Every Young Man's Battle: The Reefer Madness of Porn

[RainDog]

40. When I had preschoolers

and got together with other mothers (occasionally fathers) and their kids...

we were all surprised to learn that nearly ever single toddler masturbated, and they figured this out all by themselves, obviously, because no one was modeling the same (and the ways they masturbated were obviously kid-created.. sand, stuffed animals, etc.) and none of the kids were abused and none of them were watching porn, unless Sesame Street had some furry thing going on that's only evident to kids...

but that reality - that kids, even before hormones decide it's time to act upon whatever, pleasure themselves through their sexual organs sort of made me think that the real problem comes from society, not kids or teenagers, in regard to this issue. not that I didn't think that before, as far as religious propaganda goes, but both girls and boys, outside of cultural exposure to images, etc. masturbate.

I feel sorry for kids who are raised in right wing religious households. A lot of unlearning has to go on to even perceive sexuality without some sort of weirdness whispering in their ears, maybe.