‘It's awkward stuff’: conversations about sexuality with young children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore how parents navigate sexrelated concepts with their young children. This study used feminist phenomenological research methods for data gathering and analysis. Social development theory and a positive sexuality framework were also used in the study design. The participants included 13 parents (mothers and fathers) of at least one child aged 3-11 years old. The researchers performed semi-structured, individual interviews and data analysis included developing themes that illustrated the essence of parent understandings about the phenomenon. Two themes emerged from the data analysis: it's awkward stuff and my parents never talked with me. The findings illustrated the relationship between the parents' perceptions and social development theory and a positive sexuality framework. Feminist analysis revealed gender differences in how mothers and fathers approached sex-related discussions with their children. Implications for practice, policy and research were included.

“It’s what boys do”: Valence, source, and content of Black men’s masturbation messages.

“…Despite the desire to have sex-positive conversations with their children, discomfort and uncertainty were two reasons that parents of preadolescent children cited for resistance to engaging their children in conversations about sexuality (Christensen et al, 2017). Thus, it is likely that one explanation for the lack of masturbation messages in youth is parental discomfort with engaging their youth in these conversations.…”

“…Moreover, silence was also related to the age of the message recipients in that some men reported receiving no messages in childhood and a range of messages in adulthood. Several studies have reported on the lack of direct communication about sexuality among youth in general (Christensen et al, 2017) and boys and men specifically (Astle et al, 2022; Epstein & Ward, 2008). Additionally, research on adolescents and parental sexual health communication has demonstrated that parents struggle to engage their adolescent children in conversations about sexual behavior too (Kim & Ward, 2007; Malacane & Beckmeyer, 2016).…”

“…Thus, it is likely that one explanation for the lack of masturbation messages in youth is parental discomfort with engaging their youth in these conversations. Furthermore, there may be an expectation that male youth, in particular, will “figure it out” along the way as they engage with peers (Christensen et al, 2017; Epstein & Ward, 2008). Mothers are more likely than fathers to communicate messages about sexuality to their children (Fasula et al, 2007), but an overall lack of inclusive and sex-positive messages about masturbation has been cited as a reason for silence about masturbation among women (Fahs & Frank, 2014; Meiller & Hargons, 2019).…”

Intersectional Masturbation: A Content Analysis on Female Masturbation Studies Through a Sex Positive and Intersectional Lens

“…When social identities do not receive due consideration, it reinforces traditionally non-inclusive sex research which does not accurately represent the evolving world in the 21st century. Furthermore, when marginalized identities are overlooked, it can lead to significant gaps of knowledge of communities where this research is needed (Alexander, 2019;Christensen, et al, 2017;Hargons, et al, 2017). In the study of sexuality, those with more privileged identities from the aforementioned list are centered in the literature, thus contributing to a system of marginalization in science (Hargons et al, 2020).…”