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Re: Sex and Y.A. Lit: Books!
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From: Hannah Gómez <hannahgomez_at_gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 14:06:45 -0700
I've always liked the way Rachel Cohn deals with sex in her books. I'm still impressed with how she got away with her touching upon abortion in
*Gingerbread*, where the character mentions it just barely, and how there is a lot of trauma associated with it, but it's because Cyd Charisse felt her boyfriend wasn't emotionally supportive, not because she struggled with religious convictions, not because she got breast cancer from it (per that book someone else mentioned), and not because she felt that sex was evil and should never happen again. It's clear that Cyd Charisse has generally safe sex with her boyfriends and something unexpected happened, and she knew immediately what was the healthy, responsible choice for her to make, even though it was also difficult. I've never seen that in any other book. Some of Cohn's other books, too, like *Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist*
and *Very LeFreak*, also deal with how sex can be casual or complicated, how it can be unplanned but still meaningful, how it can happen in relationships or with new people, and there are no morals attached to it, neither by other characters nor the author herself. And, of course, it's extra nice that she writes from a girl's perspective and allows her girls to be empowered enough about sex not to have to think about sex as A Big Thing all the time.
Hannah Gómez, MA, MSLIS hannahgomez_at_gmail.com http://hannahgomez.wix.com/portfolio
(520) 481-8778
>
> On Thu, Mar 13, 2014 at 1:54 PM, Megan Schliesman <
> schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu> wrote:
>
>> I want to bring us back to our original topic: looking at portrayals
>> of--and responses too--sex and sexuality in young adult literature.
>>
>> * I'm curious how/if you 've seen the treatment of sex change in young
>> adult novels. I used the term "frankness" in my last post as something I
>> appreciate. Are there books you think have been especially effective at
>> acknowledging sexuality among young adults? Do you think portrayals of and
>> approaches to sex and reltionships have changed across the years?*
>>
>>
>>
>
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Received on Thu 13 Mar 2014 04:07:06 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 14:06:45 -0700
I've always liked the way Rachel Cohn deals with sex in her books. I'm still impressed with how she got away with her touching upon abortion in
*Gingerbread*, where the character mentions it just barely, and how there is a lot of trauma associated with it, but it's because Cyd Charisse felt her boyfriend wasn't emotionally supportive, not because she struggled with religious convictions, not because she got breast cancer from it (per that book someone else mentioned), and not because she felt that sex was evil and should never happen again. It's clear that Cyd Charisse has generally safe sex with her boyfriends and something unexpected happened, and she knew immediately what was the healthy, responsible choice for her to make, even though it was also difficult. I've never seen that in any other book. Some of Cohn's other books, too, like *Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist*
and *Very LeFreak*, also deal with how sex can be casual or complicated, how it can be unplanned but still meaningful, how it can happen in relationships or with new people, and there are no morals attached to it, neither by other characters nor the author herself. And, of course, it's extra nice that she writes from a girl's perspective and allows her girls to be empowered enough about sex not to have to think about sex as A Big Thing all the time.
Hannah Gómez, MA, MSLIS hannahgomez_at_gmail.com http://hannahgomez.wix.com/portfolio
(520) 481-8778
>
> On Thu, Mar 13, 2014 at 1:54 PM, Megan Schliesman <
> schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu> wrote:
>
>> I want to bring us back to our original topic: looking at portrayals
>> of--and responses too--sex and sexuality in young adult literature.
>>
>> * I'm curious how/if you 've seen the treatment of sex change in young
>> adult novels. I used the term "frankness" in my last post as something I
>> appreciate. Are there books you think have been especially effective at
>> acknowledging sexuality among young adults? Do you think portrayals of and
>> approaches to sex and reltionships have changed across the years?*
>>
>>
>>
>
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Received on Thu 13 Mar 2014 04:07:06 PM CDT
