Or is it prudish sluts? Anyway…
On the one hand, our “sex ed” classes for teens are mostly about why they shouldn’t have it; we hold “purity balls” (snicker) for girls ‘n their daddies; we suspend girls from school for taking birth control; we fund programs that remind both sexes that the burden of abstinence falls squarely on the girls’ narrow shoulders.
On the other (very busy) hand, for prepubescent and tweens, we have playdates at the spa, padded bras, thongs, high heels,1 stripper pole toys, and most recently, stripper pole-as-photo-opp. For teens we have sexting, t-shirts that say stuff like “who needs a brain when you have these” and sport the bunny logo, and yet more stripper poles.
Then when our girls are all grown up and can legally do what we’ve been encouraging them to do-don’t-do for so many years, we slut-shame the shit out of them (and make money off of it).
Interestingly, the only people who seem to be doing anything rational in response to this are the girls themselves, with girlcotts and lawsuits and the like.
Excellent practice to prepare them, the future Sisters of St. Hillary the Dontfuckwithme, for world domination.
or, The Madonna-Whore Complex: the Emotionally Retarded Man’s Guide to Understanding Women.
[tags]slut-shaming, misogyny, pop culture[/tags]
- I didn’t believe this one until I saw with my very own eyes a 4-year-old in high-heeled mules in Target! [↩]
“Slutty prudes,” or “Prudish sluts.”
I love it, so true.
But wait, “Girls suspended for taking birth control?”
Seriously?? This is happening?? Where??
Maureen – it was in Virginia. Apparently the school in question has a “no drug” policy and a “shoot first, ask questions later” philosophy: http://www.feministing.com/archives/014660.html