Let's Talk About Sex - Part Uno

This is how I remember it...I was about 4 years old and my brother had just been born. Naturally curious, I asked my Dad how it was that my brother came to be. Where did he come from? On that note, where did I come from? Instead of brushing me off like an irritating child that asks about everything, my wonderful Father sat me down and read me this book:

I will mention now that this book was fully illustrated.

It left little to the imagination. Naturally I was horrified. I burst into hysterical tears and refused my parent’s comforting hugs, swearing that I would never EVER do that. My Mom asked of my Dad “are you happy now? Why did you have to tell her the truth?” My Dad’s reply, “because I promised I would never lie to my children.”

While my Dad’s commitment to truth is admirable, I would say that it was not altogether appropriate in this particular circumstance. I hold no grudges against my parents, I was the eldest and they did the best they could, and I think I turned out alright. But from that very moment, my sexual identity started to form. And I wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.

I blocked the specifics of this early ‘birds and the bees’ talk from my mind. But I remember my mom telling me I was ‘not allowed to make the Barbies have sex’ when I played with our neighbors at the cabin. I remember secretly watching sex scenes in movies through the cracks of my fingers, and thinking that looked much more pleasant than I had originally thought. I invented a kissing game when I was in elementary school, to play with my very first crush, who had the longest rat-tail in the school. But still the actual act of intercourse was repulsive to me. Barbies were relatively safe with their plastic mounds, and the movies never showed, well, you know. I was also very young when I decided to become a Christian, and immediately loved the thought of not having sex until I was married, and then only having to do it with that one person until one of us died.

I knew I was interested in that intimate connection people could share, but I was quite happy to wait as long as possible before I experienced it. Then, when I was in my early teens I found this book, nestled in the bookshelf in our basement:

My world EXPLODED! Until now I had assumed people only had sex to make a baby, or maybe if they were just really bored. But this was a revelation! Apparently people – a woman no less – could actually love sex. Could crave it, could need it, could become obsessed with it. And not just a man and woman! This book was my first look into bi-sexuality. I had a lot to process.

Stay tuned for Part Deux!