The vagina problem: a step too far in parent–child sex communication with young children

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dc.check.date2025-10-30en
dc.check.infoAccess to this item is restricted until 12 months after publication by request of the publisheren
dc.contributor.authorMannion, Áine B.en
dc.contributor.authorConlon, Catherineen
dc.contributor.funderHealth Service Executiveen
dc.date.accessioned2024-05-15T13:22:58Z
dc.date.available2024-05-15T13:22:58Z
dc.date.issued2024-05-30en
dc.description.abstractParents describe a want for better sex education for their young children compared to their own myth and silence-led experiences while growing up. However, introducing the vagina has proved a challenging step too far for many parents. This study arose from a secondary qualitative data analysis of 20 focus groups with parents in Ireland about how they engaged in body and sexuality communication and socialisation practices with young children, aged 4 to 9 years old. Though parents often utilised euphemisms, the language applied to male bodies tended to be generic, while euphemisms for female bodies tended to be family-specific. The language used in talking about the female body evaded reference to the vagina and talking about its functions. Protecting the child from knowledge about the sexual body was aligned with maintaining innocence and delaying the child’s transition to adulthood. Parents demonstrated a commitment to stop using myths but still placed boundaries around their young children’s sex education, albeit boundaries that were being redefined. Perpetuating intergenerational taboos, placing boundaries on knowledge of the sexual body, impacts a child’s ability to fully integrate their body into their sense of self.en
dc.description.sponsorshipHealth Service Executive, Ireland (HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme, Ireland)en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationMannion, Á.B. and Conlon, C. (2024) ‘The vagina problem: a step too far in parent–child sex communication with young children’, Sex Education, pp. 1–14. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2024.2342880en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2024.2342880en
dc.identifier.endpage14en
dc.identifier.issn1468-1811en
dc.identifier.issn1472-0825en
dc.identifier.journaltitleSex Educationen
dc.identifier.startpage1en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/15871
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherTaylor and Francisen
dc.relation.ispartofSex Educationen
dc.rights© 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Sex Education on 30 Apr 2024, available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2024.2342880en
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/en
dc.subjectParent-child communicationen
dc.subjectGenital namingen
dc.subjectYoung childrenen
dc.subjectSecondary qualitative data analysisen
dc.subjectIrelanden
dc.titleThe vagina problem: a step too far in parent–child sex communication with young childrenen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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