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1968

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Me

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John's hypertextual youth Why? Who? How? Really? Leave this self-indulgent tangle!
I discovered sexuality with the help of another nine-year-old. She showed me and I showed her. But before that I had a good look at her Barbie dolls. Though structurally untenable, Barbies do have most of the major external anatomical features in the correct places. This is not true of Action Men (which she inspected as I checked out her Barbies). Action Men are fairly good looking (except for the scar) and well proportioned, but their reproductive organs are non-existent. (This is also true of G.I. Joes, which are essentially the same as Action Men. I don't know about Kens.) At the time I was unaware of the reproductive and recreational role for those organs. But although I was completely ignorant I didn't like to show it. Once, in late 1968, I went cycling with Paul up to Worrall. We were gone for a long time, and I got an earful from my mother on my return. On this trip Paul said to me something like "...y'know how your mum and dad had to go like this to have you..." and knotted his fingers together in some strange way. I nodded and didn't have a clue what he was talking about.