Or as my husband said, "sometimes a case can be made for canceling our subscription to The Washington Post."
I'm am greeted this Saturday morning to my darling girls working with their daddy in the kitchen to make a bowl of pancake batter. I make my coffee and oatmeal and sit down to the paper. Suburban bliss, I'm okay with that, when I lived in the urbs, life was pretty similar. Anyway, what do I see on the front page of the Style Section but a cartoon derivative of Roy Lichtenstein of a boy and a girl embracing, with her thought bubble "This summer, maybe..." Oh no. Yup, unfold and its an article about girls losing their virginity in the summer with mid-life reminisces. Can't read it. Won't read it (not past the jump, at least). Glorifying the loss of virginity as a teen is irresponsible and pointless. I really don't want to read about some woman in her 40s who lost it at 16 to a guy with a Trans Am. Ick, I need a shower.
So, while I'm not reading the article, I will fill my time with some better thought bubbles of what the girl should be thinking instead of "This Summer, Maybe..."
"Should I really, knowing that he is probably at his absolute worst right now?"
"Will I embarrass myself with the memory of his Trans Am in a major newspaper in my 40s?"
"This will really get my dad back for being a jerk!"
"This will really get my mom back for being a witch!"
"I can't wait to tell all my friends so they'll think I'm cool."
"I wonder if lying and sneaking around in order to have sex when I'm so young with someone so undeserving will have harrowing repercussions for the rest of my life."
At least this article is on the front-page of the Style section (the section which includes the comics) with an eye-catching cartoon. We wouldn't want this generation of young women missing out on the victories of the sexual revolution. And what better way to let our teen daughters know that its time for them to have sex?
3 comments:
Gross. What were they thinking?
So, did you read the article or are you just protesting the existence of same?
Hi Michael. I'm protesting the existence of it. While I didn't read it all, I did see what other bloggers said about it and the parts they snipped and I think the stories may actually argue against 'losing it.' Maybe I'm protesting the sensationalization of it with the comic frame [you'd have to have seen the print edition] and the placement of it. I know I don't like it.
The ombudsman had a different opinion. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/28/AR2006072801563.html
She did not feel that the graphic on the front of the Style section tipped off what the article was about. As I wrote in my blog, I knew immediately what it was about.
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