Erotic awakening is of two kinds, autoerotic and socio-sexual or
interpersonal erotic. Since Freud and Kinsey, if not before, we have
been aware that autoeroticism-erotic gratification obtained from the
self without the participation of another person-can be present from
the first year of life.
Interpersonal awakening comes at different ages
for different persons depending on biological-response capacity and
maturation, temperamental tendencies (cuddler or non-cuddler, for instance),
and experience.
Erotic awakening is a vague and mystical concept. What we mean by
it is that someone who previously lacked the capacity for erotic experience
now possesses that capacity. One has "new life," so to speak-something
is there that was not there before.
Puberty is sometimes
looked upon as establishing the biological-response base for the first
erotic event. But we know that the capacity for at least the rudiments
of erotic awakening is present from birth at least in some children.
Erotic awakening comes about when that which is "dormant" or "asleep"
is aroused to action. The experience may be feeding at the breast of
the mother, being handled and caressed at a tender age, a first kiss,
or later "falling in love," first coitus, or first coitus with orgasm.
Many parents consciously or unconsciously treat their offspring as
though the erotic capacity were present from birth, as indeed it is.
Such parents act as though what they do to and with the infant or child
will affect the time at which he experiences his erotic awakening and
that after his awakening he will in fact be a different person than he
was before.
This belief no doubt explains much of the style of infant
and child care that mothers give their offspring from the first decision-
the decision to suckle or not to suckle the infant-and on.
And
they are right; erotic awakening as well as socio-sexual awakening-the
beginning of satisfying sexual encounters with others-can come at an
age from infancy on depending on the biological-response capacity or
motivation of the offspring, his temperamental tendencies, and his
erotic experiences with others.
The erotic experience need not be tactile. On occasion, a boy of
five or six will report having an erection when he sees or thinks about
a pretty girl. In the following case a five year old girl experiences
sexual satisfaction from looking at the picture of a nude boy.
If pictures
of nudes are labeled pornography, then this is the youngest case
I know of where a child is erotically aroused through viewing pornographic
literature. In the first two of the next three cases, two boys
age six report on some aspects of their erotic awakening.
The experience of sexual arousal as a child is
one of my sexual experiences. Whenever my girl
friends and I would look at books while playing,
I would always choose the book Little Black
Sambo. The picture I am referring to is that of
the tiger chasing Sambo around the tree as he is
melting into butter. The tiger has previously
taken all of Sambo's clothes. The sight of the
nude little boy's rear end is what excited
me.... I would stare at the picture for quite
some time getting a funny feeling the whole
time.... My body would tingle all over and my
stomach would seem to have butterflies inside of
it. I loved this new feeling and wanted to experience
it over and over again.