# She's only 12!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [February 4, 2003, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682 "2003-02-04T13:39:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/21 "2003-02-04T16:28:41Z")
God, I wish I’d had the nerve to do ANYTHING at age 12! Ironically, when I was a kid my mother had all these 70s-era sex books (think _Joy of Sex_, et al) from her “hippie phase” and obstetrics texts from her nursing school days laying in the basement. I read them all like crazy from about age 4 to age 9, when she threw them out. I’m positive I was the only kid in 5th grade who knew what the clitoris and analingus were. But this didn’t translate to opprtunities for practical application. ☹
I don’t think 12 is too old to kiss. I know guys who lost their viginity at about that age, usually to an older girl.
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### Author:  [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/22 "2003-02-04T16:52:03Z")
There’s also today’s strip, where April is IM’ing Elizabeth and hinting about sneaking out to go on dates. If April were 15, it would make a lot of sense, but there’s a lot of change that happens between your 11, just shy of 12th birthday and your 15th. She and Gerald both have more confidence than you’d expect from kids their age.
As **Rilchiam** said, the artist seems to have skipped an entire development phase. Maybe she’s going to have April get pregnant by 14 or something.
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### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/23 "2003-02-04T17:12:33Z")
Thanks in part to Ken Starr’s nationwide mandatory sex-ed program, kids know a great deal _about_ a lot of stuff when they’re very young. You’d be hard-pressed to find a junior-high kid in North America today who _didn’t_ know what oral sex was, I suspect, which means that a good portion of elementary-school kids do too.
April’s in that world. Even if she doesn’t intend to take things beyond a kiss, she knows there’s more out there, and knows more about it than old fogeys like me knew when we were her age.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/24 "2003-02-04T17:26:28Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by RTFirefly \*
> \*\*April’s in that world. Even if she doesn’t intend to take things beyond a kiss, she knows there’s more out there, and knows more about it than old fogeys like me knew when we were her age. \*\*
And it’s very useful when one wants to mess a parent’s head.
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### Author:  [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/25 "2003-02-04T18:14:20Z")
I think Johnston is starting to cast April as the wild one in the family – it would make a lot of sense, both in terms of real-life family dynamics and good storytelling. As the youngest, she’s bound to be a little spoiled, and IIRC, Michael and Elizabeth were basically “good” teenagers. The strip needs to stake out some new ground with April’s character in order not to go over the same territory again, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s setting this up with this particular story arc.
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### Author:  [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/26 "2003-02-04T18:40:35Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Zebra \*
> \*\*The cartoon (which I stopped reading when she murdered the dog) . . .
> \*\*
Unclear on the concept?
Homer murdered Achilles… Shakespeare murdered Mercutio… Melville murdered Ahab…
It’s called “drama.” But I have a sense you wouldn’t enjoy it…
Trinopus
(P.S. this is my first “Pit Nasty.” If you must chew me up and spit me out, be gentle, okay?)
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### Author:  [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/27 "2003-02-04T18:47:52Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by RTFirefly \*
> \*\*April’s in that world. Even if she doesn’t intend to take things beyond a kiss, she knows there’s more out there, and knows more about it than old fogeys like me knew when we were her age. \*\*
Assuming her parents (or _someone_) teach her about birth control and VD, is that necessarily a bad thing?
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### Author:  [@nogginhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nogginhead)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/28 "2003-02-04T19:21:03Z")
Am I sick for knowing what you were talking about without clicking the link?
Just because we (the boys) were titillated at 12 by holding hands doesn’t mean we weren’t thinking about ‘serious’ stuff.
I want to hear more about the barbie bondage-- I had a girlfriend named Barbie (and my name is Ken, no kidding) but she would never go for that sort of thing, dammit.
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### Author:  [@Mac\_Guffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac_Guffin)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/29 "2003-02-04T19:26:21Z")
What? April Killed the dog!?!? Oh my GOD!
What?
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### Author:  [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/30 "2003-02-04T19:50:54Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Lizard \*
> \*\*Assuming her parents (or _someone_) teach her about birth control and VD, is that necessarily a bad thing? \*\*
At 12!? :eek: I really am old-fashioned at heart and that would just be a bit much. 15-16, a bit young but not surprising. 17-18? A lot of girls lose their virginity by then. But 12?
FTR, I was either almost 17 or just past my 17th when I lost my virginity, so it’s not like I’m not familiar with sex and teenagers. I held a baby shower for three friends at once who were pregnant early in my senior year. All three of those women are divorced to the man who helped them get pregnant. (yeah, I know you were talking about birth control and all, but the possibility exists for a mistake, not that those three made mistakes with their BC: they didn’t use any).
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/31 "2003-02-04T20:01:20Z")
Anyone else hear of the [five-year-old showing signs of puberty](http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_739278.html)? Some kids just start earlier than others.
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### Author:  [@trishdish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trishdish)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/32 "2003-02-04T20:13:14Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by DeadlyAccurate \*
> \*\*At 12!? :eek: I really am old-fashioned at heart and that would just be a bit much. 15-16, a bit young but not surprising. 17-18? A lot of girls lose their virginity by then. But 12?
