--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Sexual plight of these children…" description: "\"“The Sexual plight of these children [those adolescents experimenting sexually] is officially not mentioned. The revolutionary attack on hypocrisy by I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/paul-goodman-7755_american-society_the-sexual-plight-of-these-children-thos_88140.jpg" --- # The Sexual plight of these children \[those adolescents… ![“The Sexual plight of these children [those adolescents experimenting sexually] is officially not mentioned. The revolutionary attack on hypocrisy by Ibsen, Freud, Ellis, Dreiser, did not succeed this far. Is it an eccentric opinion that an important part of the kids' restiveness in school from the…” quote by Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/paul-goodman-7755_american-society_the-sexual-plight-of-these-children-thos_88140.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/paul-goodman-7755_american-society_the-sexual-plight-of-these-children-thos_88140.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/paul-goodman-7755_american-society_the-sexual-plight-of-these-children-thos_88140.jpg) > ““The Sexual plight of these children \[those adolescents experimenting sexually\] is officially not mentioned. The revolutionary attack on hypocrisy by Ibsen, Freud, Ellis, Dreiser, did not succeed this far. Is it an eccentric opinion that an important part of the kids' restiveness in school from the onset of puberty has to do with puberty? The teachers talk about it among themselves, all right. (In his school, Bertrand Russell thought it was better if they had sex, so they could give their undivided attention to mathematics, which was the main thing.) But since the objective factor does not exist in our schools, the school itself begins to be irrelevant. The question here is not whether sexuality should be discouraged or encouraged. That is an important issue, but far more important is that it is hard to grow up when existing facts are treated as though they do not exist. For then there is no dialogue, it is impossible to be taken seriously, to be understood, to make a bridge between oneself and society. In American society we have perfected a remarkable form of censorship: to allow every one his political right to say what he believes, but to swamp his little boat with literally thousands of millions of newspapers, mass-circulation magazines, best-selling books, broadcasts, and public pronouncements that disregard what he says and give the official way of looking at things.”” [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A critique of societal denial of adolescent sexuality, arguing that censorship and overload prevent honest dialogue and personal growth. **In simple terms:** Censorship of youth sexuality Key Takeaway Silence hinders maturity Themes sexuality censorship education dialogue societal norms Mood critical concerned Type essay polemic When to use this quote - school policy debates - parent‑teacher meetings Key Concepts politics psychology Practical Applications - academic essays - activism Questions to Reflect On - What would open dialogue achieve? - How does media overload affect personal truth? A Different Perspective Some argue that protecting youth from explicit discussion is a moral duty, but this often leads to misinformation and stigma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-society/) [Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Undivided attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undivided-attention/) ## Related quotes > [“In his school, Bertrand Russell thought it was better if they had the sex, so they could give their undivided attention to mathematics, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/in-his-school-bertrand-russell-thought-it-was-better-if-they-had-the/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. --Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/to-conquer-fear-is-the-beginning-of-wisdom-bertrand-russell/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Eliot's own reflections on the primitive mind as a model for nondualistic thinking and on the nature and consequences of different modes of consciousness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewel-spears-brooker/eliot-s-own-reflections-on-the-primitive-mind-as-a-model-for/) [Jewel Spears Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jewel-spears-brooker/) > [None of this means, however, that a business or stock is an intelligent purchase simply because it is unpopular; a contrarian approach is just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/none-of-this-means-however-that-a-business-or-stock-is-an-intelligent/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [When the world is mad, a mathematician may find in mathematics an incomparable anodyne. 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The revolutionary attack on hypocrisy by Ibsen, Freud, Ellis, Dreiser, did not succeed this far. Is it an eccentric opinion that an important part of the kids' restiveness in school from the onset of puberty has to do with puberty? The teachers talk about it among themselves, all right. (In his school, Bertrand Russell thought it was better if they had sex, so they could give their undivided attention to mathematics, which was the main thing.) But since the objective factor does not exist in our schools, the school itself begins to be irrelevant. The question here is not whether sexuality should be discouraged or encouraged. That is an important issue, but far more important is that it is hard to grow up when existing facts are treated as though they do not exist. For then there is no dialogue, it is impossible to be taken seriously, to be understood, to make a bridge between oneself and society. In American society we have perfected a remarkable form of censorship: to allow every one his political right to say what he believes, but to swamp his little boat with literally thousands of millions of newspapers, mass-circulation magazines, best-selling books, broadcasts, and public pronouncements that disregard what he says and give the official way of looking at things.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Goodman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/the-sexual-plight-of-these-children-those-adolescents-experimenting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American society" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/the-sexual-plight-of-these-children-those-adolescents-experimenting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/paul-goodman-7755_american-society_the-sexual-plight-of-these-children-thos_88140.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/paul-goodman-7755_american-society_the-sexual-plight-of-these-children-thos_88140.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/paul-goodman-7755_american-society_the-sexual-plight-of-these-children-thos_88140.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Sexual plight of these children [those adolescents experimenting sexually] is officially not mentioned…” — Paul Goodman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paul Goodman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The Sexual plight of these children...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/the-sexual-plight-of-these-children-those-adolescents-experimenting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/the-sexual-plight-of-these-children-those-adolescents-experimenting/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```