When I was nine, I was pretty sure that “oral sex” meant talking about sex out loud. When I was ten, I didn’t get kissing so I tried it with a girl from Baptist church camp. And when I was fourteen, I argued with my friend Molly about what exactly you blew on during a blow job.

I looked for the answers to my questions about sex in Penthouse forum and Judy Blume books – but I sure could have saved myself a lot of confusion and contradictions if I’d known just one person who wasn’t afraid to talk straight to me.

Now that I’m all grown-up, I’m absolutely resolved that the young people in my life – my kids, my friends’ kids, my nieces and nephews – will know that at least one person in their life is there for them. Me.

I’m not alone. Maybe you’re like me – the “Cool Aunt” – or perhaps you had someone while you were growing up who wasn’t ashamed to have frank, open conversations about sex, and was happy to give you honest answers to questions you were embarrassed to ask other people.

So – we’re launching our First Official Cool Aunt Count to help us find out how many there are, what role they play, what resources they...