PENIS VS VAGINA

“Girls’ sexuality is only seen as a negation of the boy (Frithiof, 1985). Much of boys’ sexual identification is linked to the fact that they have a penis; parents often express appreciation when a boy displays his penis, which gives the boy the opinion that he has a valuable body part (Chodorow, 1988). When girls are seen to touch their sexual organs, however, reactions are often more negative. These differing values we carry with us on what is suitable or unsuitable behavior for boys and girls are passed on to the child right from birth as conscious or unconscious aspects of the conceptual world of their mothers and fathers, and later from other adults and surrounding society. Turner and Gervai (1995), claim that gender is one of the first and probably most obvious characteristics children learn in categorizing other people. Therefore, gender is also crucial to the development of self esteem and sexual identity”.

Abstract from Sexual Abuse of Children. Child Sexuality and Sexual Behavior by Ing Beth Larson, Dept. of Health and Environment, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Linköping University.