Why Parents Joke During “The Sex Talk” (And Why Teenagers Instantly Know What’s Really Happening) (opens in new tab)

There are few sounds more spiritually destabilizing than a parent attempting to sound casual during a conversation about sex. It is a very particular kind of American panic. Somewhere between: * hostage negotiator, * substitute health teacher, * and a man trying to transport nitroglycerin in a soup bowl. You know the voice. “Wellllll… as long as everyone is making SAFE CHOICES…” followed by a laugh so strained it sounds medically supervised. Meanwhile the teenager is staring at the passenger-...