Until the sixth grade, we thought a blow job was something one did to a car, like a lube job. And when we were eight or so and said something about sex, and Mom asked, "Do you even know what sex is?" and we responded with, "Yes, when a boy puts his penis in a girl's vagina," she told us we were wrong. So we were pretty confused about sex for a good deal of our youth. No one ever talked to us about masturbation, or sex beyond "use a condom" and/or "don't do it until you're in love and/or married." Even with all that confusion, or maybe because of it, we were the last in our circle of high school friends to lose our virginity. But if our local science museum had an exhibit on sex, romance, self-love and puberty, we would have been spared some awkwardness and confusion in our early sexual activity—and our parents could have still avoided the topic.
At least the French are getting it right.
A new exhibit at the Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie science museum is aimed at youngsters age 9-14 and is supposed to teach children about sex in a way that they can digest, with colors, graphics, cartoons, and plain talk. And it sounds like fun for all ages to us:
The characters treat sexuality with humor and sometimes sarcasm. There is a "love-o-meter" to measure the strength of romantic feelings, a "pubermatic" that shows bodies transformed during puberty, and a pinball machine where tiny balls in the shape of sperm race for eggs.
However, adults are encouraged to respect children's space while they explore the exhibit. And hopefully answer any questions they have when they leave.
In a "teenagers" corner, an area isolated by curtains, the curious can put on headphones to get answers to questions such as, "I have one breast bigger than the other, is that normal?" "What is masturbation?" and "I'm afraid to have my period, is it painful?"
Sounds about 69 times better than the terrible graphics in health class or the awkward conversation we never had with our mom. Vive la France!
[LA Times: Paris exhibit a children's guide to sex]
(Thanks, Caitlin!)