Op-Ed Contributor
Sex and the Teenage Girl
By CAITLIN FLANAGAN
Published: January 13, 2008
The unfair truth of sexuality is this: female desire can bring with it a form of punishment no man can begin to imagine.
THE movie “Juno” is a fairy tale about a pregnant teenager who decides to have her baby, place it for adoption and then get on with her life. For the most part, the tone of the movie is comedic and jolly, but there is a moment when Juno tells her father about her condition, and he shakes his head in disappointment and says, “I thought you were the kind of girl who knew when to say when.”
Female viewers flinch when he says it, because his words lay bare the bitterly unfair truth of sexuality: female desire can bring with it a form of punishment no man can begin to imagine, and so it is one appetite women and girls must always regard with caution. Because Juno let her guard down and had a single sexual experience with a sweet, well-intentioned boy, she alone is left with this ordeal of sorrow and public shame.
In the movie, the moment passes. Juno finds a yuppie couple eager for a baby, and when the woman tries to entice her with the promise of an open adoption, the girl shakes her head adamantly: “Can’t we just kick it old school? ........................
Monday, January 14, 2008
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3 comments:
Thank you so much for this post. I don't know where I have been, to not ever heard of this movie before. Thanks again
Okay, am I the only one who is bothered by the fact that they keep refering to the adoption parents as the "yuppie" couple???? I know, I'm overly sensitive! ;o)
We should go watch this together! David would just laugh at me if I started crying! ;o)
I know. I balked at the "yuppie couple" also. Stereotypes- yeesh.
I'll go with you to the movie! I won't laugh, I'll share my box of Kleenexes with you.
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