Where did the idea of Tim being someone who is clueless about sex come from? In the page where Steph tells him she is pregnant, it's clear she's just teasing him and he knows how babies are made.
Oh god, don't get me started on this. I hate it, and I'll admit that I used to participate in it, but I think the majority of it may actually come from the TimSteph fandom of ole.
Look, a lot of Tim fans like to baby Tim. I do it to an extent too, but he's not helpless or naïve in any way. I've discussed it in another post regarding the fandoms hypersexualization of Steph but it's genuinely a part of keeping his perfect, goody-goody image all coming from a place of projecting something, who tf knows what. It comes off very weird to me because like...is he less pure and baby and good if he fucks or just knows what sex is??? Nefarious if you ask me.
And this just isn't true. Tim obviously knows what sex is, and discussed it with Ariana as a step he wanted to take with her, likely after marriage. Which, some may say that him wanting to wait is part of it, but he's 14 here and I just don't think it's a priority for him really, not yet.
A lot of fans act as if Tim was mortified or terrified during the above panels, and he just...wasn't? He was surprised, but he handled it very maturely and respectfully. He obviously knows what she's asking for and how serious of a step it is. He's NOT naïve.
And I discussed further regarding this panel which is the most popular "damning evidence of Tim being baby":
Is just a straight up stupid reading of this.
Tim is trying to process this very large shock that's been put on him and on Steph who he has only been on one official date with at this point. If you understand Steph's character at all, which most who play into this fanon BS do not, you will understand that she deflects by making jokes and light teasing. She knows Tim knows he's not the father, she isn't suggesting that he is stupid, she's trying to ease the very palpable tension that has just been dropped into her new relationship with Tim. To assume that Tim ACTUALLY thinks that babies come from making out, is just...I don't know where to start anon...
It doesn't help that fanfics and fanart have often showed Steph "scaring" Tim by showing him her boobies, which partially may come from her very OOC tactic of distracting The General by pretending she was going to show him her tits...nice, DC.
And then you have the gross misconception that the reason Tim is scared in this panel, isn't because he's about to be raped, but "ahhhh titties!!!" -_-...
So fans just...rolled with that dynamic and we have very good art, but also highly OOC like this piece by gabzilla:
Timmy is too precious, he's too scared of boobies and sex and he needs to be coddled.
It's just very bizarre and I could rant in length about how just being a virgin doesn't make you naïve and that would be me self projecting, or how being a virgin doesn't make you more good and pure than anyone else but like...I'm lazy.
At the end of the day, this is just a straight up wrong reading of Tim. He's not naïve, he knows what sex is, plans to have it one day, and isn't scared of boobies. I'm so over that take, it's so fucking stupid.