"Growing Up" a sex education film from way back.

In a moment of reflection I was taken back to my years at university at the beginning of the 1970’s and began to recollect an interesting event that took place in 1972. Every Wednesday evening would be film night and the film of the week would be shown in the college hall by the club that ran these evening events.

On one occasion we had a much publicized evening which would show a very controversial film about sex education that had been produced by Dr Martin Cole. The man himself was also in attendance and gave a talk both before and after the film was shown. I doubt that the hall had ever been so full as it was that evening with students filling every conceivable space, and more, even some sitting in the high window bays of this old building. I also remember the fact that the windows had actually steamed up probably as a result of both the quantity of people present and the content of the film.

The film was called “Growing Up” and as I have mentioned above it was hugely controversial with many high profile establishment individuals damning its content. What made this film so controversial at the time was the fact that it depicted people having sex and full on depictions of both a male and female masturbating. It also showed in film format the development of both males and females, which was something that had never been done previously in England.

The masturbation scenes were interesting as it clearly showed everything involved which had been pretty much taboo previously. In the male scene we had a young guy laying on his bed naked except for an open fronted shirt with a full erection and stroking away, however ejaculation was not shown. The female masturbation scene was far more erotic in my mind and featured a young woman laying down on a settee in her lounge, and naked from the waist down. The lighting was somewhat subdued but all of her actions were clearly seen and I have to say it left a lasting impression upon me.

The young woman who performed in the film was in fact a school teacher and she was suspended by the Birmingham Local Authority as a result, but later reinstated, along with a large student protest outside the building where her case was being heard.

At this time I had not come across the sight of a woman masturbating and it was a revelation to me and helped form a life long passion which probably gives me the greatest arousal. After the event was finished many of us retreated to the college bar and talk about the film filled the air. I have vivid memories of standing at the bar alongside two young ladies who were in the same year as me, and who I knew well. One a very attractive young woman, who was always keen to show an interest in me, unfortunately I had my eye elsewhere. To my surprise me she started talking about the sight of the young man masturbating and said “did you see the look on his face, I thought masturbation was supposed to be enjoyable”. To this day I can’t believe that I left that comment undeveloped.