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Recommended: Introduction of teenage suicide
Girls on the Edge by Dr. Leonard Sax, is all about the things that are driving a crisis for girls. The book cites sexual identity, the cyberbubble, obsesssions, and environmental toxins as the four main factors. The book is 272 pages and was published by Basic Books in July of 2011 and sells for around 13 dollars for a paperback copy or 20 for the hardcover edition. The book begins with an explanation of teenagers and how they are different from the teenagers of 50 years ago. More and more teenagers are depressed, and on medication. The author states that teenagers now are on alot more medications than the teenagers of the past. In the first part of the book Dr. Sax discusses the four forementioned factors he believes are affecting the crisis for girls.
In the first chapter Dr. Sax discusses how girls are expected to be sexual beings at earlier ages than ever. The main focus of this chapter is how the culture has shifted from a culture of dating to a culture of hookups. Sax discusses how girls are losing their virginity at earlier ages, and becoming sexual objects earlier than ever. He claims this is the fault of the shift in our culture. He contrasts the songs “Paradise on the Dashboard Light” and “I kissed a girl”. In the first song, which was written in the 70’s, a boy and a girl are getting intimate in a car when a girl stops everything and says,
“Stop right there!
I gotta know right now!
Before we go any further!
Do you love me?
Will you love me forever?
Do you need me?
Will you never leave me?
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?”
That’s because in the 70’s many girls would not have intercourse without the promise of marriage. In contrast, the latter song is about...
... middle of paper ...
...as changed from when it has 30-50 years ago.
2) I learned that girls establish a hierarchy in school differently than boys, more subtly.
3) I learned that girls have been shown to dress to impress the boys, and do many things, namely sexual things, for attention or intimacy.
4) I learned that many things in life repress womens’ gender roles. These things include drinking, toys, clothes, and so on.
5) Finally, I learned that girls will exclude people over many things. Music, sexual acts, not hanging out with them., etc. They will usually outcast that person rather than use physical violence as boys do.
Works Cited
Sax, Leonard. Girls on the Edge: The Four Factors Driving the New Crisis for
Girls--Sexual Identity, the Cyberbubble, Obsessions, Environmental Toxins. 1st
ed. New York: Basic Books, 2011. Print.
Throughout her book Mary Pipher, a clinical psychologist, describes the behaviors and relationships of adolescent teen girls. She explores the issues that most of her patients have in common: parents and divorce, depression, weight, drugs, alcohol, violence, and sex. Pipher provides examples of girls who had suffered from each category, and ends with a generalization that connects each situation to a deeper meaning. Although parents and daughters are somewhat to blame in each occasion, Pipher holds the corrupt modern culture of western society accountable. She believes that the idealized image of girls that the media puts out is the root of most adolescent insecurities. In Reviving Ophelia, Pipher draws attention to the increasing need for female teen awareness and incorporates the methods she suggests to the struggling families.
In this book therapist Mary Pipher writes about her experiences at work with adolescent girls. It is intended to make the reader aware of the perils of being a teenager in today's sexualized and media-saturated culture. She talks about how this new and more hostile environment affects adolescent girls' emotional growth and development, and how hard it is to stay true to yourself while trying to fit in with peers. For the most part this book is Dr. Pipher's attempt to reach out to adolescents, as well as their parents and teachers, and tell them that this "problem without a name" is not a death sentence but rather a journey to adulthood, and tells adults how to help these impressionable young girls through what might be the most trying period of their lives.
In the poem “The One Girl at the Boys’ Party,” Sharon Olds uses imagery to convey pride in her daughter’s growing femininity. What would seem to be another childhood pool party for the girl turns into an event that marks a rite of passage to adulthood. Though the narrator is reluctant of her daughter’s search for an identity, she ultimately sees her daughter’s transformation to womanhood as admirable. Olds’ pride is first shown when the girl begins to lose her innocence from the unfamiliar surroundings of masculine men. The narrator says, “They will strip to their suits, her body hard and indivisible as a prime number” (5-6). The girl’s stiff and confident stature that this image conveys suggests that she is anxious yet willing to progress
Burrell, Jackie. "Supergirl Epidemic: Teenage Girls Sinking under Pressure to Be Perfect." ContraCostaTimes.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.
Mary Pipher goes on to say that the problem faced by girls is a ‘problem without a name’ and that the girls of today deserve a different kind of society in which all their gifts can be developed and appreciated. (Pipher,M). It’s clear that cultures and individual personalities intersect through the period of adolescence. Adolescence is a time in a young girl’s life that shapes them into the woman they become. I think it begins earlier than teen years because even the clothing that is being sold for younger girls says sexuality. Bras for girls just beginning in every store are now padded with matching bikini underwear, Barbie dolls are glamour up in such away that these girls believ...
