Ergotism

So far on tour we’ve had dinner with two families including early teenagers.

What I’ve learned: When you’re fifteen years old, it’s entirely appropriate for other people around you to discuss your sex life for you.

I remember it happening to me when I was fifteen and it was super annoying. “Do you have a girlfriend yet? Do you? Well, how about this girl, do you like her? Do you? I bet he does!” And then of course for girls, the conversations I’ve noticed are usually along the lines of, “Stay away from the boys!” “You’re too young to be dating yet.”

Adults discussing the sex lives of those with developing bodies is entirely acceptable, but in my opinion, pretty pervy. In no other circumstance that I can think of is it OK to openly discuss the details of someone’s sex life in their presence when it makes them visibly uncomfortable.

Maybe it’s a kind of hazing into adulthood. Maybe it’s out of some concern that the sexual impulse if left unprodded will simply not develop; or worse, that it will develop in the wrong way.