性行為的發展

在未婚青少年之間的性交可能被人質疑。第一次性交常常是一種令人失望的性體驗，尤其對女性來說更是如此，並且因此也許在一段時間裏不會再發生。男性因為動作笨拙和缺乏經驗，也可能會感到不滿足。這樣的挫折隨著不斷的實踐通常會被克服。更為嚴峻的問題是害怕感染上性傳播疾病（STDs）和擔心非意願懷孕，這是合乎情理的。所以，重要的是少女和少男都要熟悉性傳播疾病的預防和避孕知識。不幸的是，許多少男少女都沒有這些必要的知識，或者如果他們去運用這些知識的話，卻未能真正奏效。同時，一些青少年採用了一種他們稱之為“體外性交（outercourse）”的“安全性行為”方法，即避免陰道插入的性行為。這種方法常常先於首次性交持續達數年之久；因為，傳統社會堅持新娘在結婚典禮之前要保持“貞操”，這種方法也可能被傳統社會中的未婚情侶所運用。

在這種文化背景裏，人們常常忘卻了一個基本的事實，那就是人類歷史的大部分時間裏，青年人在能夠結婚之前並不必要等待多久。一旦他們到了青春期，就會開始進入成人生活圈，並能夠建立自己的家庭。女性一旦能夠生養孩子了，就會被“賦予婚姻”[1]，甚至出於經濟方面的一些原因，在這些地方的男性不得不等上一些年頭（才能結婚），他們也還有其它的性接觸機會：舊時的許多社會裏，臨時的同性性接觸和去嫖妓並不會被認為是“不得了的事情”，人們會容忍這些現象。換一句話說，數千年以來，並沒有指望年輕人要經歷延長如此之久的節欲時間。在青春期之後，社會認可每一個人都隨時準備和有資格從事性行為。

早  婚

舊時，低年齡結婚是許多社會裏一種普遍的社會規範。在歐洲，直到進入現代許久了，早婚仍用來維護貴族的政治利益。插圖所示的是薩伏伊（Savoy，1720-1861）[2]的瑪麗·阿德雷德（Marie Adelaide，12歲）與勃艮第公爵（Duke of Bourgogne，14歲）於1697年在凡爾賽的婚禮。繪圖右側，可見到新郎的祖父路易十四國王。

[1]. 類似於中國舊時的“父母之命，媒妁之言”而締結婚姻。——譯者注。

[2]. 撒丁尼亞王國和義大利王國（1861-1946）的執政廳。——譯者注。

Stages of Development: Adolescence

Erotic Behavior 4

Sexual intercourse between unmarried adolescents can be problematical. The first coitus is often a disappointing experience, especially for females, and it may therefore not be repeated for quite a while. Males may also be unsatisfied because of their own clumsiness and lack of experience. Such frustrations are usually overcome with continued practice. A more serious problem is the justified fear of infection with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the worry about an unwanted pregnancy. It is therefore important that both young females and males know about STD prevention and contraception.  Unfortunately, many of them do not have the necessary knowledge or, if they do, fail to act on it. Some adolescents have, in the meantime, adopted various techniques of “safer sex” which they call “outercourse”, i.e. intercourse that avoids vaginal penetration. These techniques often precede the first coitus by several years, and they may also be practiced by unmarried couples in traditional societies that insist on the “virginity” of brides on their wedding day.
In this context, it is now often forgotten that, for the greater part of human history, young people did not have to wait long before they could marry. Once they reached puberty, they were initiated into the community of adults and could start a family of their own. Females were “given in marriage” as soon as they could bear children, and even where males had to wait a few years for some economic reason, they had other sexual opportunities: In many societies of the past, temporary homosexual contacts and visits with prostitutes were not considered “serious” and were silently tolerated. In other words, for thousands of years, young people were not expected to go through an extended period of sexual abstinence. It was taken for granted that, after puberty, everyone was ready for and entitled to sexual intercourse.