O Canada! Teen Girls Trading BJs for Merchandise

Posted by Colleen Kane

 

 Here's the lead of a story in the Toronto Star about the kids today:

Middle-class Canadian girls are giving oral sex after school to pay for sweaters and handbags.

Well, that got my attention, how about you? 

According to filmmaker (and former Toronto Star columnist) Sharlene Azam, oral sex has become so normalized among teens that, for some in her film Oral Sex is the New Goodnight Kiss, it's being used as a barter tool. 

So how has prositution developed in middle-class schools? Azam calls those teens who recruit fellow teens into prostitution "a new kind of predator."

Girls she spoke with for the film would speak casually about blowing five guys in one night.

"The reason they speak about it unflinchingly is because it has become as benign and as acceptable as kissing. This is what our culture has become. Think back to the '80s when girls would blush when talking about their first kiss. We are way past that point with blowjobs. The real question is, 'What's next?'"

Heather, 16, outright states she associates pleasuring the boys with power. Which begs the question, has feminism failed the girls?

"We failed our girls. What's happened to our girls? We have let Girls Gone Wild and the media culture define them."

Commenters on the interview with Azam are divided about whether parenting has failed, or this is nothing new and Azam is making a mountain out of a couple of run-of-the-mill high-school sluts. What do you think?

Related:

Polish Teens Work Hard for the Money

Today in WTF: Gay Teens Much More Likely To Get Pregnant

When The Folks Are Away, New Hampshire Teens Party Naked


Comments

wilf said:

Thanks for putting into my noggin the horrifying image of my teenage daughter sucking off five guys.  I need to go puke.  On the other hand, I'm just bitter this wasn't popular about 25 years ago.

April 30, 2009 12:00 PM

William Jefferson said:

I'm moving to Canada.

April 30, 2009 12:12 PM

caferide said:

Where were these girls when I was 16?!! I grew up during the 2nd age of chastity -- or at least it seemed that way!

April 30, 2009 3:56 PM

Apollo said:

Sex as empowerment has always seemed to split feminists down the middle. Or at least the ones I've known. Aside from the fact that these girls are so young how is this any different from women selling their virginity on eBay? It's interesting to think that, although women (and men) have been doing stuff like this forever it's just now gaining attention because girls are more open about it. Not sure how I feel about the whole thing, really.

April 30, 2009 5:40 PM

About Colleen Kane

Colleen has been an editor at BUST and Playgirl magazines and has written for the endangered species of dead-tree magazines like SPIN and Plenty, as well as Radar Online and other websites. She lives in exile in Baton Rouge with her fiance, two dogs, and her former cat. Read her personal blogs at ColleenKane.com.

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