changing mindsets

When I was 7, I found out the mechanical details of sex, and I was pretty grossed out. I mean, these are body parts we use for urinating! They're so unattractive, we cover them up, even when we're swimming! And I couldn't imagine liking a boy enough to have him put his penis inside me. Obviously, my feelings have changed over the years (thanks, hormones!) but I thought I'd share this childhood memory to help us have compassion as our kids are learning about these things and might feel grossed out too.

My attitude change was gradual, and some of the things that helped me overcome my issues was that my mom assured me that this feeling of being grossed out is valid, especially for my age. She also expressed confidence that those feelings would change over time as I went through puberty and experienced attraction. She shared that she, too, had overcome similar obstacles and actually enjoyed sex once she was married. She encouraged me to save sex for marriage to avoid potential awkwardness associated with the privacy that I was so concerned about -- and that made total sense to me! So to that extent it served a very positive purpose!

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