sex tips for boys

Real boys, I'm not complaining about my husband on this one.

We discussed the necessity of sex-ed on forninepounds recently (agreeing how much more fun the oral would be if boys got real sex lessons from the age of 16 up). Ireland has such a poor record of sex education - some people still disagree that it should be taught. My husband's experience was that the boys were herded into one room and told things they already knew about boys, ditto the girls, and never the twain should meet. Another friend was told in her nice South Dublin Convent school, by a nun, that 'boys were like pressure cookers and girls were like ovens'. I'd like to think this was a reference to the fact that women might need a longer slower lead up to orgasm, but I'm afraid it was purely a reference to bun baking, no enjoyment relevant.

I just saw a book reviews by a 17 year old in Mothering magazine. It's called How To Be The Best Lover - A guide for teenage boys'. The reviewer cited it as the perfect follow up to The Talk, for saving parents and kids alike embarrassment. No link, I'm afraid, Amazon took me to other 'best lover' books, then when I searched including 'teenage boys' it took me to Harry Potter!

I know this may seem one-sided, that I'm concentrating on boys, not girls. But my feeling generally is that girls take care of this aspect of life far more comprehensively - the resources are out there. I had read and memorised Cynthia Heimel's 'Sextips for Girls' before I was 15, and every issue of Cosmo had a list of ways to improve your blowjob technique - I think the pre-17 magazine market is providing a horrible amount of education on that sort of subject right now, for better for worse. And girls talk a lot more - and perhaps with more focus, shall we say, than boys do? I hope not, but I suspect it's true...

More positively, my mother gave me 'The Mirror Within' by Anne Dickson, a lovely book with a mirrored cover that focuses hugely on women's sexuality self esteem, self image, anatomy, masturbation, all good things. The thing I remember best from it, along with the cute diagrams of women's anatomy and advice to get a mirror and look at oneself, was the answer a nun gave when asked how she experienced her sexuality - she answered 'I pray naked'.