“I Walked in on Them”: Young Adults’ Childhood Perceptions of Sex and Nudity in Family and Public Contexts

Abstract

Children’s observation of sex and nudity among parents, peers, or strangers has received limited scholarly attention, mostly because research on sexuality in childhood is difficult or prohibitive to conduct. To address this topic, we conducted a secondary data analysis of 57 human sexuality students’ narratives regarding the emotional and situational contexts of the first sexual image they recalled. We examined those narratives where participants reported that they saw was a “real person” either nude or engaged in sexual behavior. These participants reported viewing three kinds of sexual behavior or nudity: parental, other family members, and nonfamily. In examining participants’ immediate reactions and long-term reflections, we found that many participants, especially females, were confused or upset by what they saw, but few reported a lingering discomfort. Our results indicate that children would benefit from immediate, nurturant, and clarifying parental responses, particularly when children walk in on parents having sex.