Covering The Bases (Savvy private-school girls on the sexual politics of hooking up)

New York Metro ^ | May 12, 2003 | Amy Sohn

[dark_lord]

I’m happy to hear there’s no new fifth base, like “entering the dugout.”

Uh huh. Welcome to 2003 in NY.

[KantianBurke]

back when I was 13-14 my world revolvled around the Red Sox. Thought my universe ended in the strike of 94. Articles like these depress the hell out of me. Whatever happened to kids being kids?

[JohnnyZ]

Bump for . . .

Well, I don't know how to describe it.

[John Beresford Tipton]

"To a boy, after all, a slut is a gift from God."

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

[hopespringseternal]

That's ok, they will get married and never have sex again because they will have what they want.

Right now they crave attention so they please the boys.

Don't believe me? Reread their quotes. Whether they want affirmation or ice cream, sex is just a tool to manipulate the boys.

[Cicero]

More sad than shocking.

[Wright is right!]

Apparently, Oral is still a One-Way Street. Pity. A guy who is skilled at this can be a very popular fellow.

Michael

[ClearCase_guy]

“What’s hooking up?”

“Anything except for actual coitus,” says Nell.

Any chance Jayson Blair contributed to this article? Do 14-year-old girls talk about coitus?

[Chancellor Palpatine]

The reality of it is that up until the start of the 20th century, girls who were 14 and 15 were getting married, and using their learned household skills to plant gardens, prepare meals, keep house and care for their children - frequently in the homes of their parents.

Somewhere along the way, some people decided to impede that natural maturation process by valuing academic pursuits above and beyond apprenticeship for boys and girls - and we wound up with the 20th century's model of how teens were raised, and in how to deal with the glut of leisure time due to technology.

Its never perfect, and frankly, it doesn't make these girls evil, or sluts, or whatever pejorative we can come up with to describe them.

[GraniteStateConservative]

I guess their vocabularies are bigger since they aren't edjookated in publik skools.

[Salman]

Any chance Jayson Blair contributed to this article? Do 14-year-old girls talk about coitus?

14 year old boys always did, but it was usually just talk.

Interesting how they've redefined "sloppy seconds".

[TaxRelief]

Did anyone see the show on TV last night bashing the Traveler's tradition of arranged marriages? Was it on CSI?

[ClearCase_guy]

I was once a 14-year old boy. If I had ever used the word "coitus" my friends would have beat me up for being a hopeless nerd.

[JmyBryan]

Cogent and pithy!

[Chancellor Palpatine]

The CSI that I saw 5 minutes of before crashing (I'm not well today, either, LOL) involved a meth lab blowing up.

[GraniteStateConservative]

We are mammals, and girls and boys during puberty have bodies and minds that react much the same way that other mammals' bodies and minds react during puberty. As you said, ages ago, teenagers acted as adults. Hell, look at the founding fathers. John Quincy Adams was serving as a secretary and translator to the first US ambassador to Russia at age 14.

[KantianBurke]

I never said they were evil or sluts. Quit putting words in my mouth. Besides my point was simply how sad it was that kids aren't allowed to have much innocence anymore be it due to TV, school or parental influence.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Thanks - the one thing that drives me nuts on this board is the tendency of people on here to treat 14 and 15 year olds like they're children - which they are not. They're inexperienced and don't have the maturity of judgment of adults. Because of that, they are subject to adult manipulation, which is why we should afford certain legal protection to them.

At the same time, ignoring the fact that their bodies are telling them certain things (and causing them in their immaturity to act on it from time to time) is a mindless pursuit, and what's even worse is deeming them slutty because of it.

People are people, with different hormones, drives, likes and dislikes, and scowling at a 14 year old who acts on it is ineffective.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

That "innocence" you talk about didn't really occur until the 20th century, was a man made construct, and was the end result of urbanization and technological progress.