Teens, Sex & Slam Pieces

Many of you know that in my role as a clinical psychologist I travel quite a bit to talk to teens and their well-intentioned but often exhausted parents. Why, you ask, are these parents exhausted? Well, perhaps it is partly because teen slang changes so quickly and they don’t understand the nuances of their teens’ speech.

Whenever I travel, one of the first things I ask the teens is about their use of slang. Last summer I spent a week in Hawaii at a leadership conference with a group of incredible teen girls from all over the world. Yes, we spoke about leadership but we also spoke about slang. The girls stay in touch with me and fill me in on new teen slang all around the world.

I heard about a commonly used expression in Canada this week and it even shocked me. And, believe me when I tell you that I don’t get shocked easily. A teen, often a female, who a boy wants to have sex with but no emotional connection with is referred to as a “slam piece.” YIKES. While this term is catching on in the States the more common term here is “hook-ups.” Teens “hook up” with someone physically with the intention of having no emotional attachment. It’s not so easy, though. Whether slamming or hooking up -emotions often get involved.

I have always been of the mind that when the body is involved so is the heart. We must teach this to our teens so they don’t have their tender little hearts broken.