T h e M a g i c a l A g e o f 1 0 5 8 9

pre viou sly unkn ow n or unr eco gniz ed, pro duce s inc rea sing ly mem ora ble and sta ble sexual attraction (see Friedman and Downey, 2000).

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The question of the chronological age of ﬁrst sexual arousal and attraction have long intrigued researchers in sex and human development. In this century, Freud (1905), Ehrhardt and Meyer-Bahlburg (1981), Gagnon (1971), Kinsey and colleagues (1948, p. 299ff.), Maccoby (1979), Mead (1927), Money (1997), and Stoller (1968) are among the distinguished thinkers who have conceptualized the age and maturational conditions of the ﬁrst experience of sexual attraction toward oth er s. It ha s lo ng be en re co gni ze d tha t go na da l mo rp hol ogi ca l ch an ge s in we st er n pop ula ti ons va ry wi de ly an d ar e di st in ct for ma le s an d fe ma le s, an d tha t ch ron ol ogi - ca l an d ma tur at ion al ag es di ff er . It is al so wi de ly be li e ve d th at hi st or ic al ch an ge an d modernization impact strongly upon maturation, as noted later. Today, in general, the mean age of onset of gonadal puberty is 11.5 years in boys, “but may begin as early as 9 years or as late as 15 years and still be considered within normal limits” (Money and Lewis 1990, p. 241). Likewise, the relationship between the achievement of gonadal puberty and sexual maturation is problematic, as Kinsey an d co ll ea gu es (1 94 8) no te d lo ng ag o: ﬁr st ej ac ul at io n in ma le s, fo r e xa mp le , is in - adequate for understanding “sexual subjectivity.” Adrenarche, we surmise—with its accompanying rise in sex steroids—has not even been considered as a factor in the development of sexuality, much less sexual subjectivity. Certainly gender differences inﬂect the emergence of sexuality and sexual subjectivity, and male and female experiences must not be lumped together when it comes to the development of sexual attraction. As is well known, gender differ- ences in a range of behavioral domains tend to increase during middle childhood (Moller

et al

., 1992); for example, Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) demonstrated the preference of nursery school children for their same-gendered peers. By the age of 4.5 years, children spent three times as much social time with the same gender; by the age of 6.5 years the increase is at the huge ratio of 11 to 1. When gender dif fe re nc es of th is ma gni tud e ar e en ha nc ed or e ve n ex ag ge ra te d, an d wh er e ge nde r se gr eg at io n ex is ts thr ou gho ut li fe , su ch as am on g th e Sa mb ia of Pa pua Ne w Gu in ea (H er dt, 198 1) , th e co mb ina tio n of int ri ns ic an d ex tr ins ic (s oc ia l) in ﬂue nc es ma y es - pecially affect the development of sexual subjectivity and the conscious formation of objects of attraction before adolescence. A word about deﬁnitions and semantics. The notion of “attraction” is cul- turally and emotionally loaded and although very imprecise, nevertheless, the construct is well established in the literature (Gagnon, 1990; Herdt and Boxer, 1993; Laumann

et al

., 1994; Kinse y

et al

., 1948). By “sexual attrac tion” is meant the subjective state, within the adult person, of feelings of desire or fantasies about another person, known or imagined, that may or may not lead to sexual intimacy

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