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There's a young girl who goes to my church-like fourteen, maybe fifteen years old-who gets asked for blowjobs by total strangers at least once every school day. It's been going on for months, they've dragged the case up to the frigging superintendent of schools, but they can't stop it. Her parents are thinking of homeschooling her, because they're powerless to stop it. Part of the problem is just the typical difficulties of enforcing conduct among people who enjoy thwarting authority figures, but it's pretty disturbing that the students themselves tolerate this crap, and that any of them find it funny.
I saw this plenty of times back in high school myself. If a girl doesn't act flattered when guys treat her like a whore, she's considered a prudish little goody-two-shoes. Ignoring it comes across as tacit submission. Insults and putdowns will make the guy mad and therefore possibly dangerous if they succeed, and if they fail will be great entertainment for the guy and his creepy friends. Slaps to the face are even worse. Telling the teacher makes her a snotty ***** who can't take a joke. The deck is stacked entirely in the guy's favor here, which is probably why it's done in the first place. Sexual harassment is just bullying for grownups.
But why is the atmosphere in schools so misogynistic that this sort of thing happens frequently, and gets brushed off as part of growing up? Is this just the ideal woman as depicted in teen culture *coughbritneycough*, pretty, wide-eyed, and willing to act flustered and happy when jerkoffs treat her like a chattel? I usually have a hard time swallowing theories about bad societal influences, but the fact that emotional abuse gets regarded as the norm implies that such conduct has at least some support from...whatever is popular. I was never cool so I certainly don't know what's cool now.
I only know it's a relative novelty. Women might have been treated with obscene condescension prior to the feminist movement, but I'm pretty sure harassing them like this would have been utterly shameful back then. They swept rapes under the carpet, yes, but they also had corporal punishment in schools (which I'm inclined to approve of in this kind of situation, BTW. Give the little punks a taste of hickory to teach them civility, that's what I say..).
This was brought to mind by discussions in my abortion thread; do you think excessive teen pregnancy might have something to do with the widespread attitude that self-respect makes girls unpopular?
I saw this plenty of times back in high school myself. If a girl doesn't act flattered when guys treat her like a whore, she's considered a prudish little goody-two-shoes. Ignoring it comes across as tacit submission. Insults and putdowns will make the guy mad and therefore possibly dangerous if they succeed, and if they fail will be great entertainment for the guy and his creepy friends. Slaps to the face are even worse. Telling the teacher makes her a snotty ***** who can't take a joke. The deck is stacked entirely in the guy's favor here, which is probably why it's done in the first place. Sexual harassment is just bullying for grownups.
But why is the atmosphere in schools so misogynistic that this sort of thing happens frequently, and gets brushed off as part of growing up? Is this just the ideal woman as depicted in teen culture *coughbritneycough*, pretty, wide-eyed, and willing to act flustered and happy when jerkoffs treat her like a chattel? I usually have a hard time swallowing theories about bad societal influences, but the fact that emotional abuse gets regarded as the norm implies that such conduct has at least some support from...whatever is popular. I was never cool so I certainly don't know what's cool now.
I only know it's a relative novelty. Women might have been treated with obscene condescension prior to the feminist movement, but I'm pretty sure harassing them like this would have been utterly shameful back then. They swept rapes under the carpet, yes, but they also had corporal punishment in schools (which I'm inclined to approve of in this kind of situation, BTW. Give the little punks a taste of hickory to teach them civility, that's what I say..).
This was brought to mind by discussions in my abortion thread; do you think excessive teen pregnancy might have something to do with the widespread attitude that self-respect makes girls unpopular?
. It's just human nature I guess. I didn't have too much problem though. I quickly learned not to let people know when things bother you. I just bottle up all my anger and frustration and never release it. 
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