Introduction
"It may seem hard to believe, but it was at a prayer meeting that I met Henry. Since my old man is the preacher at a local church, I'm expected to go to these things. And I don't make a fuss about it, because I don't dare let my folks know the truth about me-that I don't believe in what the church says and that, even at twelve, I'm not a virgin anymore.
"My father was conducting the services and putting on a big show for all the suckers he'd managed to draw in. What I was paying attention to, though, was the good-looking guy next to me. I couldn't guess how old he was, except that he wasn't as old as my father, and I liked the way his muscles bulged inside his clothes. He looked like a man who worked with his hands, not pale and sickly the way so many professional men are.
"We were all squeezed into the pew like sardines, which meant that my thigh and his were pressed together closely. That was enough to start giving me hot pants and I wondered what it was doing to him. Once while our heads were bowed in prayer, I opened my eyes and snuck a glance at his lap. Either he had a mighty big one inside that fly or else it was hard!
"I took a peek at his face to see if his eyes were closed the way they were supposed to be. But no, they were open, and he was sneaking a look at me just as I was at him. He was interested in me!
"A few minutes later my father had us all get down on our knees. Some of the people crawled out into the aisles where there was more room. What I did was crawl under the seat. The next thing I knew my friend had joined me there, part-way, at least; there wasn't room for quite all of him.
"Everybody was praying out loud all around us. You couldn't make out what anyone was saying really except that the word 'sin' kept coming through the babble of voices.
"Then my father told us all to join hands with the person closest to us. I extended my hand toward my handsome friend and he took it willingly, even smiling at me.
"Then he spoke. 'Have you sinned?' he asked me.
" 'Yes,' I whispered back. 'And I loved it. I'm not sorry at all.'
"I know that was an awfully daring thing to say, but I sensed that this guy and I could really get something going and I didn't want to miss the chance by being shy. But I hoped I hadn't shocked him too awfully much.
"I realized I hadn't scared him away an instant later when he began to run his fingers over the palm of my hand. It was about all he dared do, here under the church pew, but there was something very sexy in it.
" 'That feels good,' I said.
" 'You're very grown-up for such a young girl,' he told me in a low voice.
" 'Yes, I know,' I said.
" 'Would you like to get out of here?' he suggested.
" 'Yes, but we'll have to be very careful,' I warned him. I didn't want to go so far as to tell him that the preacher was my own father, and apparently he didn't know.
" 'Okay,' he whispered. 'Let's crawl out on our hands and knees. You go to the side door and I'll go out the back. Everybody is crawling around anyway, so nobody will notice. We'll meet at the corner by the sign. Are you game?'
" 'Game,' I said.
"I raised my head long enough to make out my father kneeling at the altar with a group of people repenting their sins, then I made my way on my hands and knees toward the side door. I took one more look to make sure my father's head was down before I made my exit.
"Once outside, I ran to the corner. My friend had had to crawl by more people, so he wasn't there ye$. I hid behind the black-and-white sign that announced the subject of next Sunday's sermon and waited.
"I heard his footsteps in the grass. I waited until he was up close to the sign, then I jumped out and said, 'Boo!'
" 'I was beginning to think you'd stood me up,' he said.
" 'I wouldn't do a thing like that,' I told him.
"He took me by the hand and led me to the parking lot. As we strolled along I could hear the low roar of the voices inside the church.
"He led me to his car, an old beat-up Chewy. Opening the door, he motioned for me to get into the back seat. I did so and he followed me. It was a pretty big back seat and I was glad of that.
"Once he was beside me he put his arms around me roughly and drew me close to him. His face brushed against mine and an instant later he was kissing me in a way I've never been kissed before. His mouth was open and he forced mine open, too. Then he stuck out his tongue and began sliding it against my tongue while his lips pressed hard against mine. There was something fierce and wild about it, but I liked it.
"He kept on kissing me, but his hands were now roaming over my body. First he clutched at my breasts from outside my dress, then he unbuttoned a few buttons and dug inside my bra. I wished my breasts were larger than a mere A-cup, but he didn't seem to mind. He kept pinching them and grabbing at them in a desperate sort of way that drove me crazy with excitement.
" 'Let's get some of these clothes off,' he said. 'I want to play with your pussy.'
