Object Lessons by Deborah L. Tolman

I always get excited in this class when we study issues that are as ground-breaking as the subject matter of Tolman's piece.
I found Tolman's article to be perhaps one of the most profound of this class. I think she has happened upon some unexplored territory.
Female sexuality, in dominant American culture (and Western thought as a whole) is often seen as deviant and taboo which makes the issue controversial and virtually unspoken of.
Tolman explains in her article that the image of a "good girl" isn't in fact good. The idea of being good is accompanied by assumptions of asexuality, lack of desire, and need for romance. Thus, there is a blatant double standard. Men are seen as animalistic and sex-crazed and that is accepted as 'normal' male behavior in our patriarchal society. If man desires sexual pleasure he is refered to as a 'player' where as woman who desires sexual pleasure is called a "slut".

I enjoyed her interview of Isabel, especially taking into account Isabels being white and of middle class standing. Teenagers are of course consciously familiar with the idea that Raby called "the storm" or the explosion into adolescence and angst that young people experience. A huge aspect of the "the storm" is the experimentation and often the discovery of sex. Isabel was struggling to find her sexuality in the world and kept speaking about not being attracted to men and saying things like "I don't fantasize about having sex". I have to say that I think Tolman's perspective was a bit harsh on Isabel, essentially assuming that the girl hadn't been truely freed within herself sexually. I definitely believe that a prevailing vision of women as only objectified women is in fact internationalized by much women in the American population. But asexuality isn't a bad thing and is just as natural as being extremely sexual. Check out this site on asexuality, it is very imformative. Asexual

Isabel, amongst young girls in popular culture, isn't expected to masturbate or at least not discuss it publicly in the way men are allowed. Male masturbation is humorous right? There is every term in the world for it; beating your meat, flogging the dolphin, etc. Off hand I can't think of any terminology for female masturbation because NO ONE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT IT! I heard open conversation about it for the first time a performance of The Vagina Monologues when I saw it at RIC a few years back. No adults ever discussed it with me in high school.

I think this is an exceptional version of the 'good girl' and man, are her teeth white.