alt.NPR: Youthcast from PRX

“I went through sex ed several times in school, but the first time was the most memorable. It was fourth grade. My teacher divided us up into boys and girls, and the boys went to another room. There, a relatively-permanent substitute teacher with a lazy eye told us about sex. It went like this. “How many of you use deoderant?” A couple of kids raised their hands. “Well, you're all going to have to start using deoderant…Also, you'll grow hair in funny places.” After that enlightening talk, we returned to our regular classroom. When boys and girls were united again, my regular teacher told us, “But seriously guys, don't have sex. My husband and I have never had sex, because you can never be sure if you'll get pregnant or get a disease.” Then class resumed.

I swear to you this is a true story.”

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Jen, Quincy, MA:

“I think this may have been at the end of high school, or early college: for the longest time, I thought i peed out of the little bump that I now know is my clitoris. This belief existed because up to that point I didn't think i had a clitoris. My two friends helped me find my clarify this mixup with the help of a spanish-language diagram of the vagina, a flashlight, and four clean hands.”

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http://otoselkie.livejournal.com/ :

“My first sex ed experience was courtesy of my cousins one Thanksgiving when I was ten. We were sitting in the attic of my grandmother's house, and they (four of them, ages sixteen to twelve) gave me an impromptu lesson with help from my grandmother's copy of The Joy of Sex. Some of their information was a bit vague, though – for example, a girl's period is “When you get blood in your underware, and it means you're a woman,” and sex is only “When a man's penis goes up and into a woman's vagina, like this! *show picture*”.

Cousin: Sometimes, the woman puts the man's penis in her mouth. Or the man puts his mouth on her vagina.
Me: Eww, why would anyone want to do THAT?!?
Cousin: It feels like sex.
Me: I don't think that sounds very fun.

I was bored and a little weirded out by the whole thing, and once they finished lecturing me I went back to reading my Star Wars novel. The other thing I remember was playing “Never never have I ever” with them later that week, and someone coming up with “Never never have I ever used a vibrator.” I had to ask, and was told that it was a plastic penis-shaped thing that buzzed which a girl could use “on her privates to feel good.” I thought this was throughly disgusting, but it was at least more information than I got from my “real” sex education. I sometimes joke that this experience was the root of my lesbianism.”

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Tom, Boston, MA:

“I think a great deal of my sexual education took place when I was browsing through internet pornography. When I was young and curious, so young that it makes me uncomfortable to recall, I stumbled across a link that said, “Girl gives blowjob close up.” I remember thinking, “Wow, I didn't even know it could happen from far away.” I think that really ruined my idealization of sex. If it could happen from far away, it couldn't be that intimate. When I grew up some, and realized that the phrase was referring to a camera angle, I had already discovered there were other reasons to be skeptical of the sexual mythos, but I guess that was the beginning.”

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Jenn, Providence, RI:

“Two months after I became sexually active, I had what was the closest thing to a “the birds and the bees” conversation with my mother. My boyfriend came to visit me in California. My mom knew we were sleeping together, and was fine with it. She let him stay in my room and nothing was awkward or uncomfortable…until we were driving to lunch one day.

“Jasper” my mother said, “did you know that BOTH sides of Jennifer's heritage got pregnant the first time they had sex without a condom?” My dad, who was driving, just shook his head. I was sitting behind my mother, and my boyfriend behind my dad. There was an empty seat between the two of us since we appreciated our space. Jasper looked over at me and replied, “yes…I think Jenn has said something about that before.”
Silence.
Waiting for something.
We finally arrived at the restaurant.
A few weeks later, we discussed my starting taking birth control…while still using condoms.

Thanks, mom.”
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