The readings assigned for today covered a variety of topics, so I will focus mainly on that of Ariel Levy.
In “Pigs in Training,” Levy describes some prominent incidents involving pre-teen and teen promiscuity in schools as an introduction to a larger discussion about the way that girls seemingly act to be popular. Her mention of “sex [being] something you did to fit in more than you did for pleasure” was reminiscent of her comments earlier in the book about figures like Paris Hilton promoting the image of appearing sexual but not actually gaining any benefit from it (Levy 154). In other words, this middle school/high school culture of competition in which girls compete to appear sexy but not actually seek pleasure is a microcosm of what is being promoted in popular culture. Her argument, consistent with previous contentions, seems to be one of wondering why girls go through the effort to appear sexy and partake in sexual acts that they don’t even benefit from just to climb socially. Furthermore, this culture exists regardless of when boys like David state clearly “what girls don’t understand is that guys always want girls. If every girl dressed casually, you’d still like girls. It’s like, you don’t have to exhaust yourselves” (Levy 151). David obviously is just one teenage, heterosexual male, but his statement makes this culture seem even more ridiculous by essentially implying that girls go through so much effort to look hot, yet in the end it probably isn’t necessary to attract male attention. Yet it does attract male attention, but the manner in which it does is by making girls into exhibitions for boys’ benefit, which is what Levy objects to. The examples of girls making out with girls because they think that guys will give them more attention, and the one girl snapping her thong at another boy actually made me laugh out loud, yet if you look around in a middle school or high school and observe the way girls dress and act, it really is evident how consuming it is (Levy 149, 150). However, I think what drove the absurdity home was Anne’s reaction to Levy’s comment that in her day girls would have been embarrassed to look slutty: “So how did you get the guy? Charm?” (Levy 155).
Levy eventually refocused the chapter to discussion of sex education and how given that the government has spent over $1 billion on abstinence education since 1996, that teens clearly are left with conflicting messages between what school tells them and what media and pop culture tells them (Levy 156, 157). I knew that abstinence is promoted in a lot of public school sex-ed programs, but I was shocked to read that in many cases that contraception, is mentioned, is taught as ineffective or not mentioned at all (Levy 157)! Frankly I find that very hard to believe, because its obviously an outright lie (to teach that its ineffective). It’s ineffective if not used properly but that’s outrageous – if teens are going to do what you tell them not to, to send the message that contraception isn’t even worth trying is just setting them up for disaster. Reading that made me think of this clip from Mean Girls. The “Miss Tape” presentation that Levy witnessed also seems a little outrageous…not only is it very crude but is hard to relate to in the context of hypersexual contemporary pop culture. Finally, I thought it was interesting how Levy sought out an abstinence-only proponent to interview about why her beliefs are so. The way that she angled the conversation made Peggy Cowan’s arguments seem ridiculous in the context of what teens are doing, and seemingly going to do anyway, but Levy still did make the distinction that there is a difference in allowing teens to feel “sexy, secure, or confident” and finding teens that can recognize what really does make them feel “sexy, secure, and confident” (Levy 168).
In response to Kirstin :
ReplyDeleteEveryone says that middle school and the teenage years are a hard time in life, but I don’t think any of our parents had to go through the same confusing messages that teenagers are sent today. Ariel Levy described the confusion that teenage girls go through very well. As a result, I think a parent would be shocked to read some of the things Levy explained in her chapter “Pigs in Training”. Like Kirstin, I also found David’s interview interesting. I thought it was extremely insightful for a young boy to pick up on the truth behind the messages the girls in his schools were sending. He explained, “When you see that, your first reaction as a guy is that you think, That girl wants it. Wants you. Wants any guy out there… but honestly they don’t. They’re just dressing that way.” (149). This realization gives me hope that, contrary to the stereotype that teenage boys are blinded by their hormonal urges, it is possible for some of them to figure out that just because girls act and dress in a certain way, doesn’t mean they are begging for sexual intercourse with any boy that comes along. Instead, teenage girls are simply confused. As Levy describes, I agree “adolescents don’t automatically know what to do to make themselves feel sexy or secure or confident. They sometimes have ‘confused bodies’ and the frequently have confused heads” (168). As a result, I also agree with Levy that the mixed messages teenagers get from the popular culture/media that promote sex and dressing like “skanks” overpower any messages that promote abstinence and make that option seem less viable and outdated. In the end, most teenagers will end up following in what makes them socially acceptable and attractive. Which in several ways leads to what Levy described as “Pigs in Training” or, the perpetuation of Raunch culture.