Sex Education. Sort of.

March 31, 1994

Dear Bethany,

Hi! Today Patrick wrote me. It wasn't much of a letter. Plus he signed it Sincerely, and I signed mine Love. He's not very romantic! 

Today we had a film called "Changing". There were three parts. 

Part 1: Girls. You know like periods and pubic hair. I didn't learn anything I didn't already know except one thing: I learned what tampons are. They're like pads except they go inside. YUCK. 

I'm not sure if I want my period. It seems like a hassle. 

Part 2: Boys and Girls. Mostly it just talked about zits and "feeling differently about the other sex". 

Part 3: Boys. It was boring except for this part when a little boy goes, "Mine's smaller than the other guys. Does that mean I'm less of a man?" Then this voices comes on and goes "Penises come in all different shapes and sizes." It was sooooo funny! 

Love,

Corey

This film sounds... really informative? Sex education in this country is... totally going in the right direction? 

I love Part 2-- Boys and Girls. And that all it really talks about is zits and feeling differently. Yeah. That pretty much sums up everything you would possibly need to know about interacting with the opposite sex in adolescence. I don't know if I even know what sex is at this point. I do remember a long period of thinking sex was kissing naked. It's entirely possible I still believed that at the time of this film. 

As for Part 3... my real question now is what child actor had to play the part of the boy with the small penis in "Changing"??? This poor child must be seriously scarred. Also... boring?? It was boring to learn all about boys and the changes in their bodies?? This sounds highly unlikely. I'm either lying or this film failed to address anything of actual substance. Or I just found it so embarrassing that I use the word "boring" to disguise my discomfort. 

As for the letter exchanges with Patrick... I love the expectation for romance already cemented in my little girl brain. Some things never change. 

Filene's: the grade school girls' Victoria's Secret

December 12, 1993

Dear Bethy, 

Soooo much has happened!

Tuesday, Steven (who likes me) asked Diana if I had a bra... B-R-A! She TOLD him! Then he came up to me and slid his finger down my back and said "Oh my god you have one! I bet you go to Filene's a lot!" I was soooo mad! But Mrs. Jackson made me make up!!! 

From,

Corey 

Steven was, unsurprisingly, an asshole all the time. So no real shocker here. Except why oh why would he assume I am bra shopping at Filene's?? It almost strikes me as a totally genius ad campaign... like clearly everyone gets their bras there-- and even the ten year old boys know it! I wonder if his dad like... owned Filene's and he was really just plugging their undergarments to unassuming fifth grade girls. Something to seriously consider. 

Also, I'm going officially invite Diana (who reads this blog) to comment below on why she told Steven I was wearing a bra. 

I pretty clearly remember the humiliation of this incident. We were at  recess and I wanted to die. Which, now that I think of it, is actually is a way to describe a lot of incidents that took place in grade school....