# How old were you the first time you saw adult genitalia? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 29, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518 "2004-07-29T23:20:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![steepone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@steepone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steepone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/41 "2024-07-26T06:12:48Z")
I used to go camping with my family a lot from a very young age, well before school age, and camp grounds at that time mostly had communal showers, some with cubicals and some just open plan so I saw grown men in the showers as far back as I can remember, I don’t recall ever paying any particular attention to it ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/42 "2024-07-26T06:18:17Z")
I was 17 and laughed uproariously. It looked like a rocket headed for the moon. It wasn’t traumatic for me. I don’t know about my boyfriend. I mean at that age I knew the gist of everything; presented with the reality was shocking and sooo funny. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/43 "2024-07-26T15:26:47Z")
> [@steepone](#): > > I used to go camping with my family a lot from a very young age, well before school age, and camp grounds at that time mostly had communal showers, some with cubicals and some just open plan so I saw grown men in the showers as far back as I can remember, I don’t recall ever paying any particular attention to it Yeah, I’m surprised for same sex genitalia people didn’t see it in locker rooms, etc. As kids, it would not be unusual to see naked people of the same sex. For women, though, it’s different story of course. I did see photos in my dad’s magazine collection. A real life naked woman? I can’t think of one before my high school girlfriend. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/44 "2024-07-26T16:59:50Z")
It must have been when my stepfather showed me how to properly take a shower. I don’t recall actually looking at his genitals, however. Looking back, it seems like an odd thing for a grown man to do. The first time I recall actually seeing a grown man’s genitals was when I took swimming lessons when I was maybe twelve or so. Locker rooms, doncha know. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/45 "2024-07-27T20:32:06Z")
Somewhere in his writings, Benjamin Spock described how he was once shaving naked while his toddler son was there in the bathroom. The curious tyke made a grab and Dr. Spock, the vestigial Freudian, never exposed himself again and advocated a similar embargo to his avid readers, who included my own parents. Around the same age as Dr. Spock’s son, my eyesight rapidly deteriorated. Devotees of the Dr. (who is inaccurately remembered as the baby doctor whose advice caused the permissive society, but was more accurately “be kind, but _always_ be in charge”), my parents misunderstood my dawdling in school, and sitting inches from the TV, and running out in the street as a contest of wills, and not a symptom of myopia. So even with a dad and three brothers, I saw no dingi in childhood. When I finally did get glasses, I would never be wearing them in situations of communal nudity like gym or the military. In nature they’re just blurry blobs to me. I’m not honestly sure I’ve ever seen one in person. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2024, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/46 "2024-07-28T13:35:48Z")
Oh good lord. My parents had ZERO boundaries. I saw it all - in real life, on TV, etc. I don’t remeber “the first time” because there likely wasn’t a “first time.” Whether or not that was for good or for ill I’m not qualified to say. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2024, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/47 "2024-07-28T15:04:41Z")
I was 9 years old. In 1976, Jimmy Carter was the Democratic nominee for president, and he gave an interview to _Playboy_. My parents bought a copy. The first time my parents left us alone in the house, my brother and I looked it over. The centerfold was a spectacularly beautiful brunette named Patti McGuire. The celebrity pictorial was a cute blonde named Misty Rowe, who appeared in a lot of TV shows in the 1970s (most famously, _Hee Haw_, _Happy Days_, and _When Things Were Rotten_). I never read the Jimmy Carter interview. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/48 "2024-07-29T00:37:31Z")
When I was younger, my mother didn’t have a real issue with being nude in front of us. Not casually, but we only had one bathroom so if she was in the tub and one of us had to use the toilet, we’d walk in and there she was. That changed as I got older but went on long enough for me to remember it happening. I don’t remember my first time seeing a live nude male (who wasn’t me) but assume it was while changing at a public beach, swim lessons, YMCA or similar. By 7th grade we were being herded into the showers after PE so that’s a definite mark but I’m certain I saw it before that. My parents had a copy of _The Joy of Sex_ (vol. 1 & 2) in their dresser which we discovered and I found fascinating reading whenever they were out of the house. Lots of pencil drawings of some 70s era nude couples. Actual photo/video adult material was closer to 12 years old or so. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/49 "2024-07-29T00:47:29Z")
