Question 2: Most of you seem to agree that child sexuality is natural and normal on its own, but becomes problematic in the context of our culture. Do late-twentieth-century images (e.g. Calvin Klein ads, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Barbie, etc.), books (most famously, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Forever and other books by Judy Blume), and films (Kids, the new Lolita, PG-rated movies with sex and nudity) involving child/adolescent sexuality promote or encourage kids to become sexually active before their time? Do they influence the rates of teen pregnancy and STDs, and the age at which kids lose their virginity today? Or, could it be argued that they promote positive sexual identities, comfort with one's own changing body, better gender/sexual relations and a freedom to ask questions? |
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This question seems oddly adolescent. What is "sexually active before their time"? What is "their time"? A hundred years ago girls of fourteen were married and had families, life expectancy was half of what it is today. As children become teens and adolescents -- a relatively new concept -- as they become more aware of their bodies, sensations and desires, it is part of the natural sequence to be curious about the body -- one's own and others'. STDs, pregnancy and gender/sexual relations are not new issues -- they have been ongoing throughout history. Our methods for addressing these issues have changed over time, but even this is nothing new. Does the culture aggravate all of the above, do the images we see make us feel uncomfortable with out bodies, do they push sexuality -- of course, but that too is nothing new. Skipping far, far ahead: the more interesting/challenging questions revolve around how adults handle the sexuality of children/adolescents, how we fail to protect our children, even though we pretend to be a child-focused culture. What is the adult role? What do we do to protect? How do we handle those who exploit? What is exploitation or abuse -- is it an advertisement in which a child appears in a "sexual" pose or is it actual physical abuse of a child? Where does it start, and where, how, when do we stop it? And why do we find this so difficult? |
Question 1 A. M. Homes James Kincaid Judith Levine Michael Medved Stephen Schiff Celine Texier-Rose Naomi Wolf Question 2 A. M. Homes James Kincaid Judith Levine Michael Medved Stephen Schiff Celine Texier-Rose Naomi Wolf Question 3 A. M. Homes James Kincaid Judith Levine Michael Medved Stephen Schiff Celine Texier-Rose Sally Mann Question 4 A. M. Homes James Kincaid Judith Levine Michael Medved Stephen Schiff Celine Texier-Rose |
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