Opportunities abound!
The worst way that parents fail in talking with their kids about sex is by not talking about it at all. So jump to it, get on it, and start that conversation! Opportunities surround us. The Oscars, a few weeks ago, offered many golden opportunities, it appeared to be the red carpet of conversation starters, in fact!
Depending on your kid, their age, your relationship, etc., there were many places to start. For example:
And, of course, the response video:
Funny or offensive? Discuss!
And for varsity level family conversation, there’s the Onion’s tweet calling Quvenzhané Wallis a cunt. The tweet, which has since been taken down looked like this:
Here is one of the first responses to the Onion. It’s brilliantly written, teasing apart the psychology of humor, race, and gender. It’s also strewn with vulgar language and imagery, so be prepared.
The Onion apologized publicly the day after the Oscars. Their apology is here.
Here is an article in defense of the Onion, and a discussion of satire, saying they shouldn’t have apologized.
And the ensuing debate then raged all over the place about humor, political correctness, gender, age, race, and sexuality. What do you think about all of this positioning?
Disagreement on the societal level gives you and your family a chance to talk about issues like sexual harassment, appropriate/inappropriate language choices, humor, gender, sexual expression, and more. Take advantage of everything you have available to you – but be sure and listen to what your youth has to say. If they disagree with your perspective, listen to why. Ask them questions and make them support their perspective with logical arguments. It will add to your family dynamic in beautiful ways!