Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Girls Gone Mild Part II Review

Girls Gone Mild by Wendy Shalit is an informative book that advocates the return of modesty among today's women.

These few chapters of the book focus on the lack of emotions that girls are programed to adopt. Wendy talks about how the sexual liberation of women is really the demand for them to be emotionally repressed. Women are asked to feel nothing when there is a physical interaction between her and a man. According to the experts this enables them to engage in casual sexual activity without emotional consequences. The problem...this is impossible for this is not how we were made. Who benefits from this type of emotionless interaction? The man.

Wendy points out that girls today are unashamedly advised by mentors, media, and culture to have low expectations when it comes to a man's commitment to her after they've been intimate. Wendy concludes that low expectations means no expectations. Girls are told that the notion of a guy committing himself to her and her alone is a far fetched old fashioned idea. Romance goes out the window. So, according to our society, a women should have no expectations of love, but rather an ability to be used.

The empowered woman is not one who gives herself away freely, but the one who demands respect and commitment. Why does our culture have this reversed? I see this mindset seeping into the actions and perspectives of the girls in our youth group, and it breaks my heart. They are being programmed to give everything to everyone without expecting anything in return. How do we break this cycle?

1 comment:

Kelly Weinberg said...

Bethany, I appreciate your comments on this book you are reading. It is so true that there is no such thing as emotionless interaction when it comes physical interaction with a man!! It is so sad that our culture is trying to teach women that it is possible for them to be "involved" with a man and walk away untouched emotionally. The movies & media today are influencing women to lower their expectations when it comes to expecting a commitment from a man, and this is NOT how God intended it to be!! Even girls who have grown up in church are beginning to believe these lies!

This book you are reading sounds like it's a great eye-opener for those of us who are trying to reach out to women who are walking around with such a low expectation of commitment. Thanks for sharing. I am burdened to pray about this topic today.