Children and adolescents as sexual beings: cross-cultural perspectives

: This article offers a broad perspective on child and adolescent behaviors, which are seen by different Western definitions as associated with sexual/erotic implications. This article also demonstrates that basic definitions or meanings that many modern Western societies consider important are viewed as unimportant in other societies. Topics such as masturbation, child-adult sexual activities or cross-generational marriages, same-sex activities, and sexual indoctrination are viewed differently among many groups.