Cite (Brongersma): Interessant zijn de resultaten van een onderzoek onder Canadese schoolkinderen. Kinderen uit de meer godsdienstige gezinnen, zowel protestant als katholiek, bleken in de lagere schooljaren gemiddeld vriendelijker en liefderijker dan hun zonder godsdienst opgevoede klasgenoten. Maar met de puberteit kwam een omslag: de godsdienstige kinderen, grootgebracht met strikte opvattingen over seks, werder nu harder en vechtlustiger dan hun godsdienstloze en seksueel vrijere kameraden. En met het groeien der jaren openbaarde dit zich steeds duidelijker. Militarisme is het sterkst verbreid bij orthodoxe, seksvijandige bevolkingsdelen, waar we ook de meeste voorstanders van de doodstraf vinden. De filosoof Bertrand Russell merkte op: 'Door de seksuele liefde in de gevangenis te stoppen, heeft de conventionele moraal er veel toe bijgedragen, ook alle andere uitingen van vriendelijke gevoelens buiten te sluiten. Zo zijn de mensen minder edelmoedig, onvriendelijker, meer op hun stuk stande en wreder geworden'. [...] Ouders die hun kinderen doorlopend lichamelijk mishandelen plegen een uiterst armzalig geslachtsleven te hebben.
Idem: Wanneer [jonge apen] niet van jongs af aan veelvuldig lijflijk contact met soortgenoten hebben, worden ze abnormaal.
Cite (Brongersma): De psychiater Wainwright Churchill meent dat de emotionele kilte en hardheid van Amerikaanse jongens terug te voeren is op de ingewortelde angst van hun vaders om hen aan te raken, laat staan te liefkozen, een angst ingegeven door vrees voor homoseksueel gedrag.
The purpose of this study was to explore parent-child sexual communication by investigating the impact of direct and indirect parental messages on the sexual attitudes and sexual satisfaction of young adults. A survey research design was used to obtain data from undergraduate students attending a large Southern university. The findings indicate that both direct and indirect parental sexual messages are negative and restrictive and have a differential impact on sexual satisfaction and sexual attitudes. While sexual satisfaction was positive, sexual attitudes were found to be problematic, especially among females. Suggestions are given for approaches that family life educators and parents may use in order to recycle previous sexual messages.
In an attempt to examine the relationship between parent-child communication about sex and parent-adolescent attitudes about sex, 12- to 20-year-olds (N = 141) and their parents completed sexual communication and attitude questionnaires. The correlation between parents' and children's attitudes were high for all the early adolescents and low for all the middle adolescents. Only among the late adolescents was there a significant difference in the correlations between the sexual attitudes of parents and their children as a function of family communication level, with the attitudes of adolescents and parents in the high communication group being highly correlated and the attitudes of adolescents and parents in the low communication group not being significantly correlated. Middle adolescents had significantly more permissive sexual attitudes than early and late adolescents. Gender variables were also studied, but conclusions were limited due to the small number of participating fathers. All findings must be tempered with the recognition of the possible sampling bias introduced by the use of a convenience sample. It is suggested that the more responsible sexuality seen in adolescents who can talk to their parents about sex may be a function of the similarity in sexual attitudes between these late adolescents and their parents.
Cite (Brongersma): Het proefschrift van Frenken liet duidelijk zien hoe personen, die in een seksvijandige sfeer opgroeien, de gevolgen daarvan gedurende hun hele seksuele leven en in een slechtere huwelijksbetrekking te dragen hebben.
DD: Compares the sexual development of children and adolescents in sexually permissive cultures and those in current American culture. Argues that the delay and prohibition of sexual activity is artificial and damaging. Children are not prepared for their increased sexual feelings in puberty, and also have little ways of expressing those, which leads to problems in both sexual and general psychological development.
Cite: Deze [copulatie]gedragingen van de volwassen resusapen worden 'geleerd' door oefening in het eerste levensjaar. De sociale omstandigheden waaronder de dieren opgroeien zijn in sterke mate bepalend voor hun vermogen om op volwassen leeftijd, 3 à 4 jaar na de geboorte, te copuleren.
Publisher: Nowadays we talk about sex incessantly, yet we still lack a comfortable language in which to do so. The 'polite' vocabularies of religion, medicine, law and sociology are too formal, value-laden and often simply boring, whilst the vernacular Anglo-Saxon words are regarded by some as 'obscene' and are frequently used by others in an aggressively negative, self-hating way.