> \*\*
Girls are getting their periods now at age 10. I was just talking to my husband’s aunt, who’s daughter is 10, and the girl is getting breasts and probably going to get her period this year.
If you wait until 12 to talk to them about sex, birth control and STDs, you might just be too late.
And 15 - 16 to wait to talk to your kids about sex?!? I was having sex at 16 and that was waaaaay back in the 80s!
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### Author:  [@Heloise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heloise)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/33 "2003-02-04T20:15:35Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Trinopus \*
> \*\*Unclear on the concept?
> …
> … \*It’s called “drama.” But I have a sense you wouldn’t enjoy it…
>
> Trinopus
>
> (P.S. this is my first “Pit Nasty.” If you must chew me up and spit me out, be gentle, okay?) \*\*
That was nasty and uncalled for. And, based solely on what was printed here, where do you get off saying, “I have a sense…?” There’s no chewing up or spitting out here, but considering what you just said without provocation, you shouldn’t ask to be treated gently.
\*My editing and …
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### Author:  [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/34 "2003-02-04T20:39:50Z")
My mom’s taught sixth-graders for over 20 years, and that’s _exactly_ how a lot of them act. A lot of them aren’t quite to that stage yet, but quite a few are. Others are a lot further. I had a classmate drop out of school because she was pregnant…in the seventh grade. Others dropped out in 9th or 10th grade because of their kids.
Waiting till 15 or so is _just too late_.
Personally, I think Johnston is just commenting on how our society is changing, and how much faster kids grow up now. She had something similar a few years ago, tracing April’s transition from Barney to the Spice Girls. I think the kid was 8 or so.
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### Author:  [@Jester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jester)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/35 "2003-02-04T20:54:43Z")
Count me in with **particlewill** in wondering what you guys mean when you say that she murdered the dog. I haven’t read the strip in awhile, but that definitely peaks the curiosity…:eek:
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### Author:  [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/36 "2003-02-04T21:04:05Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by nogginhead \*
> I want to hear more about the barbie bondage-- I had a girlfriend named Barbie (and my name is Ken, no kidding) but she would never go for that sort of thing, dammit. \*\*
lol… well Barbie and Ken (actually it wasn’t Ken. I didn’t have a Ken doll so it was usually another Barbie and/or Joe from the NKotB as I had that doll) would be… going at it… and Barbie would generally be tied up with ribbons, or yarn or whatever I could find that would tie… and sometimes I just played out torture scenes.
What can I say? I was a disturbed child…
I only wish I had [these](http://www.metro.co.uk/metro/standard/article.html?in_article_id=7760) as a child…
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### Author:  [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/37 "2003-02-04T21:05:07Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by RTFirefly \*
> **Thanks in part to Ken Starr’s nationwide mandatory sex-ed program, kids know a great deal _about_ a lot of stuff when they’re very young. You’d be hard-pressed to find a junior-high kid in North America today who _didn’t_ know what oral sex was, I suspect, which means that a good portion of elementary-school kids do too.**
Aside from the Ken Starr smack, what is the big deal? I had a sex ed class in the 5th grade, when I was 10. That would have been 25 years ago! We talked about all that stuff (with lots of “eeeeew, grossss”, of course).
I needed it at that age, and I suspect most of the other girls did too. Although I didn’t lose my virginity until I was 16, I started smoking pot at 12 and thus put myself in some dangerous places.
High school is much too late for sex ed or drug/drinking ed, and junior high may be as well.
And just a damn minute! April did NOT kill the dog! Farley drowned saving her life! You insensitive bastards!
😉
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### Author:  [@Jester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jester)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/38 "2003-02-04T21:08:47Z")
Ah, I see. Just went to the site, and sure enough, Farley drowned pulling her out of a river. And here I was getting flashbacks of McCauley Caulkin in _The Good Son_.
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### Author:  [@nogginhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nogginhead)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/39 "2003-02-04T21:13:23Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Obsidian Flutterby \*
> \*\*lol… well Barbie and Ken (actually it wasn’t Ken. I didn’t have a Ken doll so it was usually another Barbie and/or Joe from the NKotB as I had that doll) would be… going at it… and Barbie would generally be tied up with ribbons, or yarn or whatever I could find that would tie… and sometimes I just played out torture scenes.
>
> What can I say? I was a disturbed child…
>
> I only wish I had [these](http://www.metro.co.uk/metro/standard/article.html?in_article_id=7760) as a child… \*\*
Mmm, those are pretty good. Though the costume’s not so important to me… it’s what goes on _after_ the blindfold’s on that I enjoy most.
What did Joe do to Barbie after he tied her up?
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### Author:  [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-only-12/152682/40 "2003-02-04T21:26:21Z")
lol… _That_ I will not answer. I didn’t know as much then as I do now so my recollections are fuzzy and pretty mundane.
That and I don’t think we should hijack the thread more from it’s original purpose. Which is April growing up, not my imagination as a child and how bondage fit into it.
At 12 I had kissed my first guy (the only for many years after that) and I _will_ say I didn’t find it oogy at all. I still talk to him sometimes and half wish he were single now too.
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