Some like it hot

If you are going to ‘lose your cherry’ in Poland, it’s very likely you will lose it while on summer holiday. And you are going to be young.

That’s the finding of studies by people who study this sort of thing. The sun is out, and so is school, so girls and boys come out to play. Polish Radio reports:

“10 percent of 15 year old girls and 20 percent of boys of the same age have had sex. The average age of sexual initiation of teenagers in Warsaw is fifteen and a half years and that age has been going down, says sexologist, Dr Krzysztof Nowosielski from the Silesian Medical Academy.

“Ten years ago they used to start their sexual life at the age of 18, 19. Now they start at the age of 15, 16. So it’s some five years lower than a couple of years ago.”

Over fifty percent of youngsters have ‘gone all the way’ for the first time while on vacation. In the autumn, gynecologists report an increased number of teenage girl who are expecting a baby as well as youngsters with sexually transmitted diseases.

I lost my cherry (never to find it again) in the summer – a very hot summer, way back circa…1666. I was sixteen. So around about the average age of the current teenage Varsovian and their first night nerves. Oh, those first night nerves – actors opening major plays in the West End experience nothing like it. I was in such a state I was drinking – gulping – glasses of neat Cinzano! It was all I could find in the parent's cocktail cabinet. It didn't help.

But sixteen years old, back in Tudor times when I first…um…you know…’did it’ and ‘went all the way’ was about two years younger than the average among my friends in south London. In fact, I was driven to …you know…’break my duck’ with the sole purpose of screwing up my friends who had yet to be screwed.

Which is quite sad, looking back on it. But summer certainly gives kids the opportunity for a little summer lovin’ – although be careful of sunburn, it can make things very difficult.

Do I look back at 16 as being too young? Actually I do. But then again, kids are different now. Thirteen year old girls here look like 17 year old girls back ‘in my day’. The average 15 year old boy in Warsaw is often taller than many tall man-made structures – like the Empire State Building.

Which brings us to the law and when you should be able to mislay your small red fruit (the kind that makes Swiss kirsch) without being bothered by the law.

In 1932 in Poland, the age of consent was set at 15 for all sexual acts, be they hetero or homosexual. That doesn't fit the stereotype.

So gays have had legal equality since 1932 in Poland. In Britain they had to wait till 1967!

But having the same age of consent since 1932 is a bit daft. Kids back then were a completely different species. In fact, the age of consent is one of those strange ideas, based around ‘well, you have to draw a line somewhere..’ type thinking.
But do you have to draw a line? The age of consent in Switzerland is 16. However, there exists a close in age exception if the difference between the ages of the participants is three years or less. So in that country there is a relativity built into the law.

Whatever: summer in Poland, like in most other countries, is the time when the birds and bees dance in the air, and teenagers are thinking naughty thoughts about whether or not they are going to get…well, you know…a damn good shagging. It’s only natural.