More accessible than your mum
Dolly magazine in its May issue published a "Sex Extra" sealed section which apparently drew criticism from some parents and citizens groups. Although it had been about 15 years since I last picked up an issue, my curiosity was piqued and I decided to investigate for myself.
Dolly has for many years been a staple item in the literary diets of Australian teenagers. Many a young woman has found solace in its advice pages, learned how to put on make-up and spend money on unnecessary "beauty products" in its health and beauty Â鶹´«Ã½, and received her information about sex in its sealed Â鶹´«Ã½. In many ways, Dolly was more accessible than your mum.
The sex section was billed as the "hottest ever" — which is probably the main reason for the consternation over its contents. Perhaps it was simply a good publicity ploy.
Once I had managed to tear along the dotted line to unseal its secrets, I found the colour scheme — soft blues and pastel purples interspersed with a pink or two — a little coy in comparison with the announcement on the cover. This, however, certainly made it more palatable to the target audience.
More importantly, the content was refreshingly frank, honest, informative and non-judgmental. It included a description of "your" body and "his" body, complete with bubble boxes describing everything from your clitoris to what you can do with belly buttons. The "his body" stood with his hands demurely crossed in front of his underwear, thus maintaining decorum in the face of those thousands of young women who would be examining his particular representation of the male of the species.
A variety of STDs are explained, for her and for him, along with assurances that no matter what your bits and pieces might look like, they're all "normal". A cucumber is used to provide graphic accompaniment to an explanation of how to use a condom, and a survey encourages women not to have sex until they are "ready for it". Being ready or not is determined by such qualifications as a willingness on the part of both partners to discuss the use of condoms, contraceptives and HIV tests.
An array of contraceptives is described, including the all-important lubricant, although dams (for safe oral sex) were unfortunately missing. It was emphasised that although contraceptives may protect you from pregnancy, the only one which will protect you against STDs is condoms.
The section was completed with "I've done it" stories ranging from the happy to the distressing to the stories of date rape. In general, the whole section was very informative, eye-opening and realistic and happily devoid of unnecessary romanticisation and unrealistic girl-meets-boy expectations.
All in all, I found this particular journey into the world of Dolly very worthwhile. To those parents and citizens who disapproved: may your daughters rebel against your restrictiveness and learn instead how to be safe, informed and confident.
By Kath Gelber