"I knew the word, of course, having seen it on rest-room walls, but I'd never heard anybody say it out loud before. Not even the man who took my virginity just a few weeks before used words like that. My second lover, this man I was with now, was far different and it occurred to me that I was going to like him better.
"I got out of my dress by myself and was pretty careful about it, so that nobody'd suspect when I got home. Then I went ahead and stripped myself down to nothing. All this time, he was taking off his own clothes.
" 'Feel my prick,' he said. 'It's hard. It wants you.'
"I took his penis in my hands, automatically comparing it to the other one I'd felt. It wasn't quite as thick, but aside from that it felt pretty much the same. That sort of surprised me. I guess I'd expected men's sex organs to be as different as their faces.
"Right away I touched my fingers to the sensitive ridge I'd learned about, rubbing it gently. I wanted to show him that I knew what to do.
" "That's nice, little one, real nice,' he groaned.
"Then his hands were groping for me, reaching for the wet hot place between my legs and I pushed myself toward him to help him find it. He parted the lips and ran his fingers all around. I was so wet that his fingering made a funny little sound.
" 'It's such a cute little pussy,' he said. 'I wish I could see it, too.' Then he stuck one finger into the opening, and let it go deep inside. 'You really aren't a virgin, are you?'
" 'No,' I said. 'I hope you don't prefer virgins.'
"He chuckled. 'No. I just like sexy girls, all ages, all sizes. And you're pretty sexy. Do you know that?'
"That made me feel good. I know I'm beginning to have the body of a woman, but I have very ordinary looks. I'd never make cheerleader or majorette or homecoming queen. Maybe what's sexy about me is that I like sex and it shows somehow.
"By now he'd taken my clitoris between two of his fingers and was giving it a real workout. I'd never thought to do that when I'd played with myself. It really felt great, so great that I was afraid I might climax before he even got his penis inside me.
"Then he was guiding my hand to what he'd called his 'prick' and making me rub it up and down, sliding the loose skin with my hand.
" 'Would you like to kiss it?' he asked.
"That sort of startled me. I really hadn't expected that some man I'd met in church would know about such sophisticated techniques of lovemaking. But I was ready to experiment. I bent down and brought my lips to the sensitive ridge, kissing it softly.
" 'Now try taking it in your mouth,' he said.
"I did so, but even though I opened my mouth as wide as I could, I couldn't begin to get all of it in. He took my head in his hands and began moving it in an up-and-down motion, so that the outside layer of skin moved along with my mouth. Each time I came up toward the top, I let my teeth graze the sensitive ridge. I figured he'd like that. He seemed to, for he let me go on like this for quite a little while.
"Finally he said, 'Now it's my turn.'
"A minute later I found out what he meant. Suddenly his face was between my legs and his tongue was slipping and sliding over all my sensitive parts. I opened my legs wide and moved to the edge of the. seat so he could get at me better.
"I worried about little things like whether I smelled and tasted nice at first, but then I just relaxed and enjoyed it. Sometimes he nibbled at me and sometimes the rough texture of his face rubbed against me, too. But I liked every bit of it. I felt a little bit let down when he finally stopped.
" 'Are you ready?' he said.
" 'I'm ready,' I said faintly. My breath was nearly gone.
"It took some scrambling around to get into position, but finally I had one foot up by the rear window and the other over the top of the front seat with plenty of space, for him between my legs. If I'd been any taller, it just wouldn't have been possible. Then he was over me.
" 'Help me put it in,' he said.
"I wasn't quite sure I'd be much help, but I reached one hand to his penis and the other to my opening. I tried to make the hole as wide as possible. I was plenty wet and I knew that would help. As he lowered his penis, I aimed it at the spot where I wanted it. Then he plunged it in.
" 'I'm fucking you, little girl,' he whispered in my ear.
"The first few strokes were slow and easy, gentle ones. But before long he speeded up, pounding away at me.
" 'Move with me, honey. Can you do that?'
"I didn't answer. I just started wiggling, trying to keep up with his rhythm. Soon I found that I was grinding my clitoris against him in a way that was driving me wild.
"He kept going at that rapid pace and so did I. For a little while I forgot about everything but what I was feeling at the spot where our bodies came together, separated, then met again. My whole body was alive, but most of all that one spot was warm and wet and open. It was terrific. This is fucking, I thought to myself, the real thing, the dirty thing, the wonderful thing.
