Growing up: Open, or Prudish?

Contributor: Moniqua Moniqua
Prudish.
10/03/2012
Contributor: SiNn SiNn
Quote:
Originally posted by (k)InkyIvy
Growing up, my family was always very uptight and prudish about sex. Sexuality was taboo, enough so that my mother's "sex talk" for me essentially consisted of "If he can't give you an orgasm, he's not worth sleeping ... more
my folks have alwya sbeen open about sex
10/03/2012
Contributor: emiliaa emiliaa
My parents taught me the scientific aspects of it 100%, they never lied to me or hid it when I started asking questions as a young child. However, they never really discussed the 'pleasurable' aspects of it with me, except the occasional VERY BRIEF mention from my mom nowadays, now that I'm over 18. XD I think I prefer it that way.
10/04/2012
Contributor: Jesyra Jesyra
My mother was always open and willing to talk about everything, she just wasn't the best at it.
10/14/2012
Contributor: MidnightStorm MidnightStorm
When I was very young, my parents NEVER mentioned sex or anything sexual. In fact, my parents hardly even cursed around me: the first time I saw someone (my bus driver, actually) flip someone off, I had no idea what it meant. Once I began to ask questions my parents were very open, though. In fact, my mom even offered to buy me a sex toy when I was a little older (though not 18 yet) and I politely declined. Now, however, my mom and I talk pretty openly about sex and sexuality. We don't "shop together," but I'm even comfortable going to porn stores with her as long as we go our seperate ways. Sometimes if I'm not sure about something and we're in a store, I'll ask her opinion. ( For example, the first time I bought flavored lube for the first time I was going to give a blowjob... I had no idea what to get. )

I don't need the advice so much any more, but we still talk about a lot of things. I appreciate the approach, over all. I felt like I could ask my parents about just about anything, in a worst case scenario, and that was really awesome.
10/14/2012
Contributor: skeeterlynn skeeterlynn
Open. Never had "the talk" but still talked about sex in general.
10/14/2012
Contributor: Bethy Cassatt Bethy Cassatt
My family was very uptight, but it wasn't because they were trying-- we just didn't talk about it. My sister gave me the talk though when I had my period, and forced my mom to back her up.
10/14/2012
Contributor: mr115393 mr115393
I received no mechanical info on sex and I didn't even know I was masturbating until I'd been doing it for years. I just know that it felt good and that my parents told me it was gross to touch myself when they caught me with my hands in my pants once. I always thought this was strange since, from what I've heard, my parents seem to have a pretty active and happy sex life. There's a lot of contradiction about sex in my family.
10/15/2012
Contributor: earthmama earthmama
Laughed when I read about your "prudish" upbringing. All my mom would say is "I think sex within marriage is fun." No mention of self-pleasing or orgasm at all.
03/14/2013
Contributor: hillys hillys
My parents were pretty open with me. Movies rated R for sexual content were allowed but not ones rated that high because of violence.
03/14/2013
Contributor: Chastity Darling Chastity Darling
I voted "Other" because my aunt and uncle raised me from 4-14 in a cult-like atmosphere and they were very prudish but my dad and step mom who I saw every other weekend without fail and eventually moved in with gave me the talk at 13 (I was naive for a while). They have always been very open with me. My step mom bought me my first vibrator at 18(??).
03/14/2013
Contributor: TheirPet TheirPet
I had a sex talk with my parents very young. Perhaps too young. I remember when I first asked where babies come from and getting a full hour talk with charts and pictures. It kind of turned me off for the longest time.
03/14/2013
Contributor: Ouroborean Ouroborean
I got both ends of the spectrum. My parents divorced round when I was three or so, and the atmospheres in their homes were very different. My mum was always very open about sex, while my da' was more conservative and preferred not to talk about it.
03/14/2013
Contributor: KinkyKatieJames KinkyKatieJames
If I had questions, they were answered. However, anything sex related was highly discouraged. I grew up being a bit afraid of even considering masturbating. My mom used to tell me how much she hated sex. I was scared I would too and avoided serious relationships for awhile.
03/14/2013
Contributor: shnsmth6 shnsmth6
Quote:
Originally posted by (k)InkyIvy
Growing up, my family was always very uptight and prudish about sex. Sexuality was taboo, enough so that my mother's "sex talk" for me essentially consisted of "If he can't give you an orgasm, he's not worth sleeping ... more
not very open
03/15/2013
Contributor: twelve13 twelve13
I received no form of sex education from my parents. Heck, they didn't even mention that I would get a period (which freaked me out once I got it!)
03/15/2013
Contributor: sexykiss sexykiss
never had the sex talk
03/16/2013
Contributor: BrittaniMaree BrittaniMaree
I believe we were open I didn't know a whole lot when I was small but had a few things that I did know about it
03/16/2013
Contributor: lovingmylife lovingmylife
i never had the talk with my parents but if we wanted to know something they were open and told us
03/16/2013
Contributor: SourAppleMartini SourAppleMartini
Hard to say. My parents were never strict, I could pretty much do whatever I wanted. However I never had a sex talk, sex was never discussed at home.
03/17/2013
Contributor: AU AU
Very prudish. Sex wasn't a topic at all. Even puberty talks were very vague. I get in a lot of trouble for saying this, but I am glad it was this way. It worked well in our case. But I DON'T think every house should be handled the same way.

It seemed my parents thought school would handle my education well. I thought sex-ed was boring and I didn't get the approach. So I read about sex wherever I could--encyclopedias, my family's magazines, novels, and then the internet. I think my parents were very aware. I may have known more about sex at 18 than my parents did in their 40s. Even though I didn't start until then.
03/18/2013
Contributor: Rosen Rot Rosen Rot
Never had the talk. Taboo in my house growing up.
03/18/2013
Contributor: 1001 Pleasures 1001 Pleasures
My family (as well as most of society) was prudish about sex when I first started looking and learning. Luckily, there were a lot of books written by gay writers in the 70s and 80s that enlightened me to what people were actually doing. Of course, my sexual awakening happened at the height of the AIDS epidemic, so there was not much "wild sex" to be had at that time.
03/18/2013
Contributor: bayosgirl bayosgirl
Uh....there was NO talk of sex, period. One time when I was 16 my parents caught me with a book for females on how to pleasure ourselves. They were stern and said to ask them any "questions" I might have (LOL.)
03/18/2013
Contributor: ss143 ss143
Bodies and sex were and open book in our house my mother always made sure we knew we could ask anything and get an answer.
03/18/2013
Contributor: Sweet-n-Playful Sweet-n-Playful
Growing up was prudish for me, though I never was.
03/18/2013
Contributor: Beautiful-Disaster Beautiful-Disaster
Very prude.
03/18/2013
Contributor: Clock Chime Clock Chime
I was always able to ask questions.
05/30/2013
Contributor: Hentialover Hentialover
Quote:
Originally posted by (k)InkyIvy
Growing up, my family was always very uptight and prudish about sex. Sexuality was taboo, enough so that my mother's "sex talk" for me essentially consisted of "If he can't give you an orgasm, he's not worth sleeping ... more
I was raised by my grandparents, and they -never- talked to me about sex or sexuality. I never thought to ask, since my school taught me the basics, and the internet taught me the rest. Though it did take me a long time to figure out my sexuality, and I think that if my parents had of been more open about it, I might have accepted it a lot sooner.
05/30/2013
Contributor: Katelyn Katelyn
We were very open, except once my mother caught me watching porn. She told the entire family and my brothers/mom/dad made fun of me for years after. it's not cool to do that to a nine year old and it really sat with me, even the memory still stings. And I'm super sex positive!
05/30/2013