Sex Education Class (Puberty Talk)
My son, a soon to be 10 year old came back from school a couple of days ago and told me that they had a talk about sex. They gathered the boys in his class and basically talked to them about the “birds and the bees”. He was so embarrassed when he was telling me what they talked about that he turned beet-red as he was relating his story.
ME: so what did you talk about?
ARIF: stuff
ME: aha, and what was that “stuff”
ARIF: well you know… STUFF!
ME: Oh that. OK, so did they talk about how babies are made?
ARIF: DAD!
ME: I can see that you don’t want to talk about it… fine, so what happens at puberty then?
ARIF: boysgetbonersandtheygrowhairandstarttostinkandtheystarttomakesperm!
ME: really? How interesting. Anything else?
ARIF: girlsstarthavingperiods! Hehe
ME: right, and
ARIF: and when they start their periods they get mood swings!
ME: NOW you know to keep your head down and RUN when you even THINK that your sisters and mother are having it or about to have it! NOW you know why sometimes I come home late from the office!
That was the end of the conversation at that point.
Strange that sex education in our schools (we had ours when we were around the same age I think when the Anglican padre visited the class for a “spacial” lesson.) I had to go through a more technical description at high school.
Traditionally on Thursdays most of the family (brothers, sisters and their kids) gather for lunch at my dad’s house. So typical of me I wanted to stir up trouble at the lunch table. You have to understand that we (Arabs generally) NEVER talk about “these things” in front of our parents and siblings. It’s just not done. Bad form.
What the heck, it could be fun! So here’s an extract:
ME: So Arif had his first sex education (puberty talk) class a couple of days ago!
EVERYBODY: absolute silence, a few red faces, spoons and forks left hanging between the plates and mouths.
ARIF: DAD!
FRANCES (my wife) shakes her head and LOOKS at me.
ME: what? Did I say something wrong?
ME: So Arif, what makes a man then?
ARIF: DAD! STOP IT!
ME: Why? It’s okay to talk about it! So tell me:
ARIF (plucking up a major dose of courage): boysgetbonersandtheygrowhairandstarttostinkandtheystarttomakesperm
faces get even redder! My sister (Abeer) is ABSOLUTELY mortified. Mum didn’t know where to hide her face (saved a bit by not understanding that much English but the reaction was in sympathy to the others), Hanan (#2 daughter) is totally ashamed and tries to hide her head in her food, Kamal (#2 brother) sniggers, Maha (#2 sister) knows what’s coming next, and Amna (#1 daughter) suddenly straightens up � she does this when she’s mischevious, about to attack someone or something. So, this is getting to be an interestingly abnormal family lunch! Wahyhaaay!
ME: yeah we all know that, but what action do you have to do to BECOME a man?
ARIF: DAD! (punches me on the shoulder)
ME: What? I just want to know if you knew? That’s all!
MUM: Mahmoodleavehimalone!
FRANCES: Mahmoodleavehimalone!
AMNA: straightens up a bit more.
EVERYONE: expectant waiting!
ARIF: (whispers) have sex (giggles)
ME: Aha! That’s what YOU think, but there’s something else even more important that you do when you get to be a MAN.
ARIF: mystified
AMNA: and having sex by yourself doesn’t count!
FRANCES, ME, HANAN, KAMAL: laugh our hearts out
MAHA: redder than red
ABEER: trying to find somewhere to hide, absolute mortification!
ARIF: A M I N A H !
ME: Don’t worry about the sex, I’ll take you to Bangkok soon!
FRANCES: OVER MY DEAD BODY!
AMNA: and don’t pretend that you’re having sex just by banging your books against the wall!
EVERYBODY: laughing
ABEER: even MORE mortified!
MAHA: continues to turn even redder if that’s at all possible!
ME: No, it has nothing to do with sex you sick minded boy. You become a man when you start paying your own bills!
AMNA: continues to rile her brother up…
EVERYBODY: continue trying to have lunch
ME: I say tislam yadditch (may Allah save your hands) to mum, get up and start another “conversation” with dad in his study where everyone else joins us again telling him how bad a son I have been!
What fun! I’m glad that my family can actually make a joke of these things rather than completely giving our children the completely wrong idea about sex and relationships.
Maybe I misunderstood your text, but there’s a fault in this sentence’s grammar (and also I’m no native speaker…).
And you may be right asking whether a 10 year old could know if he’s homosexual or not. I think, he at least should know that there is something called “homosexuality” and what it is – from a neutral spot. As well as he should know other basic informations about sex.