The Sex Talk

[wanderlust]

When did you find out about sex or get the "sex talk"? How old were you and how did you react? Did your school ever offer sex ed? Lastly, did you ever see sex-related things in the media before you found out about sex?

For me, it wasn't until I was nearly 13 that I finally found out about sex. Even then, it was through a book written for children entitled "So that's how I was born!" Hmm, so how did I react? I cried. I didn't actually get any explanation aside from that book. Since it was written for children, it really didn't give some of the details that I should have learned. I was in Christian school all my life , so I never had a sex ed class. They just taught purity and abstinence there. When I was 15, I was scared to even try putting a tampon in because I knew nothing about how things down there worked.

As far as seeing it in the media before finding out about sex, my first experience was as a 5th grader watching a Lifetime movie where a stalker forced a woman to have sex. My mom had fallen asleep on the couch and I was just like ...what just happened? It really wasn't the best introduction, to say the least. Thanks, Lifetime.

[Diorette]

My school has very good sex education and my parents are very open about sex so I knew about it since I was very young, and when I was like 10 I got a book called "how to be a sex goddess" but my dad hide it haha I don't even know why the lady at the bookstore sold it to me.

[smiley]

When did you find out about sex or get the "sex talk"? How old were you and how did you react? Did your school ever offer sex ed? Lastly, did you ever see sex-related things in the media before you found out about sex?

I learned about sex from my mom. I was 6 or 7, I believe. We were watching an animal show about bonobo monkeys and they were mating monkey style, er, doggy style. I said to my mom, "What are they doing?" She laughed and she replied people do that, too. I was thinking how weird it was and I just made a face. She pulled out an encyclopedia with pictures of the human anatomy and she called out the parts in her native tongue. She found it amusing because the names of the penis and vagina were different in her language.

My school started having sex ed in the fourth grade. It was weird because some girls already started their periods. The school sent letters home to be signed if parents wanted their children to participate in the sex ed program. My mom saw nothing wrong with it and she let me attend. As for seeing sex-related things in the media, I found, by accident, my dad had nude magazines of people involved in intimate acts and I thought, wow, naked people! How weird people do that to each other. I told my mom about the magazines after she started giving me the sex talk and she gave my dad an earful. lol!

[Affi]

I can't remember ever not knowing about sex to be honest. My mum's always been open about these things, answered any questions my sister & I had and I actually vaguely recall reading a book she'd gotten for me from the library, and knowing pretty much everything that was mentioned in there.
There was this one time when a friend was sleeping over, her mum died when she was a baby & her dad didn't really talk about any of this stuff with her, so my mum got some leaflet things that explained the basics as well as puberty for both boys & girls. I also remember when we finally got a lesson about sex in primary school, I was the only one not cringing or giggling.
I wish I had embarrassing stories to share but I didn't have The Talk or anything like that.

[well wait idk]

i never had the talk from my mom, i think she just assumed i knew. i talked to her about having sex before and she said to tell her when i was planning on it so i could get on birth control.

my schools sex ed was a mix of abstinence (aka bullshit) and proper sex ed. the teacher was all "you guys wont do this stuff until youre married but heres how ______ works" i didnt really learn much. it wasnt a sex ed class either, it was a health class had sex ed for like 3 weeks, and the other 13 weeks were other things. so it wasnt very good. but i have the internet haha so it wasnt a problem learning for me.

[bugk]

Sex and The City is one of my mom's all-time favorite shows so I saw it from a young age. But I don't think I really knew what was being done lol. In fifth grade, I think over a period of 2 days, the boys and girls were split up to learn and talk about our reproduction systems. Then in seventh grade, like someone else said, about 3 weeks or so were dedicated to sex in health class. I never actually had a sit down talk with my mom but she told me to always go to her for questions and not my friends who were just as clueless. I think my first sentence can answer the last question

[PyroMakeup]

Learned about in fourth grade. I was shocked when I found out how sex truly worked. I use to think when I was younger that to make babies you had to kiss a lot to get pregnant. LOL

[Kleineganz]

Wow I'm surprised they are starting this in 4th grade now. I didn't have sex-ed until 7th grade, just when most of my classmates and I were just hitting puberty. Are kids really hitting puberty 3 years earlier than in my generation? That's really shocking ...

[Angie V]

I found out about sex when I was pretty young... probably like... 2nd grade or younger. We had our first sex ed class in 5th grade where I found out more, though.

I never got a sex talk from either of my parents because my school covered it.

[TaylorKnows]

I never had the talk. I don't remember how I found out, from friends I guess. My mom told me what a period was when I was 5 because i was with her in a public bahroom and she was on it so she had a pad and I asked what it was but that's it. When I was 8 I saw a billboard for abortion so I looked up the site and saw what it was. Awhile later, I learned what a condom was through the show Friends. It wasn't until I was like 14 when my parents talked to me about sex because we'd watch The Secret Life of the American Teenager and they asked if I knew how not to get pregnant so I told them. Now my mom and I talk about the lack of communication on it and she does feel bad, but I tell her not too because I connected the dots. But they did the same with my bro and he was watching porn on numerous occasions at age 9...so I think I'll be talking to my kids about it.