"Finally I said what I was dying to say, 'Fuck me!'
" 'I'm fucking you, baby. You're getting fucked by Henry J. M-and don't you forget it.'
"I guess that's how I managed to remember his name.
"I had no fears about making it this time. I knew it was going to happen. If anybody could do it for me, Henry J. M-could. And for the longest time I was on the verge of making it. Close, but not quite there. And that's the best part of the whole thing as far as I'm concerned; when you're floating out in space faraway from everything in the world, knowing full well that you're soon going to experience the most, incredible feeling there is.
"When I got there it was unbelievable. My whole body started to twitch and jerk, all the while pulling him into me deeper and deeper. It was sort of like having a fit, but it was beautiful.
And it took me a long time to quiet down.
"He kept right on giving it to me, but now with a fantastically fast motion. I just lay there and let the rest happen. His breath became louder until finally he was groaning. His hands dug into my shoulders. I knew then that he was making it, too, and that he was enjoying it tremendously. At last he collapsed on top of me. He was pretty heavy, but I didn't bother to complain.
"My mind found its way back to reality, to the fact that we were in the church parking lot and that soon the prayer meeting would be over and people would be coming out in droves. I could even hear the people singing some hymn and I knew that meant that the service was nearly over.
" 'Hey, we'd better get up,' I said.
" 'Any reason we can't hide here till they all go away and have some more fun?' Henry suggested.
" 'I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I have to go home.'
" 'Oh, yes. I'd forgotten that you're pretty young. To me you're a real woman. Hear that?'
"I couldn't help turning that over in my mind as I cleaned myself up with Kleenex and got back into my clothes. I am a woman, really. Why doesn't anybody realize that except the men who want to make love to me?
" 'You come to church here often?' he asked.
" 'All the time,' I said. 'But I've never seen you here before.'
" 'I'll tell you a secret. You'd be surprised at how many women I meet in church. But I hardly ever go to the same church twice. Maybe this time I'll reconsider. You're a damn good fuck, little one.'
" 'Well, if you come back, I'll probably be here.'
" 'Okay, sweetheart. See you in church.' "
When Vladimir Nabokov published his famous novel, Lolita, about two decades ago, he brought new awareness to a phenomenon which is not only quite widespread in our own era but has numerous antecedents in other times and other cultures. Sexual union between young girls and mature men is by no means as rare and unique a practice as many of the readers of this best-selling novel suppose it to be.
In ancient China, for example, there existed the practice of having children of both sexes under the table when company was present to masturbate the guests while they ate their meal. More directly analogous to the subject under discussion, however, is the old Chinese tradition of "marriage by purchase," in which girls of eleven, twelve, and thirteen years of age were sold to older gentlemen and acquired the status of "foster daughter-in-law," but actually were expected to fulfill certain sexual obligations. According to some reports, this practice still exists in some of the more remote agricultural areas of China, though it is more commonly the daughters of the very poor who are sold into sexual service. Thus the family obtains a financial reward and is freed from the expense of rearing a daughter. A girl's price is, quite naturally, determined by her degree of charm and appearance.
Among primitive tribes of such diverse areas as Asia, Mexico, Africa, Fiji Islands, the Arctic regions and Australia, documented reports tell of public defloration of child brides by mature men before their marriage ceremonies. The Australian aborigines adhere to a religious ceremony in which the young girl is engaged in sexual intercourse with an older relative, adding the element of incest. The Central Eskimos, in addition, have a preference for youthful concubines, as young as ten or even nine.
Historically, we find that many of the more advanced cultures also recognized the sexual attractiveness of the very young. Egypt, before the time of Herodotus, had its preteen and young teenage courtesans. Egyptian temples, such as those of Baal, were really child brothels, abounding with nymphets between the ages of ten and thirteen. As with the Chinese, the girls had been sold by their families.
The Moslem culture provides another, simi- lar example, and in fact the Koran sets certain rules for the humane treatment of sexual slaves, such as "If you buy a slave-girl, do not forget it is forbidden you to cohabit with nonnu-bile girls before a delay of a minimum of one month, starting from the day of your acquisition."
Nor were the ancient Hebrews immune from the sexual enjoyment of young girls acquired through purchase. Exodus 21:7-11 provides advice for the sexual use of young "maidservants," much in the same vein as does the Koran.
