Many of us have had some form of sex ed back in junior high and high school. Our parents may have helped deepen our understanding of sex and, along with our friends and peers, certainly played a role in shaping our beliefs, fears, myths, judgements, and confidence.
It is often the case that young children begin to explore sexual feelings, even though they have no idea what they are, and by the time adolescence comes into the picture most kids already know just enough about sex to know where babies come from. Many of those kids know a whole lot more, but much of that information is filtered and gathered from the media, watching older siblings interact with boyfriends/girlfriends/friends, from their peers and friends, and their parents, of course. But, sadly, not much is explained and so kids, often, “explain” it themselves and to each other. And you know how kids are…
Often, this misinformation grows up with them. Some ideas and “explanations” change, and you end up with adults who, unfortunately, still know very little about the great, diverse world of sex. Luckily (and unluckily) the internet is a fount of information about every sexual technique, issue, fetish, problem you can think of or not think of. I say unluckily because if you yourself don’t know all the answers, and no one does, then how do you know what you are reading online isn’t just another round of “explanations”? I’m not saying you can’t get good factual info online. I’m saying being a discriminating reader, check sources and background. Go to more than one site — and of course you can always ask a professional.
As a Master Sexpert, let me share something I discovered. There is a Netflix show that I would like all of my readers to watch, and I recommend it to everyone about 14 to 99+. It can be pretty graphic and I would say that if you have mature 13 year olds go for it. It would be great if teens could watch it with their parents, but there may be some squirming on both sides. If you are in doubt, parents watch it first and then recommend it to your teens — and be ready if they come to you with questions.
And I do think parents — in fact all adults — should watch it. It hits on topics such as slut shaming, vaginismus, all manner of the LBGTQ(AI, not so much) persuasion, sex and disability, fetishes, etc. Safe sex is always at the forefront. And its not just sex: identity, love, and heartache are also major themes. The story surrounds a teenage boy, Otis, whose mother is a sex therapist, and a teenage girl, Maeve who start an underground sex clinic at school to help their peers navigate their sexual and emotional confusions, problems, and concerns.
Three seasons of Sex Education are out, each episode is about an hour long. I’ve got my fingers crossed for a season four!
Nathalie