e-mail to a friend in need“She probably feels bad that it was her fault, so she took him back.”
Speaking of Carrie and Randy, I told you so.
From today’s New York Times:
Moreover, teenage girls can’t be expected to support Rihanna just because of her gender, youth culture experts say. They see themselves as sharing equal responsibility with boys. Parity, not sisterhood, is the name of the game.
During a presentation about dating violence [!!!] to ninth graders at Hostos-Lincoln Academy this week, one girl said, “If they hit you, smack them back. Both my parents say that to me.â€
When Danielle Shores, 17, a high school junior in Austin, Tex., heard about the fight, she thought: “Yeah, men hit women, and women hit men. It was blown out of proportion because they’re celebrities.â€
She sounded miffed. “My best friend got hit by her boyfriend, and I don’t see people making a big deal about it,†Ms. Shores said.
Good: girls see themselves and their peers as strong, expected to take care of themselves. Sad: that means hitting back — and shrugging it away* — rather than telling anyone who hits them to step the eff off.
What, if not this, is it gonna take? For the moment, I have no answers.
* At least outwardly. Wonder how many are trembling, or at least conflicted, inside.
