this post was submitted on 28 Feb 2025
1107 points (98.3% liked)
196
4779 readers
1768 users here now
Be sure to follow the rule before you head out.
Rule: You must post before you leave.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us on our matrix channel.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Yes and no.
Exposing kids to sex too early isn't good for their development. That doesn't mean you can't start sex ed very early, it just means that what you teach is important.
For example, the first thing kids should be taught is the proper name of all their body parts. Call a penis a penis or a vagina a vagina. It's also important to teach things like "Let mom and dad know if someone wants to see your penis/vagina". It's also important to start the concept of consent early "You don't have to give a hug or let someone touch you if you don't want to" and extended to "Ask first before giving a hug, it's ok if someone doesn't want a hug."
As kids get older, you should absolutely be having frank conversations about what sex is. You should further have frank conversations about adults soliciting sex from kids "Jerry Seinfeld was a huge creep that raped a high school teen. That wasn't ok".
I don't know why you thought about kids when the conversation about normalizing sex came about. Are you ok? No one wants to talk to 5 year olds about sex but 15 and 16 year olds should know about it...
Oh because I'm well informed enough to know that when talks about sexual normalization come up there's always going to be at least a few people that think that means normalizing it for very young children. It may seem obvious to you and I, it's not to everyone.
Take for example, this guy:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Kentler
Normalizing sex is something that needs at least some nuanced discussion about what that means.
Ironically, you're fighting against ideas that were not presented by the OP or in the comments;and, in doing so you brought up the topic that you complain about seeing.
I agree with your position, but the OP was talking about in general society.
Obviously there are edge cases (developmentally challenged people are another example) but, in general, treating sexuality as a taboo subject causes a lot of harms that are not necessary.
I'm getting ahead of the argument and laying out what I think is the reasonable position. I'm not really complaining, just want to make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes being sexually open.
Some well meaning people have damaged kids because they try and push sexuality too young from mistaken notions of what it means to remove the taboos of sexuality.