I found today’s readings to be very interesting and I felt that I could attempt to relate to them a bit more than recent discussions on abortions and childbirths. Ariel Levy’s chapter, “Pigs In Training”, was the one that I could actually personally relate to, as I have been through middle school & high school and know what girls can be like in terms of how they present themselves to their classmates. The other three articles, while I have not had any experience with rape, were quite thought provoking for me, and I definitely have some feelings I would like to share about Whitney Walker and Emilie Morgan’s stories. All in all, I found a common theme that tied these readings together; that of a feminine obligation to meet unsubstantiated male expectations as well as to be compliant to male dominance. Clearly, these authors are not supporting these ideas but they are beliefs that many a woman may hold to be true. We know better than to believe these ideas.
As I read Ariel Levy’s, “Pigs In Training”, I was slightly surprised by some of the things I heard, but unlike Rachel I wasn’t totally dumbfounded. To my knowledge, these things did not go on in my schools, but I will say that it was obvious that a select few girls dressed to impress the boys. I remember hearing about “Swiffer Girl”, who I have met (a couple years after the “incident”), and I was actually shocked. I was floored that someone my age would come up with such an absurd idea! I know that this sex culture is all over the place and has immersed itself in young teenagers, but considering the fact that I could not fathom such an idea at the time, I think it definitely makes its way into certain pockets of the country earlier than others. I think that it has a lot to do with the type of area one is raised in and the family life that one has. Children in cities often grow up “faster” than children in suburbs, as they are forced to be more independent at an earlier age. I think that this might have something to do with this idea, but when it comes to dressing up for the boys, I think that that occurs everywhere. Robin, a student at the school in California that Levy discusses states, “Sexually, we didn’t really do anything, but you wanted to look like you did” (Levy, 150). The idea that girls wanted to play the part and be perceived as one thing when they really aren’t, seems like a bad case of immaturity, but I think that’s just part of growing up and becoming an adult. You realize that you don’t have to be someone you’re not; unfortunately in high school most teens have yet to realize this fact of life. David put it bluntly, “What girls don’t understand is 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). Well put.
After reading Emilie Morgan’s story, “Don’t Call Me A Survivor”, I was extremely appalled at the situations that she found herself in. The fact that she was raped 3 times, 1 of which was a gang-rape, and molested at the detoxification center that she entered after being found naked and passed out in the gutter of a parking lot, is completely dumbfounding. As I read this I tried to understand her situation but I honestly couldn’t even fathom what she dealt with in the slightest bit. How does someone get themselves in the same situation 3 times before the age of 18? How could she have been so submissive? I was actually frustrated as I read because I could not comprehend how that happened to her. Women need to be strong and stand up for themselves, a message that Whitney Walker expresses in “Why I Fight Back”. Young girls and mature adult females need to always know that they can and should fight back against males whenever they are in a situation where the male expects the woman to comply to their domination. Females need to always know that they have control over the situation. Without this attitude, we will have girls such as Emilie Morgan, who think being raped is a part of being a woman. I don’t think this is a fault of Morgan’s, because I believe this comes from the parent, and the fact that her parents punished her for being raped is clearly a sign that they were not exactly the understanding type nor did they instill these strong-willed beliefs in her.
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