I grew up in a house where (as far as I could tell) there were NO forbidden books. Which sometimes made for interesting dinner-table conversation, but hey, if you're 14 and you can't ask your parents what a dildo is (a word I picked up reading Lysistrata), who CAN you ask?
Now, in retrospect there was some passive censorship exercised. For example, certain books were too high for me to reach until I was of adult height (12 years old), and some books didn't show up until after we kids were out of the house (The Story of O, for example), but I was never told not to stand on chairs to reach something that looked interesting.
I am a highly innocent-minded person who has largely avoided most vices by reading about them and deciding, "Ewww." Nothing like being grossed out when you're eight to keep you out of trouble when you're 18. It's a parenting method these loons appear not to have thought of.
*Sigh*
Date: 2008-06-04 02:02 pm (UTC)Now, in retrospect there was some passive censorship exercised. For example, certain books were too high for me to reach until I was of adult height (12 years old), and some books didn't show up until after we kids were out of the house (The Story of O, for example), but I was never told not to stand on chairs to reach something that looked interesting.
I am a highly innocent-minded person who has largely avoided most vices by reading about them and deciding, "Ewww." Nothing like being grossed out when you're eight to keep you out of trouble when you're 18. It's a parenting method these loons appear not to have thought of.