Dancing like a whore and actuallly being one are totally different

I loved Eliza Appleton's story "Cribs". It communicates so much of the frustrations and stresses of growing up girls and on top of that is full of quotable lines. From calling the dirty dancing of our times "grinding" and defending the desire the teenagers had to rub their parts against one another in front of crowds (which I can totally understand, I love dancing=). At the high school dances I was unfortunate enough to attend "grinding" was not allowed and if you were caught by the surrounding teachers you would get thrown out and that's all for your Prom experience. I think it is hilarious but aggravatingly dumb at the same time. I can understand though, just as Eliza understood why the parents were so shocked by their scandalous dance moves. I can also relate to her dreams of legend status at her high school. Being so popular and respected in high school is the adult equivalent of hitting the jackpot; that is how important rank and status seem at that time.
A great line that I feel encompasses growing up in our times:
"Condensations seemed to drip from the ceiling there as people danced, drank, did drugs, and basically sexually assaulted each other" (150).
To be half-joking, isn't this how everyone's high school years went?
Eliza goes on to cover the topic of sex ed in the school systems. From nonsensical exercises, such as naming all the slang words for reproductive organs, to the even more nonsensical, harmful rather, technique in which school systems inform student's on their bodies and sexual practices. Even a 16-year-old is mature enough to know how counterproductive the instruction (or lack of) seems.
She sums it up perfectly in this quote:
"I know it's important to be informed of the risks that go with sex, but shouldn't we also learn about it in a positive way?" (152).

Jocelyn Pearce speaks of the gut-wrenching style of crushing nearly every teenage girl is susceptible to, and falls victim to. Girls have so much strong, dramatic, and intense emotions, when mixed with pseudo-love/obsession it can lead to disaster! It is so common for girls to get enamored with crushes to the point where, like Jocelyn, they are willing to be late to classes and cherish every comment and every "hello" uttered in the hallways. Girls have the tendency to develop crushes so intense they lose any sight of common sense or good judgment. While usually harmless and short-lived infatuations, it can lead to self-destructive tendencies, or at the very least, an injured ego. Plus, lots of wasted time spent swooning and stressing, worrying, contemplating, or beating yourself up for the dumb comment your crush probably didn't even notice. Though, just as in Jocelyn's case, it can lead to something great, like the discovery of a new passion for soccer.

Comments

mhendrix said…
It is so sad how females are automatically discounted and degraded, but males are looked at as being cool. What you said about being popular is so true, the pressure for teenagers is immense. I loved the quote you including about going about sex in the right way. The fact of the matter is that most teenagers will not wait until they are married to have sex, so it is important to teach safe sex so if they do decide they are informed to make the right decisions.
Mary Morley said…
I liked this essay a lot too, mainly because it helped me to understand a little- I was always too shy (and clusmy/awkward) to do much dancing, let alone "grinding" in high school, and I was always eye-rolling at the girls that were. I can look back and recognize now that I was taking part in the double-standard: I didn't think less of the guys that did it. But, like you said, it had a lot to do with status/popularity, too.

It was really neat hearing her talk about her sex education, too, right after reading the Purity Myth. It would be nice to think that most girls were as smart as her, too.

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