The first time that I was thown in a Turkish prison was a real eye opener. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/50 "2024-07-29T23:41:50Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Yeah, I’m surprised for same sex genitalia people didn’t see it in locker rooms, etc. As kids, it would not be unusual to see naked people of the same sex. That really kind of depends - to this day, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else’s adult same sex genitalia. I never used the sort of locker room where everyone gets naked in a big open space - there were big open space locker rooms where we took off shirts/pants/dresses and changed to shorts and T shirts and there were individual dressing rooms with showers when I took swimming in high school. No locker rooms at the beach - had to wear bathing suits under our clothes. Male - I guess somewhere between 14 and 15. High school boyfriend. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/51 "2024-07-30T16:13:23Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > The first time that I was thown in a Turkish prison was a real eye opener. That wasn’t your eye. Personally? When my first girlfriend tugged off her pajamas for the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/52 "2024-07-30T18:30:51Z")
It might be my 18th birthday, when I became an adult. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/53 "2024-07-30T20:13:10Z")
When it happens I’ll let you know. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2025, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/55 "2025-08-03T01:36:34Z")
With my first girlfriend. I don’t count “Playboy”. We were both 16, fell in love like ya do at 16, took our time. The very first time was, as it turns out, in a 200+ year-old estate near Quakertown, PA. It was also the first time I saw a gold record on the wall. The genitalia was more impressive. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2025, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/56 "2025-08-05T15:11:37Z")
My parents would take us to the public pool, so I would have seen nude men in the men’s locker room. I also remember my mom once took me to the YWCA pool as a little kid (maybe 5?) and I changed in the women’s locker room (replete with nude women). ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2025, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/57 "2025-08-05T15:14:25Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > My parents would take us to the public pool, so I would have seen nude men in the men’s locker room. Same here. My dad would take me to the club he belonged to and naked men were walking all over the place in the locker room and steam room. I was maybe five years old (give or take). Not traumatic at all. It was just normal stuff it seemed. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2025, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/58 "2025-08-05T15:42:37Z")
I can’t remember the first time I saw naked women, probably my mom when I was an infant. But the first time I saw a naked man was when I was about 12, and I was on a little island reading a book, and a guy came out of a cabin on the nearby larger island and walk naked into the water to take a bath. I was more shocked that I’d invaded his privacy than by anything I saw. He didn’t see me, and I never told him I’d seen him. > [@doreen](#): > > That really kind of depends - to this day, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else’s adult same sex genitalia. I’ve been in lots of communal locker rooms and changing areas with other women, but I suppose you don’t really see female genitalia at places like that. I’ve seen pictures (both drawings and photos) of female genitalia, probably my first time was on the tampon instrictions, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen another adult woman’s genitalia in real life. (I’ve changed lots of babies, though, so I’ve seen lots of infant genitalia, of both sexes.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2025, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/59 "2025-08-05T17:59:13Z")
I don’t remember exactly how old, but it was when I was younger than ten or so. Male locker room at the YMCA with showers just before you got to the pool. Everyone had to shower, without suits. Wasn’t traumatic or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2025, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/60 "2025-08-06T05:31:32Z")
I can’t remember. We weren’t nudists or anything, but if one of us kids happened to see Mom or Dad coming back to their bedroom naked after a shower it was no big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2025, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518/61 "2025-08-06T22:04:54Z")
I must have been about 12 when I first saw my mother _covering herself up_ rather than nude after a shower. And even then, I think the main point was that she was teaching my sister. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-the-first-time-you-saw-adult-genitalia/257518.md?page=2)