily clad teenage girl in public, and I wonder how her parents let her out of the house like that and I think, "I'll never do that," and then I cringe at my own judgmentality. I naturally recoil from the Bratz Dolls and their copycat products on the market, and silently breathe with relief that my son is a trucks and trains kid, sometimes pushing his blocks and books around in a stroller, along with a doll that leads to no speculation over her dress.

On the other hand, I don't want to be so repressed concerning sex and expression of sexual maturity that it hinders his learning of the subject and the experience he ends up having in the future. It's a fine line, one I hope to balance on carefully, though I know I'll probably fall off at some point and spend time trying to clamber back up. I agree with you that as a society, especially the breastfeeding in public issue, adults could collectively use a shot of maturity when it comes to sex and sexual expression.

Also, my husband and I want another child, and if we have a girl, there's a whole new set of circumstances over which to concern ourselves, not the least of which includes the predators in this world.

Anonymous said...

You said cunn.. uh, cunni.. cun. cunni..

OMG...I CAN'T EVEN SAY IT

I feel so close to you now...*pee shiver*