The book I chose for this assignment is Reviving Ophelia. This was a very interesting book. Mary Pipher, PhD. discusses the roles that society plays in shaping the self esteem of teenage and preteen age girls. The author contends that our society today is very look-obsessed and media driven. Through magazines, television, fashion, and retail the "idea" girl is formed and anyone who doesn't fit this idea is not perfect in the culture that girls live in today. Weight issues have caused conditions of anorexia and bulimia putting young girls in jeopardy of declining health. Dr. Pipher chronicles the life of adolescent girls from their carefree days of being energetic, assertive, and tomboyish to their losing themselves at the onset of puberty. Most girls lose their previous selves to fit into a norm of society, being more passive, depressed, and self-critical. The main point of this book is to help uncover the true self of adolescent girls and to give them techniques to help them combat the views of society. This quote from the book summarizes all that the author was addressing when writing this book. "Most girls choose to be socially accepted and split into two selves, one that is authentic and one that is culturally scripted. In public they become who they are suppose to be."
Roberts, Kate “The Paradox of Teenage Girls: Today Are They to Grown Up or Lagging Down?” http//drkateroberts.com 2013/12/25. Web 4/25/2014.
The idea that teenage boys should act a certain way towards females is usually instilled in them at a young age. According to Devor, “ Femininity must be expressed through modes of… action which communicate weakness, dependency, ineffectualness, availability for sexual or emotional service, and sensitivity to the needs of others” (Devor 6-7). In other words, men have to place women on a lower pedestal because of a woman’s so called “needs” (Devor 6). The “needs” that women express are feminine characteristics. The characteristics of females listed by Devor, does not show any sign of power or dominance. Since society believes gender is a patriarchy, females have no influence and need attention. This shows that men adjust their actions around women, since they believe that women need special attention. Furthermore, if a male possesses anything non-masculine,
Teenage Depression. Everywhere you look these two words appear together as one, in newspapers and magazines, as well as in scholarly reports. Teenage depression is one of today's "hot topics" this among other teenage mental health problems, has been brought to the forefront of public consciousness in recent years after several incidents involving school shootings (CQ 595). The environment that teens grow up in today is less supportive and more demanding than it was twenty years ago. Not only are the numbers of depressed teens rising, but children are also being diagnosed at younger and younger ages. Studies have found that, "There is an estimated 1.5-3 million American children and adolescents who suffer from depression, a condition unrecognized in children until about 20 years ago" (CQR 595). This increase in depression is due to social factors that teenagers have to deal with everyday. A recent study found that, "About five percent of teenagers have major depression at any one time. Depression can be very impairing, not only for the affected teen, but also for his or her family-and too often, if not addressed, depression can lead to substance abuse or more tragic events" (NAMI.org). Gender roles and other societal factors including the pressures on girls to look and act a certain way, the pressures on boys to suppress their emotions and put on a tough front and the pressures on both sexes to do well in school and succeed, all contribute to depression in teens today. Depression is a growing problem which crosses gender lines and one that needs to be dealt with with more than just medication.
In conclusion, this report has explored several rationales behind the boys’ behavior in Lord of the Flies, and suggested how girls in the same position would have behaved in a more accepting, nurturing, polite manner. Media stereotypes on ideal gender conduct, family socialization, and fundamental differences in leadership approach are all factors that contribute to boys’ and girls’ very contrasted behaviors. Clearly, had females been in the same situation as the boys in Lord of the Flies, they would have fared considerably better.
1. Discuss gender (not physical) differences between boys and girls. Discuss how parents, teachers, etc. treat children differently based on their gender. Be sure to give personal examples in your discussion.
Taking on another approach to teaching boys and girls will be on the right track to improving behavior in children. According to The Goodman Research Group, “88% of students say they would repeat their experience, 83% say they are better prepared for college, and 13% intended t...
Witt, S. D. (n.d.). The Influence of Peers on Children’s Socialization to Gender Roles. Retrieved from University of Akron: http://gozips.uakron.edu/~susan8/artpeers.htm
The conclusion of this essay is that there are four prime factors that construct gender role in today’s society. They include our family, society, educational systems and self conscious. There are other cultural products that affect the gender within these four. category. The.
Bauman, Lawrence. The Ten Most Troublesome Teen-age Problems and How to Solve Them. New York: Citadel Press, 1997.