Antony Grey criticizes the various rhetorics of sexual discussion, and points at the ways in which language often becomes a stumbling block to mutual understanding and happiness. He calls for a thorough overhaul of sexual discourse, to pave the way for greater realism.
Cite: Dit vermogen [tot copulatie in resusapen] ontbreekt na totale sociale isolatie, waarbij de jongen gedurende het eerste levensjaar uitsluitend in gezelschap van een levenloze substituutmoeder van kippegaas verkeren. Wijfjes noch mannetjes zijn na zo'n jeugd in staat om op volwassen leeftijd de lichaamshouding te vinden die noodzakelijk is voor copulatie.
Cite: Many patients who present with sex problems suffer not because they were exposed to early sexual experience but because they were deprived of the natural sexual imprinting that occurs among animals and primitive humans.
Publisher: From Huckleberry Finn to Harry Potter, from Internet filters to the v-chip, censorship exercised on behalf of children and adolescents is often based on the assumption that they must be protected from "indecent" information that might harm their development - whether in art, in literature, or on a website. But where does this assumption come from, and is it true?
In Not in Front of the Children, Marjorie Heins explores the fascinating history of "indecency" laws and other restrictions aimed at protecting youth. From Plato's argument for rigid censorship, through Victorian laws aimed at repressing libidinous thoughts, to contemporary battles over sex education in public schools and violence in the media, Heins guides us through what became, and remains, an ideological minefield. With fascinating examples drawn from around the globe, she suggests that the "harm to minors" argument rests on shaky foundations.
There is an urgent need for informed, dispassionate debate about the perceived conflict between the free-expression rights of young people and the widespread urge to shield them from expression that is considered harmful. Not in Front of the Children will spur this long-needed conversation.
Introduction and short reviews
An interview with the writer. Quote: Not only have the First Amendment rights of adults been abridged in the name of protecting the innocence of youth, Heins argues; many times, obscenity laws have actually done more harm to minors than good. Because of censorship, many children have not been equipped with the critical thinking skills necessary for living in a democratic society, she says. In some cases, minors have been denied access to information -- like comprehensive sex education -- that could literally save their lives, maintains Heins.
DD: The writer arguments that we should not keep sexuality hidden to children. Good book.
The relationship between adult sexual functioning and childhood experiences with exposure to nudity, sleeping in the parents' bed, and parental attitudes toward sexuality was examined. Although a variety of experts have provided their opinion on this issue, empirical research on this topic has been lacking. In this study, male and female college students were asked to retrospectively report on the frequency of sleeping in the parental bed as a child, the frequency of seeing others nude during childhood, and parental attitudes regarding sexuality. Information on current sexual functioning and adjustment was also obtained. The results suggest that childhood experiences with exposure to nudity and sleeping in the parental bed are not adversely related to adult sexual functioning and adjustment. In fact, there is modest support that these childhood experiences are positively related to indices of adjustment. Results also suggest that a positive attitude toward sexuality can be beneficial for a child's comfort with his/her sexuality. Finally, examination of gender differences revealed that male and female experience paternal attitudes toward sexuality differently but are similar in their perceptions of maternal attitudes.
Cite (Jones): Maas, studying "aloof" and "warm" men, found that [...] lack of intimacy has its roots in childhood and adolescence.
München: Interview mit dem medizinischen Psychologen und Pädiater aus den USA über Geschlechtsidentität, Rollenverhalten und Kindersexualität. "Wir sollten möglichst bald unseren mittelalterlichen Brauch der Bestrafung von Sexspielen überwinden. Wir sollten diese Spiele als etwas Natürliches ansehen, so, wie es die australischen Ureinwohner tun. Sie sind beruhigt, daß ihre Kinder später einmal keine sexuellen Schwierigkeiten haben werden."
As part of the UCLA Family Lifestyles Project (FLS), 200 male and female children participated in an 18-year longitudinal outcome study of early childhood exposure to parental nudity and scenes of parental sexuality ("primal scenes"). At age 17-18, participants were assessed for levels of self-acceptance; relations with peers, parents, and other adults; antisocial and criminal behavior; substance use; suicidal ideation; quality of sexual relationships; and problems associated with sexual relations. No harmful "main effect" correlates of the predictor variables were found. A significant crossover Sex of Participant X Primal Scenes interaction was found such that boys exposed to primal scenes before age 6 had reduced risk of STD transmission or having impregnated someone in adolescence. In contrast, girls exposed to primal scenes before age 6 had increased risk of STD transmission or having become pregnant. A number of main effect trends in the data (nonsignificant at p < 0.05, following the Bonferonni correction) linked exposure to nudity and exposure to primal scenes with beneficial outcomes. However, a number of these findings were mediated by sex of participant interactions showing that the effects were attenuated or absent for girls. All effects were independent of family stability, pathology, or child-rearing ideology; sex of participant; SES; and beliefs and attitudes toward sexuality. Limitations of the data and of long-term regression studies in general are discussed, and the sex of participant interactions are interpreted speculatively. It is suggested that pervasive beliefs in the harmfulness of the predictor variables are exaggerated.
