boys have a penis girls have a vagina

[minarri]

This was not what I was expecting. When I saw the title I thought this would be a discussion about gender vs. sex, and how the terms "boys" or "men" aren't equivalent to "male," and "girls" or "women" to "female." Welp.

I don't understand how you could go through life like that, in any culture or time period. OP, I think your friend's parents were overprotective and didn't want their daughter to "lose her innocence" or whatever. That, and your friend apparently doesn't listen to what kids at school say--though don't get me wrong, I don't think that particular ability is unilaterally bad. But your school honestly had no sexual education class?

 

[Not Lord Atkin]

it is impossible to read this thread without being reminded of this:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/10/08

 

[Vuliev]

I knew more or less what it looked like by the time I was 5/6--I honestly don't know I learned it--but also being kinda confused that girls had not only a normal butt behind, but also another, smaller butt in the front. I vaguely remember reasoning out with a friend that that's there girls peed from, and then thinking the equivalent of "Man that's inefficient, you can't control the stream at all."

Didn't learn the other purpose (and the basic mechanics of that) until 5th grade or so.

 

[corneth]

Umm, I never didn't know? IE too young for me to recall.

This. It was just something I was always aware of, for as long as I can remember.

I wasn't aware that sex was how you reproduce until I was 12 though. Not sure how that one slipped by me.[/quote]
this is very similar to how I found out.
man, I was pretty damn young. Not that I feel like my childhood was taken away or anything, I just asked a lot of questions and my parents listened and responded to them. Despite that, I still didn't know how sex worked until I was ten or eleven, so I guess I was slightly behind on that front

 

[wottabout]

Although I did have a (male) friend who genuinely thought women peed, pooed and sexed out of the one hole at age 17. Our entire Maths lesson ground to a halt as even the teacher paused to wrap her head around it.

You must have had some interesting math questions for that to come up in class.

I knew from a young age that males had some sort of protrusion down there, but I didn't figure out the specifics of male genitalia or sex until into my teens. My mom almost gave me the sex talk, but she started it with something like, "Have you learned about this in school?" and I felt really awkward so I said yes. When we actually got to that stuff in health class, it was completely sanitized. We quickly went over the sperm and the eggs and skipped over the part about how the sperm actually got into the female. It went along the lines of, "Your parents told you about this, right? Okay, good. Moving on." Fortunately, public schools provide lots of dirty jokes and vaguely anatomically correct drawings on bathroom walls, so I pieced together the basics of sex and eventually the internet did the rest.

Edit: I should also mention that I saw part of a documentary on intersexuality at a young age. That just left me more confused, and also worried that I would suddenly discover I was male. At least it kept me open-minded!

 

[hensethe1]

I was childhood friends with a girl, and at something like age 3 or 4 we were caught inserting various toys into eachother, "playing doctor" we were quoted saying, with surprised innocent looks! Well that's atleast the story our parents keep telling us, even after we both have turned 21. Equally embarrassing every time!

Pretty sure it must have caught on then, though

 

[gyroscopeboy]

I always thought everyone had both sets...is that not what everyone elses looks like???

 

[generals3]

Wait... girls have vaginas?! What's that!

On a more serious note, i'm not sure when i found out, pretty early though i can't remember ever assuming girls had the same genitals.

 

[chadachada123]

Like plenty of others, I showered with my sister (who is two years younger) when I was little, and somewhere between ages 4 and 8 I "played doctor" with a neighborhood girl (and...uh...a neighborhood boy, too).

*Shrug*

I didn't know what sex was until far later, though. You'd think I'd have realized that there's a reason why each gender is equipped as they are, but I was more focused on the "feels good" part. Didn't properly learn to jerk it until middle school, after learning about sex both from my father and school around 5th/6th grade.

I would normally feel really uncomfortable talking about this, but I also know that all of the above is perfectly normal for kids between kids.

So, to answer OP's question, I can't remember ever not knowing the difference between genders.

 

[freaper]

ok i should prolly explain how she made it to 18 without knowing or thats all this thread will be

for starters she is about 60 now which means no internet, no jackass ball shots and very little tv or movie nudity.
she went to catholic school and they refused to teach sex ed. although i honestly don't know how you can make it through school without at least one of your friends mentioning their kid brother or their current boyfriend but yes somehow she was never in a position where the subject came up
she had very strict parents that thought if they never explained sex she would not become sexually active and you gotta admit up until she was 18 it fucking worked!
she was never under the illusion that men and women were the same but the extent of their differences was limited to women having boobs and looking feminine and men having more muscles and a deeper voice

also in case you missed it in the other thread. the only reason she found out was a male friend of hers while trying to convince her his job was "banana bender" tricked her into reaching into his pants (yes she was skeptical) otherwise she may never have known!!

i want to reiterate that she is not mentally challenged or anything, she is currently a fairly high powered business woman and is not easily fooled. just as a random fluke of events she was somehow able to avoid the subject of sexual organs for 18 years of her life and was thus unaware

also in case you didn't get the reference in the title i assume you are too young and must have missed the cinematic gem which is kindergarten cop starring governor Schwarzenegger

Are you telling me she did not even once see a sculpture or a painting where a Greek or Roman adonis had his junk out? wow...

Also, it's not because someone's born after the screening of a particular movie that he/she should be condemned/excused for not having seen it. There's always more and better stuff made before your time than there is during it.

