CHILDHOOD SEXUALITY: PARENTAL PERMISSIVENESS
To get some perspective on the degree of permissiveness or repressiveness of parents, Sears tabulated mothers’ reported evaluations of their reactions to sex play among children and the severity of the pressure put on children. Only two percent rated themselves as “entirely permissive” and an additional fourteen percent of the mothers reported that they had made no attempt to stop sex play when they encountered it. Miller and Swanson found in Detroit that about the same number of mothers said they had done something about the child touching his or her genitals as those who said they had not done anything. Of the seventeen percent of the population who said that their children had touched their genitals and that they had done something about it, five percent diverted the child’s attention, seven percent used gentle physical prevention or talked to the child, two percent punished the child physically, and two percent used shame or ridicule. In a recent interview study, a small random sample of mothers in Minnesota was asked what they had done when they noticed their child “handling his/her genitals—playing with himself/herself.” The answers ranged from complete permissiveness to complete restrictiveness. Except for five percent of the responses that could not be categorized, twenty-nine percent were completely restrictive, although sixty-six percent gave answers that could be categorized as slightly to entirely permissive, with twenty-four percent falling in the entirely permissive category.
A permissive attitude is taken toward auto-genital stimulation of children and adolescents in most societies, while adult masturbation is generally disapproved. In some societies masturbation is condemned regardless of the individual’s age, but in many societies it is believed that masturbation is a natural and normal activity for the young boy or girl. Among the Hopi and Sirion, masturbation passes practically unnoticed during early childhood, with adults taking a tolerant and permissive attitude toward all sexual behavior at least until the age of puberty. Among the Pukapukans of Polynesia, where parents simply ignore the sexual activity of young children, boys and girls masturbate freely and openly in public. Among the Nama Hottentot, no secret is made of autogenital stimulation in early childhood. Young Trobriand children also engage in a variety of sexual activities. In the absence of adult control, typical forms of amusement for Trobriand girls and boys include manual and oral stimulation of the genitals and simulated coitus. Young Seniang children publicly simulate adult copulation without being reproved; older boys masturbate freely and play sexual games with little girls, but the boys are warned not to copulate on the grounds that it would weaken them. Lesu children playing on the beach give imitations of adult sexual intercourse, and adults regard this as a natural and normal game. On Tikopia, small boys induce erections in themselves through manual manipulation, and this is ignored or mildly reproved by adults. Little girls also masturbate without being punished.
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Tagged as: Erectile Dysfunction, Men’s Health
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