Publisher: The authors evaluate the supposed adverse effects of the 'primal scene' on the long-term adjustment of children and their sexuality.
Cite (Brongersma): Een Duitse rechter met jarenlange ervaring als kinder- en familierechter zag het incesttaboe als een van de grootste gevaren voor de natuurlijke lichamelijke tederheid en aantrekking tussen ouders en kinderen.
Cite (Brongersma): In Bremen vroeg men in 1970 aan 599 schoolkinderen hun mening [over naaktcultuur]. De helft van deze jongens en meisjes zou graag aan naaktcultuur willen doen; 57 procent verklaarde voorstander te zijn van gezamenlijk douchen met het andere geslacht.
Human violence is fast becoming a global epidemic. All over the world, police face angry mobs, terrorists disrupt the Olympics, hijackers seize airplanes, and bombs wreck buildings. During the past year, wars raged in the Middle East, Cyprus, and Southeast Asia, and guerrilla fighting continued to escalate in Ireland. Meanwhile, crime in the United States grew even faster than inflation. Figures from the Federal Bureau of Investigation show that serious crimes rose 16 percent in the first six months of 1974 -- one of the largest crime increases since FBI record-keeping began.
Unless the causes of violence are isolated and treated, we will continue to live in a world of fear and apprehension. Unfortunately, violence is often offered as a solution to violence. Many law enforcement officials advocate 'get tough' policies as the best method to reduce crime. Imprisoning people, our usual way of dealing with crime, will not solve the problem, because the causes of violence lie in our basic values and the way in which we bring up our children and youth. Physical punishment, violent films and TV programs teach our children that physical violence is normal. But these early life experiences are not the only or even the main source of violent behavior. Recent research supports the point of view that the deprivation of physical pleasure is a major ingredient in the expression of physical violence. The common association of sex with violence provides a clue to understanding physical violence in terms of deprivation of physical pleasure.
Unlike violence, pleasure seems to be something the world can't get enough of. People are constantly in search of new forms of pleasure, yet most of our 'pleasure' activities appear to be substitutes for the natural sensory pleasures of touching. We touch for pleasure or for pain or we don't touch at all. Although physical pleasure and physical violence seem worlds apart, there seems to be a subtle and intimate connection between the two. Until the relationship between pleasure and violence is understood, violence will continue to escalate.
As a developmental neuropsychologist I have devoted a great deal of study to the peculiar relationship between violence and pleasure. I am now convinced that the deprivation of physical sensory pleasure is the principal root cause of violence. Laboratory experiments with animals show that pleasure and violence have a reciprocal relationship, that is, the presence of one inhibits the other. A raging, violent animal will abruptly calm down when electrodes stimulate the pleasure centers of its brain. Likewise, stimulating the violence centers in the brain can terminate the animal's sensual pleasure and peaceful behavior. When the brain's pleasure circuits are 'on,' the violence circuits are 'off,' and vice versa. Among human beings, a pleasure-prone personality rarely displays violence or aggressive behaviors, and a violent personality has little ability to tolerate, experience, or enjoy sensuously pleasing activities. As either violence or pleasure goes up, the other goes down.
DD: Anthropological evidence (as well as other types of evidence) shows that the amount of physical contact with children is strongly (negatively) correlated with the amount of violence in a culture. Children who are touched often grow up to be non-violent, children who are touched little become violent.
Bij een onderzoek van het NISSO kwam [...] naar voren dat slechts 25 procent van de Nederlandse ouders ermee akkoord gaat als hun opgroeiend kind geslachtsverkeer heeft, en maar achttien procent is bereid dit in eigen huis toe te staan. Niet minder dan 50 procent vindt zelfs zelfbevrediging verkeerd.
WWW: A study which shows social nudism or naturism has no negative effects upon children. Many photos of families in the buff. A scholarly book despite all the photos.