I was outraged when I read Emilie Morgan's account of all the sexual violence she has faced. We all often hear of how often rape/sexual violence occurs but too often it is quickly dismissed. I guess I often do not think that sexual violence is that prevalent because I have never encountered anyway discuss such a situation, but this essay showed that many girls feel ostracized by such occurrences so they do not speak up. The role of Morgan's parents and doctors is astounding, as we would think they would at least attempt to be sensitive to such issues. Therein lies the problem because too often sexual violence goes unreported because girls are worried about the repercussions. It is almost as though our society, and more specifically, teen culture of labeling girls as "sluts" unjustly has allowed these injustices to go unreported. Whitney Walker explains how she combatted her fear of sexual violence through learning self-defense. While I definitely think that is a great pre-caution to take, I believe it is the most helpful psychologically.
I think John provided a great example to Levy's chapter about the promiscuous girl who engaged in oral sex with his friend because she wanted the attention socially. This unfortunately seems to be another factor propelled by our teen social structure. Teenage girls often have low self-esteem because they are treated disrespectfully so they look for social acclaim. Behavior like the girl John references, however, only propels the idea that sexual violence is okay. This is a difficult scenario, but unfortunately it can presumably only be changed slowly by promoting openness in these conversations since altering an entire teen social environment is a lengthy endeavor.
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I agree that there is a relationship between looking for social acclaim through sexuality and low-self esteem, which is perpetuated by disrespectful treatment girls receive when they present themselves in an overtly sexual manner. It creates a cycle in which girls feel badly about themselves, seek approval by their male peers, achieve a certain amount of approval but then inevitably are disrespected and given hurtful labels like “slut”, which then wreak havoc on their already low self-confidence. It seems strange that at the same time that women are surpassing boys in academic success, they fail to translate this success into feeling empowered and secure in their abilities. The young (white, wealthy) girls that Levy writes are at the same time as being involved in raunch culture, being successful in their friendships, academics, and athletics. The “Swiffer Girl” had gained acceptance into the elite private school Horace Mann, which means that she probably now goes to a strong college. What is missing in these young girls lives which makes them seek sexual attention from boys instead of valuing success in other aspects of their lives?
ReplyDeleteI think these are both really interesting posts. Firstly, I think Daniel brings up the importance of speaking up about horrific crimes such as rape. When women remain silent about their attackers, the attackers are free to repeat the same crimes on other people. I think there is a strong tendency in our culture to allow girls two options: either behave promiscuously and get labeled as a "slut" or remain sexually inactive and labeled as "prude." This dichotomy presented to young girls is very unrealistic. I think this also ties in with the problem that Stephanie mentions. Young girls often link sexual attention and activity with their self esteem. Linking these two seemingly unrelated things together can have dangerous effect on a girl's self esteem.
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