Z Buck McFate
Pepperidge Farm remembers.
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From: Teen Girls and Sex: “It’s like doing homeworkâ€
Here’s part of the abstract from the actual study. (I won’t post more than the abstract though- I only really ever worry about copyright infringement when a piece of writing includes an explicit request, and this one does.)
It doesn’t really surprise me. And I don’t know that I’d say there’s a “direct causal relationship between the academic discourse and girls’ sexual behavior†either- because I think the “teach kids what to think instead of teaching them how to think†in itself is a symptom of a bigger underlying cultural pathology.
But anyway…..thoughts?
In their article ‘“It’s Like Doing Homework†Academic Achievement Discourse in Adolescent Girls’ Fellatio Narratives’, April Burns, Valerie Futch and Deborah Tolman describe how young girls use norms surrounding academic achievement when making sense of their sexual behavior.
It seems that in cultures that have a dominant discourse of academic achievement, which “… frames the primary purpose of education in terms of the achievement of high grades and standardized test scores, rather than preparation for college, employment or civic participationâ€, girls can incorporate such values in other aspects of their lives as well, including their sexual behavior.
The authors found that girls tend to talk about engaging in sexual behavior such as oral sex, in a manner that resembles how they talk about doing homework and test-taking at school: it’s a job that needs to get done, that they need to practice to become good at, and that they expect to be evaluated for. Performance anxieties that girls may have about taking tests at school, including fears of failing and the need to perform (as) well (as others), may have entered girls’ sexual lives.
Girls’ narratives of their own sexual pleasure, a “positive†discourse of sexuality in relationship, or consequences of sexual behavior such as STIs, pregnancy or rape, were rare. Whereas the physical sexual satisfaction seemed to be of boys alone, girls’ satisfaction was the pleasure in a job done well, and correctly.
The authors do not imply a direct causal relationship between the academic discourse and girls’ sexual behavior. They also suggest that the planning, preparation, and practice of sexual behavior may be a way to gain mastery and to understand what can easily feel out of control. However, it is an interesting thought that it may not just be sex-education itself, but also what is being taught at school about the importance of achievement, that affects young girls’ sexual lives.
Burns, A., & Futch, V.A., & Tolman, D.L. (2011). “It’s Like Doing Homework†Academic Achievement Discourse in Adolescent Girls’ Fellatio Narratives Sexuality Research and Social Policy
Here’s part of the abstract from the actual study. (I won’t post more than the abstract though- I only really ever worry about copyright infringement when a piece of writing includes an explicit request, and this one does.)
Burns and Torre (Feminism & Psychology15(1):21– 26,2005) argue that an extreme and high stakes focus on individual academic achievement in schools impoverishes young minds through the “hollowing†of their sexualities. We present evidence that such influence also works in the opposite direction, with an achievement orientation invading girls’ discourses of sexuality, “crowding out†possible narratives of pleasure, choice, and mutuality with narratives of competence and skill usually associated with achievement and schooling. We conclude with policy implications for the future development of “positive†sexuality narratives.
It doesn’t really surprise me. And I don’t know that I’d say there’s a “direct causal relationship between the academic discourse and girls’ sexual behavior†either- because I think the “teach kids what to think instead of teaching them how to think†in itself is a symptom of a bigger underlying cultural pathology.
But anyway…..thoughts?