Interestingly enough, though, not all cultures have taken into consideration the protection and humane treatment of their young females. In South India, for example, in order to ensure that girls would be ready for their first intercourse, the stem of a plant which expands when in contact with moisture was inserted into the vagina of very young girls. In time, the vaginal passage was sufficiently dilated to permit intercourse.
More drastic procedures than this are on record, the most horrifying perhaps being one which Bulgarian slave hunters adopted from the Arabs, and which has also been a custom of the Mau Mau in the Kenya region of Africa. Briefly, what it entailed was a kind of surgical "castration," in which the girl's clitoris was cut away. The purpose was to render the girl sexually insatiable. Deprived of her means of achieving orgasm, she would supposedly be a willing partner for any male who desired her. Somehow it seems unlikely that this barbaric practice actually produced such results.
The Arab world, though it initiated this bizarre custom, did not persist in its practice. During the time of the great and wealthy sultans, nymphets were recruited by the hundreds for an individual harem. Generally they knew no life other than that of the harem, but other than that, were not mistreated. Some of the more attractive and cunning are credited with having wielded great political power within their master's domain.
During Europe's so-called "age of enlightenment," many a monarch emulated the practices of the Arabian sultans. Perhaps the most illustrious was Louis XV of France, who procured scores of "baby mistresses." With each, at the time of defloration, he supposedly first knelt in prayer. Rarely did he go back to the same girl more than two or three times. Eventually, after having become accustomed to the finery lavished upon them, they might find themselves cast out to the streets where their only recourse was to become prostitutes.
Even in the supposedly conservative nineteenth-century England of Victoria and Albert, girls as young as twelve were sold to populate the Continental houses of prostitution. Here, though, an older girl, say of fourteen or so, could bring a higher price if she was experienced in a number of sexual diversions, including various forms of masochism and sadism.
In America, sexuality in the young dated back to the Indians. The Creeks and the Chero-kees let their children play erotic games. One such game entailed children of both sexes sitting opposite one another and playing with their feet against the other's bared genital areas. More advanced games provided training in mutual masturbation, cunnilingus and fellatio. Actual intercourse was permitted as well, but offspring resulting from these unions between children were killed.
"Lolitaism," as it has come to be called even by psychologists and psychiatrists, is more difficult to document and describe in our present society. It is not officially part of our culture; not a single edict or constitution condones it. Yet it exists. In a recent study examining the sexual experiences of a representative sampling of young people in the United States, reported in Michael Schofield's The Sexual Behavior of Young People, a total of thirty-eight percent of the teenage girls interviewed admitted to having had their first intercourse with a mature man.
Certainly a behavior pattern which involves more than a third of all young girls deserves further study and investigation. Yet the technical reports relating to such behavior are sparse indeed. The aforementioned research was de- signed to provide an overall view of young people's sexual practices, but neglected to consider specific circumstances in which young girls become sexually involved with adult men.
Russell Trainer's The Lolita Complex, though not strictly a technical work, constitutes perhaps the most thorough psychological and sociological expose of Lolitaism.
Unfortunately, Trainer neglects to name his sources. Nevertheless, one quote from an anonymous psychiatrist is pertinent to the role which the nymphet plays in contemporary society:
The Lolitas, as they are beginning to be called, are rebels. They boil with hostility. Most of it is directed at their parents, but they display it to anyone in authority. They resent society and they show their constant hostility toward it. And sex is the medium for girls. This is almost always true. A boy might steal a car because he hates, but girls thumb their noses at all of us by using sex. They cannot help but use it.
It is my own belief that the view presented by this nameless psychiatrist is considerably more valid than the more traditional, psychoanalytic interpretation. Orthodox Freudians see the problem of Lolitaism as a manifestation of the Elec-tra complex or father fixation, in which the girl wishes to replace her mother and become sexually involved with her father. Although this provides an easy explanation for the prevalence of Lolitas, it does not explain why this phenomenon seems to be increasing in our society. Fascinating as Freud's interpretations of the old Greek stories may be, they fail to provide us with a working basis for dealing with the problems presented by contemporary society.
