Down to the nitty-gritty

Date: 09/10/1997

Imagine the scene: grandmother and grandfather are in the sitting room discussing sexual orientation and the menopause with their young grandson, while in the kitchen mum and dad are talking about the usual things - what happened at the office that day, the price of potatoes, genetics, prostitution. Meanwhile, the family dog is preparing to take anyone who is interested on a guided tour of mating habits in the animal kingdom.

This is not the scenario for a bizarre new American television series. Rather it is the subject of a new Commission-sponsored CD ROM package on sex for teenagers.

The disc does in fact have a serious purpose. Claude Poliart, the project officer, argues that it tackles the subject in a delicate and sensitive way.

Topics ranging from abortion and AIDS to sexual orientation, pornography and prostitution, are discussed “at various levels of intimacy and complexity, from the clinical detail of the medical profession to the warmer language of family and friends”, says the blurb accompanying the CD ROM, which introduces us to what must be one of the world's most enlightened families.