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geminigirlWe had a bunch of people over last night for Rosh Hashanah. One of my friends has a 12 year old son, who accompanied her for dinner. Cayne and I are fond of him, and he often hangs out with us when we go out.
At one point during dinner the conversation strayed in a direction that led to the 12 year old reciting some poems by Shel Silverstein. I mentioned that he'd been a contributor to Playboy. Mom reacted with surprise. Child looked at us and said "What's Playboy?"
The conversation paused for a moment, and Mom asked Cayne if he had one around. When he said no, she suggested that the men at the table try to explain what it is. (I think there's a Penthouse letters and a Hustler or two in the house, but those aren't quite on the same level as Playboy.) So Cayne and our friend Scott are trying to explain what it is, and I looked at the kid and said "It's a magazine with pictures of naked women in it." Now I realize that's not all that's in Playboy, but that's pretty much what people think of when they think of it.
Poor kid looked really weirded out. He asked why people would want that and what was the point? He looked kind of terrified. We tried to explain what the rest of the magazine included-the articles and lifestyle stuff. We tried to explain what the phrase "bachelor pad" meant. The child was adamant that he'd never have Playboy in the house. I leaned over to Mom and suggested that the child's older brother (who is 21) should purchase one for him. It was just adorable. The 12 year old is an incredibly bright child who is much slower in the social development than academic. Scott joked about getting him a subscription for Christmas. He said "If you did, I'd burn them." Mom said "No you wouldn't. You would hide them under your mattress-that's what your father did, and what [brother] did."
In a few years, he'll look back on that night and think about what he missed. For now, the adults who were there will get a smile out of it.
At one point during dinner the conversation strayed in a direction that led to the 12 year old reciting some poems by Shel Silverstein. I mentioned that he'd been a contributor to Playboy. Mom reacted with surprise. Child looked at us and said "What's Playboy?"
The conversation paused for a moment, and Mom asked Cayne if he had one around. When he said no, she suggested that the men at the table try to explain what it is. (I think there's a Penthouse letters and a Hustler or two in the house, but those aren't quite on the same level as Playboy.) So Cayne and our friend Scott are trying to explain what it is, and I looked at the kid and said "It's a magazine with pictures of naked women in it." Now I realize that's not all that's in Playboy, but that's pretty much what people think of when they think of it.
Poor kid looked really weirded out. He asked why people would want that and what was the point? He looked kind of terrified. We tried to explain what the rest of the magazine included-the articles and lifestyle stuff. We tried to explain what the phrase "bachelor pad" meant. The child was adamant that he'd never have Playboy in the house. I leaned over to Mom and suggested that the child's older brother (who is 21) should purchase one for him. It was just adorable. The 12 year old is an incredibly bright child who is much slower in the social development than academic. Scott joked about getting him a subscription for Christmas. He said "If you did, I'd burn them." Mom said "No you wouldn't. You would hide them under your mattress-that's what your father did, and what [brother] did."
In a few years, he'll look back on that night and think about what he missed. For now, the adults who were there will get a smile out of it.
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Date: 2008-09-30 08:48 pm (UTC)I denied for the longest time that I was interested in boys at all because I didn't want to deal with all the teasing. In reality I'd had crushes on boys since I was at least 5 years old, which I'm sure they knew about, but I still denied it all anyway!
I have a feeling this conversation piqued his curiosity like mad.
no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 09:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 09:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 09:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-23 12:02 am (UTC)I have bought two Playboys in my 30 years. Once for the articles, when I was trying for an internship, and once as much for the captions as for the pictures, when I was trying to learn German.
The other time I looked at it was in the library.
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Date: 2008-10-23 03:24 am (UTC)I think the wonder what contribution Shel Silverstien made to the naked lady magazine was the child's mother's reaction.
I admit, I was a little surprised by a 12 year old boy not knowing what Playboy is. Then I thought about it a little more...single Mom, older sister, but all the other siblings are much older.
It was raucous and funny and made for a memorable holiday dinner.