[TaylorKnows]

Oh yeah and I had sex Ed in like 8th and 9th grade but by then, I already knew about that stuff. Middle school they preached abstaince but in high school we were told about birth control and condoms but the only fool proof way is abstinence.

[BellaJane]

I can't remember a time when I didn't know about sex. I remember my mom trying to have "the talk" with me when I was maybe 8 or 9, but I also remember telling her that I already knew everything that she was talking about. Most kids I knew were well aware of what sex was, how it worked, etc. We had our first "sex" ed class in 4th grade, but the class was separated by gender and was mostly about puberty. The girls got little bags filled with information on BC, periods, sex, etc as well as a little kit that had a few different kids of pads and tampons and such. Other than a condom, idk what was in the boys bag. ((Fuck that, too. Why did the boys get condoms, but not the girls?)) Then my school offered another more in-depth sex ed class to 7th and 8th graders. That one, from what I understand, was very informational and VERY detailed lol They even did the whole "Never Been Kissed" how to put a condom on a banana thing. Most people only took it because they gave out cookies afterwards, though. By 7th grade nobody needed sex ed anymore.

[HattieChaos]

I actually guessed what it was on my own. I was 4 years old, and I knew I had something that some people had and that some people didn't. I knew that because I had seen my Mum's boyfriend naked before (by accident). And I suppose I just realised they fit together, hahaha. I honestly have no idea how I figured out and if I got help from the TV or from books.. I highly doubt I got help from books. I taught myself to read at 4 but it was just kid's stuff, and any novels I was reading at 5 was still kid's stuff. So it might have been the TV that led me on but I honestly can't remember and I doubt there would have been anything of that nature on for me to see, lol. Anyway: One day, I just approached my Mum and asked her if that's what happened and if "boy's things went into girl's things" and I do remember a really embarrassed and shocked look on my Mum's face. She nodded, and I went away to think. Then I came back later asking if babies were made that way. I suppose I thought tiny babies came out of the guy and went into the girl and began growing or something. Anyway, she confirmed that too and I went away back to my bedroom feeling very very proud of myself.

I can only remember her shocked face and going back to my room afterwards, so Mum has filled in the blanks and told me that's what happened. I was also one of the kids that didn't laugh or giggle during sex ed. I also "spoiled" it for the rest of my friends. I remember explaining how sex works to my best friend when I was 5.

[herna659]

My mom had the talk with me around the time I was in middle school. She explained it clearly and let me know some of the consequences of unprotected sex (pregnancy, birth control, etc.) I took health class my sophomore year which also taught sex ed. I did see sex related things in the media but I never really understood.

My sophomore year I was 14 and decided to go on the pill because I had a boyfriend and I felt some pressure to have sex. We never ended up having it but I was shocked at how judgmental my doctor was about it. I know I was young but if I made a mistake or something happened in the heat of the moment I wanted to make sure I was safe. My mother supported me %100 and I appreciate that so much.

[LawlipopPrincess]

Just like others have posted, I don't remember NOT knowing about sex.

I do remember when I found a medical book (my mom's a nurse) and finding a comparison of the female and male bodies, with genitalia and all. I guess my little 6 year old brain just *clicked* and put two and two together. XD After discovering the word "sex" maybe a year later, I looked it up on the internet. I actually didn't find it gross at all, I found it actually pretty fascinating. My elementary, middle, and high school all provided really well informed Sex Ed, so I never thought sex was a bad thing, to me it was natural.

My mom never had the sex talk with me because, 1: School was already doing that, and 2: She had an idea that I already knew and if I needed to know anything else then I could ask her. We only got really into talking about sex when I started to become sexually active at a young age. (Of course using BC and condoms)

I think it's great to learn as much as you can about sex, including the emotional parts as well.

[Faffy]

I honestly was an innocent little lamb until we had a week of sex ed in 5th grade - many girls by then already had their periods!! Anyway, my school has required classes for sex ed from 5th-9th grade so all my knowledge is from there and the Internet. My school never really pushed the "abstinence" stuff but more so discussed contraceptives and the consequences of having a child when not emotionally/financially ready which I am glad for because I have a more tolerant view towards sex.

[wanderlust]

Hearing about all of your parents being open and finding out about things early on makes me realize that's what I want for my kids when I have them. I know there's a desire to keep them innocent but if I don't tell them about it, they will just find out another way. I was so clueless growing up and I think it's so important to be informed. Knowledge is power .

Also, I can't believe how early kids have their periods these days. I had mine when I was 13, a few months before I started 8th grade.

[HattieChaos]

I started mine at 10, but I know someone who started hers at 6.

[wanderlust]

I started mine at 10, but I know someone who started hers at 6.

Wow! That's crazy.

[TaylorKnows]

I remember going to the library and the library told me some girl started at 7. 3 days after we watched the movie on it in 5th grade, my friend got it. We were 10. I had just turned 12 when I got mine after a year and a half of looking in the toilet and underwear after I went to the bathroom (a little TMI lol). I had no clue what the brown stuff was in my underwear and two days later when my mom was doing laundry, she informed me it was my period. lol.