In Listen Up, Rebecca Walker and Sonia Slah discuss the issue of young girls and their sexuality. Rebecca Walker tells readers of her experiences as a young teen experimenting with sex. To be honest, it has become common for young girls to have sex as early as 11 or 12 (just as Rebecca admitted to doing). However, Rebecca offers a valuable perspective into what these possible girls could be thinking at such young ages. "Sex can look like love if you don't know what it looks like. It gives you someone to hold on to when you can't feel yourself. It is heat in your body when the coldness is inside of you. It is trying out trusting and being trusted (pg. 20). This is an intriguing insight and certainly easy to understand. When you are so young it is only natural that one becomes curious and tries things out for size. But we should ask ourselves: why is there no guidance present in this curiousity?
Sonia Slah discusses the sexuality of her little sister. She tells tales of tight jeans, shirts that reveal skin, and boys. Slah is particularly upset by her sister's dress until she comes to understand that it is merely her sister's attempt to have their parents recognize her sexuality. This is also an understandable theme. Women's sexuality is often seen as invisible or non existent. If a woman wears a piece of clothing that may be to revealing then she could be seen as a whore or slut. However, this is just not case and the denial of a woman's sexuality is not going to ease the curious minds of young girls.
These young women need guidance. They need things to be explained to them. They need to know that it is ok for them to feel what they. Instead of covering it up, it should be discussed. They are human beings. They have sexual desires. They have sexual needs. Until we come to this acceptance then our young are doomed to search for answers on their own.
P.S.- Let's not forget that young women are also getting their idea of sexiness from media.
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ReplyDeleteand by Collins, I meant Walker...oops!
ReplyDeleteYour statement, "the denial of a woman's sexuality is not going to ease the curious minds of young girls" describes Slah's point perfectly. When reading this article, I didn't understand at first what the author was getting at, but by the end, it made perfect sense. Young girls do a lot of things that seem provocative, but without any guidance in terms of sex and sexuality, what could we possibly expect? In addition to getting approval from their parents about their sexuality, it seems like young girls may do this simply for attention as well, or to show their parents that they are not just a little girl anymore. By ignoring these signals and simply telling them to cover up rather than discussing sex, it would only increase their curiousity and need to attention and approval.
ReplyDeleteLike, Lee stated, “Lusting for Freedom” and “Tight Jeans & Chania Chorris” discuss how young females explore their sexuality. Walker describes how she plays different roles depending on what the men she was with wanted. I think this is an example of women giving into male sexual desires, as Levy discusses in her book. Like Levy stated throughout FCP, women are fine with being seen as sexual objects by men, but men feel uncomfortable when women look at them the same way. Why did Walker feel the need to conform into what her men wanted? Why couldn’t she just be herself? If she was truly confident in her own skin she wouldn’t feel the need to adjust her actions and behavior to please a man.
ReplyDeleteSlah, on the other hand, discusses her younger sister acts out against their parents by wearing very sexual and reveling clothes. The most interesting part of this story was when her sister was “exiled” to India and came back wearing a traditional Indian outfit, besides the fact that the back was pretty much missing. When her parents saw this outfit they were happy because it was Indian, even though it was almost as reveling as her previous outfits. They accepted the fact that she chooses a happy median between the two cultures.
I think an interesting topic dealing with young women and sexuality is pageants shows for young girls (we briefly mentioned this in class last Thursday). Why do parents feel the need to dress their daughters up in dresses and swim suits with heavily coated make-up on? These young girls do not look young. They look like dolls you find in stores. These girls are exposed at a very young age that in order for them to get attention they need to be dolled up all the time, which is completely not true. I think these pageants ruin a child’s childhood.
No one can deny that he or she has never thought about sex. It has become such a part of our culture that a lot of people think about it practically every day. So if sex is such a big part of our lives these days, why is it that people often avoid talking about it? If people are not taught about sex, then they are going to be forced to learn about it on their own.
ReplyDeleteThe lead blogger writes, “When you are so young it is only natural that one becomes curious and tries things out for size. But we should ask ourselves: why is there no guidance in this curiosity?” We’re all curious, but why is it that there is rarely someone to answer our questions or at least let us know that our curiosity is okay? Since sex is such a large part of life, shouldn’t we all feel comfortable talking about it? I think yes.
Young girls are always going to be curious, and they are always going to feel the need to explore their sexuality. They need to know that this is okay, that it’s normal. And if it is not discussed, or if it is looked down upon, then they are “doomed to search for answers on their own,” says the lead blogger. And I could not agree more.
Sex is always going to be interesting to girls and boys. No matter what the culture, American or Indian, girls are going to be intrigued by the culture ideals of sexiness. This is especially well illustrated in the piece “Tight Jeans & Chania Chorris” where the author’s younger sister rebels against her parents by wearing extremely revealing tight jeans and other Western clothing. When she is sent to India she returns in traditional Indian clothing with a “sexy” twist. The traditional dress her sister bought has a completely cut out back. However, her parents don’t seem fazed by this exposed dress because it is from the right culture. However, what happens when we are not comfortable with our own culture’s ideas of sexiness? The video Lee posted shows how not everyone (especially in American culture) is comfortable with socially accepted norms for sexuality. The video of the Reel Grrls show that most girls don’t identify with the media’s idea of what is sexy. They see the models as “looking good,” but when pressed to think about it, objectified. The ads are so much about objectifying the women in them that it is sometimes unclear what is even being sold? Is it the product or the women? Thus, it is important for us to see what we really think is sexy and learn about sex from each other, not from the distorted version the media gives us.
ReplyDelete