Besides considering the Lolitas in our society as examples of youthful rebellion against the confusing standards and mores our society presents, it is important to investigate the different circumstances which "set the scene," so to speak, for a young girl to become involved sexually with an older man.
As Trainer acknowledges early in his book, the broken home creates "substitute environments-environments conducive to Lolitaism." With roughly one marriage out of four ending in divorce today, many young people are forced to cope with a new environment, usually away from their natural father. Although there exists wide concern regarding young boys who must grow up without their fathers, less attention has been given to girls in this same situation.
When a divorce occurs, there are a variety of arrangements which can ensue. One is that of the mother raising the children alone. Although many growing girls are able to survive such circumstances, others may be ripe for a re- lationship with an older man, sexual or nonsexual, depending on various factors. This is not an extension of the traditional Freudian theory, but simply a recognition that girls growing up without fathers may sense that something is lacking in their lives.
If the fatherless girl identifies the older man with whom she allies herself as a father substitute, perhaps even going so far as to call him "Daddy," there is less likelihood of a sexual relationship to develop. When this is the case, both the girl and the older man usually perceive certain roles for themselves and act accordingly. However, there is equal likelihood that the girl, asserting her own independence, will wish to play the role of a grown woman with her older friend. The relationship may remain an intellectual one, especially if the girl is intellectually precocious, and if the man involved is well in control of the situation. However, the need for a young girl to prove her femininity is often very strong. She may respond to the man's attraction for her, even if he has tried to keep this hidden. Or she may use all the wiles and cunning at her disposal to seduce him.
Another type of situation resulting from a broken home is that in which the mother remarries, introducing a strange man into the everyday life of the home. This is precisely the setting in which Nabokov placed his story, and it is a setting which provides the stimulus for many budding nymphets. Besides having day-to-day contact with each other, the young girl and the older man are officially expected to show affection for one another. Such affection may seem very innocent at first, but may easily develop into sexual attraction and, subsequently, sexual involvement.
In cases such as this, the young girl is less likely to be emotionally involved as is the girl who seeks the attention of a stranger outside of the home. In fact, she may even resent the presence of her stepfather and use her sexuality as a way of acting out her hostility toward him and toward her mother.
A still different situation occurs when the children of divorced parents are placed in a foster home. Beth Hollingsworth, who observed hundreds of cases of Lolitaism occurring within foster homes while working with the Detroit Welfare Department, states:
The situation seems almost made to order ... the girl has already suffered some traumatic things by the time she has arrived at a foster home. Perhaps she has met with divorce, rejection, or neglect. Now, she meets a man, a stranger, one in close proximity to her. He is her "father"-a non-blood father -with whom she now lives. Perhaps she is inspired to win his favor and does so through the means of her sexuality. Perhaps the man is inclined toward girls. Perhaps he is not, but is merely a male who likes women, regardless of their age. Or perhaps the girl is easily seduced. I'm never surprised when I learn of a young girl having sexual relations with her foster father.
Although the broken home and the experience of new environments which ensue can provide the springboard for Lolitaism, not all nymphets come from broken homes. Some are raised in seemingly secure, stable families. Yet these girls share with the others the early discovery of their own sexuality. They may, as do many young people, overtly seek to use their sexuality as a way of rebelling against the restrictions imposed upon them. But also, their sexual involvement with an older man can simply be coincidence: the result of all the appropriate circumstances occurring simultaneously.
It is far from abnormal for young girls to be preoccupied with sex, and with themselves as feminine beings, though often they may be unaware of the responses they can create in an adult male. Current customs permit the wearing of skirts which leave most of the legs exposed as well as blouses which are see-through or low-cut, even for preteen girls. Also, current customs permit these young girls to emulate their older sisters and their mothers in their walk and their gestures, although this may not even be necessary to provoke the attentions of an adult male.
Some, though certainly not all, men profess an attraction for young girls. Few, however, are able to resist the provocations that such young girls can evoke. Sometimes the male is capable of maintaining his role as stepfather, foster father, teacher or friend, but very often he falls prey to the advances, whether they be subtle or obvious, of a young and attractive female. The case studies that follow provide a cross section of modern-day Lolitas, each of whom became involved with an older man in a different set of circumstances. These case studies were especially chosen to demonstrate to the reader the different ways in which this phenomenon can occur and to elicit sympathy and understanding for individuals who are victims of these circumstances.