what age does sexual attraction start?

[SillyMcGoof_]

howdy! long time no see!

i just came here to ask something rq bc im really not sure.

what age does sexual attraction usually start? can like a little kid experience it (i dont ask that to be like weird or anything im just genuinely curious) or can it develop in like mid teens or something? ive been like thinking about my personal experiences and stuff and im just not sure.

apologies if this was answered somewhere else and i just didn’t see. i looked and couldn’t find anything but i also couldve just not used the right key words or something but yeah.

thanks!

[Sam W]

Hi SillyMcGoof_, good to see you again!

This is a really interesting question! The tricky thing about answering it is that unless someone is surveying younger children in the moment, questions about when we first experienced sexual desire or attraction usually require people to try and think back and remember, which they don't always do accurately.

When it comes to sexual attraction to other people, rather than a more general enjoyment of something like masturbation, the data we have suggests that for many people, around or during the time they start puberty is when that desire usually starts.

[SillyMcGoof_]

ohh ok that makes sense! thanks!

ive been kinda thinking back and i believe i did find myself sorta “attracted” to certain people and characters when i was little but i didn’t know if that was like “sexual attraction” or not (it also could’ve been just aesthetic or sensual attraction or something) so ig ive just been a bit confused about it all.

[Sam W]

You're welcome!

I will say what you're describing is pretty common; kids who haven't hit puberty yet can still develop crushes and similar feelings of attraction to people, real or fictional, even if those crushes don't have what we'd recognize as a sexual component to them.