Sexuality Regulating in Children

This study came from the academic journal Sex Roles: A Journal of Research vol. 62. This study shows how mothers teach adolescent children differently on sexual topics --even thought young children are often viewed as asexual-- such as abstinence till marriage, contraceptive usage, sexual values, and body development. The main point of the study was to "...examine whether gender differentiation in sexual socialization is a feature of sexual socialization across all age groups given the close relationship between gender and sexuality, or only a feature of adolescent sexual socialization, given the American culture understanding of young children as asexual". They surveyed over 600 mothers on a lot of different things that they have taught/ shown their children. I found it really shocking that less than 1/6 of the mothers surveyed taught their children about gay and lesbian couples, and even more shocked that barely any more than that taught them that calling someone a homo/fag/queer is disrespectful and to not do it.

They came up with six different hypotheses:
1. In regards towards relationships, mothers are more likely to talk to their daughters than their sons.
2. Mothers talk to daughters more than sons about reproductive bodies.
3. On sexual abuse, mothers inform their daughters more than their sons.
4. Mothers lecture their daughters on morality more than their sons.
5. Mothers talk more about intercourse and sexual pleasures to sons than to daughters.
6.  If hypotheses 1-4 are all true, then mothers are more comfortable talking to their daughters, rather than sons, on sexual issues.

The results were that only hypotheses 1, 2, and 4 true; which automatically made number 6 false.



Here is a link to the article (p.s. it's only about 12 pages long):
http://corwin.emich.edu/sfx_local?genre=article&__char_set=utf8&spage=278&sid=Thomson+Gale&issn=03600025&issue=3-4&pages=14&pid=info%3Asid%2Fgale%3Augnid%3Alom_emichu&date=2010-02-01&aulast=Luke&au=Katherine+Luke&atitle=Gender+Differences+in+the+ABC%27s+of+the+Birds+and+the+Bees%3A+What+Mothers+Teach+Young+Children+About+Sexuality+and+Reproduction&title=Sex+Roles%3A+A+Journal+of+Research&aufirst=Katherine&volume=62

I hope you learned something from this
-Derek Moskal =]