Fraaaaaaaaaaaack! This sh@#! is scary! That’s the reaction I had when I read the following page of notes, posted on Leonie Dawson blog and taken from the “Raising Girls” seminar she attended.
Notes taken by Leonie Dawson at a Steve Biddulph lecture.
This is exactly why we need books that show honest teen relationships.
This is exactly why we shouldn’t shy away from complex (and often taboo) topics like sex in young adult books.
Teenage girls need to read about real characters, with real issues, and see that sex, their body, and how they look is not all that they are.
In the comments, please share a book that helped you (or someone you know) see yourself as MORE!
Source:
- Read all of Leonie Dawson’s notes here: Raising Girls – Parenting Wisdom from Steve Biddulph
Tags: Let's Talk About Sex, Writing YA
Glad you posted this, Ingird. The impact of the media is felt by girls quite young. I’m both a writer and a psychologist. In my travels as the latter, I took a course called The Triple Bind, which presented some very disturbing research. The problem with sex stereotypes has been known for some time, but what this researcher from a UC Berkeley professor showed, is that the problem has intensified, putting girls and young women at risk for mental illness. I intuited this in my practice, as I saw a marked shift in the kind of problems and negative statements my female clients were making. I think this sank into my unconscious and came out in my fantasy novel, WYNDANO’S CLOAK, the theme of which is believing in and finding power in what’s inside of you.
Here’s a link to my book: http://www.amazon.com/Wyndanos-Cloak-R-Silverberry-ebook/dp/B005CYYI6G/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
And here’s the link the Dr, Hinshaw’s book on the triple bind: http://www.amazon.com/Triple-Bind-Pressures-Conflicting-Expectations/dp/0345504003/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1441037726&sr=1-1&keywords=the+triple+bind
Best Wishes,
Peter Adler, PhD
Writing as A. R. Silverberry
Thanks for sharing, Peter!