OT: I don't remember when I realised women and men had a different circus going on below, but I do remember that I was 12 years old when I learned that women have three, well, exits instead of two. In fact, I remember startling the teacher by shouting my surprise in class.

Captcha: knuckle down.
Oh lord, shut it...

 

[Tsun Tzu]

But seriously...maybe second or third grade? Public schools are a den of scum and villainy.

 

[scorptatious]

I was probably about six or seven at the time. A friend of mine who happened to be a girl told me that.

I recall trying to kick a girl in the nads when I was 5 or 6, so I likely learned shortly after that.

XD

Reminds me of that one episode from South Park. One of the characters in the show ended up finding out by doing that.

 

[Charli]

I can't ever remember not knowing that

Er this. Did this girl not have parents/locked in a box for 18 years!?

I mean... how. How!?

I... mind. Boggled.

 

[Gilhelmi]

What the eff? Did she not live among people? I mean, both mom and dad took baths with me at some point. Not to mention beaches and bath houses. I don't know about now, but not a long while ago it was pretty normal for a really young kid to be at the beach without swimwear, or at least they didn't hide behind a towel when they changed into it. And if you're young enough, no one cares if you follow your mom or dad into their respective changing room at a bath house.

Oh, and the internet. The god damn internet. Just how? God damn it, I always get scared when I think about how many people there are like this. Like that girl in class who said she wanted a baby, but she'd punch it if it ever cried. Or that other girl in class who asked if you can still breathe through your nose if you're being strangled. Fuck.

If you read further down (on page one), this friend of the OP was 18, in 1970. She is 60 today, and a successful business woman who is not easily fooled. She was raised in a Catholic school by very Catholic parent, who thought that she did not need to know that until marriage.

 

[lechat]

Like plenty of others, I showered with my sister (who is two years younger) when I was little, and somewhere between ages 4 and 8 I "played doctor" with a neighborhood girl (and...uh...a neighborhood boy, too).

*Shrug*

I didn't know what sex was until far later, though. You'd think I'd have realized that there's a reason why each gender is equipped as they are, but I was more focused on the "feels good" part. Didn't properly learn to jerk it until middle school, after learning about sex both from my father and school around 5th/6th grade.

I would normally feel really uncomfortable talking about this, but I also know that all of the above is perfectly normal for kids between kids.

So, to answer OP's question, I can't remember ever not knowing the difference between genders.

i would say that is pretty standard and more or less the norm

i think so far the highest age we have is "first sex ed class" so would you say in this day and age it is impossible to make it to 18 short of being locked in a cave all your life? noone can see any fluke of events where changing schools and being shy somehow magically lets you avoid the subject?

also on the subject of "knowing how other ppls parts work" are the older guys out there truly aware of where all the parts are? i remember being pretty old (maybe 17) before i knew where the urethra is on girls (i thought it was underneath) and couldn't find a clitoris until i was 15. girls did you not know about testicles until you were older? were you unaware of erections?

 

[Gilhelmi]

ok i should prolly explain how she made it to 18 without knowing or thats all this thread will be

for starters she is about 60 now which means no internet, no jackass ball shots and very little tv or movie nudity.
she went to catholic school and they refused to teach sex ed. although i honestly don't know how you can make it through school without at least one of your friends mentioning their kid brother or their current boyfriend but yes somehow she was never in a position where the subject came up
she had very strict parents that thought if they never explained sex she would not become sexually active and you gotta admit up until she was 18 it fucking worked!
she was never under the illusion that men and women were the same but the extent of their differences was limited to women having boobs and looking feminine and men having more muscles and a deeper voice

also in case you missed it in the other thread. the only reason she found out was a male friend of hers while trying to convince her his job was "banana bender" tricked her into reaching into his pants (yes she was skeptical) otherwise she may never have known!!

i want to reiterate that she is not mentally challenged or anything, she is currently a fairly high powered business woman and is not easily fooled. just as a random fluke of events she was somehow able to avoid the subject of sexual organs for 18 years of her life and was thus unaware

also in case you didn't get the reference in the title i assume you are too young and must have missed the cinematic gem which is kindergarten cop starring governor Schwarzenegger

Are you telling me she did not even once see a sculpture or a painting where a Greek or Roman adonis had his junk out? wow...

Also, it's not because someone's born after the screening of a particular movie that he/she should be condemned/excused for not having seen it. There's always more and better stuff made before your time than there is during it.

OT: I don't remember when I realised women and men had a different circus going on below, but I do remember that I was 12 years old when I learned that women have three, well, exits instead of two. In fact, I remember startling the teacher by shouting my surprise in class.

Captcha: knuckle down.
Oh lord, shut it...

1970s Catholic. You think they are conservative now? No, they are liberal compared to 1970s Catholic. I doubt her parents even let her anywhere near "Pagan" statues of that era.

I like Catholics, but sometimes I wish they would not hid things from their children like this. They are better now then they use to be. Their job is to prepare them to face, survive, and spread the Gospel to the world.

 

[aXFireXHeartXa]

I have no idea. I remember having sex ed classes in 5th grade so I guess around that time, when I was 9 or 10.

I definitely remember learning about masturbating when I was 12 though. Can't forget something like that.

 

[Gilhelmi]

Took me a few minutes to figure out when I first learned. I think it was a sex ed class, and I think, it was just another boring piece of information that I decided that I would never really need to know.

So fifth grade or so.

 

[saintdane05]

But what if the girl has a strapon? Or if the dude is a transexual?