Readings: "The Rosary Ladies"
"Mythology" "Capias" "The Last American Virgin"
Post a comment on these essays.
What is the role of religion and religious teachings in the adolescent years of a young girl? What does society expect of young women in terms of their emerging sexuality and the repetitive urging to remain a virgin until marriage? What is the difference between a "good girl" and a "bad girl"? What are some of the derogatory terms given to so-called "bad girls" who are sexually active?
- How are such issues as virginity, sex, motherhood, and fertility explored by the author both in her life and in the book?
- What is the significance of losing her virginity and becoming a “bad girl”?
- What role does religion play in the author’s life? What examples does the author provide?
WRITING: Work on your own "Queen of the Fall" style memoir.
Work on Sokol/Gannon entries-poetry, prose, or performance
Work on any unfinished work for the second marking period!
Ideas for writing from Discussion Guide from Writers and Books
Related Writing Projects
- Write about your own childhood or coming-of-age experience.
- Take a cultural reference from the book and write about your own relation to it. Examples include Madonna, Nancy Drew, Ally McBeal, Pop Tarts, Land O’Lakes butter, and Land of the Lost.
- When asked in school what she wants to do when she grows up, Livingston comes up with the dream career of “mythologist.” Thinking back, what did you “want to be” when you grew up? How have those goals been met (or not)?
- Write about a woman (famous or not) who has influenced you.
- Write a first-person (creative nonfiction) essay connecting an element of your own history or contemporary life or thought with an issue in a broader social context.
Memoir Writing Prompt by Sonja Livingston
As children and teens, most of us look to others (television or literary characters, popular classmates, artists, athletes, teachers, or rock stars) to help us better understand who we are and to imagine who we might become.
Queen of the Fall explores the various icons one girl considered on her path to becoming a woman, including Susan B. Anthony, 1980s Madonna, the Virgin Mary, the maiden on the Land O’ Lakes butter box, and many more.
Who did you look to? Who did you admire and why? What did they represent and what does that say about the woman or man you have become? Write a brief creative essay inspired by one of your childhood icons.
For added power, try writing in present tense so that we feel like we’re standing beside you as you describe the summer you plastered your bedroom with posters of Leif Garrett or got a nose ring and a used guitar and tried your best to mimic Ani DiFranco, the season you wanted to be Roberto Clemente or one of the Partridge kids, the time in 4th grade you lost yourself in Nancy Drew mysteries, or the way you spent most of your childhood envying your cousin Gina with the perfect hair.
HMWK: Read to pg. 70 in "Queen of the Fall"
The idea of the way that a young women should live their life is a very sensitive category I believe. It is the complete opposite to the way that young men are "supposed" to live their lives. Me being a young men I'm not pressure in the same way as a young women is. Keeping our virginity is seen as like a lose of respect to other guys because guys are expected to like lose their at a more earlier age than what women are. This belief actually adds pressure to young women because if a guy is getting picked on by his friends because he is the only virgin out of the group or whatever the cause may be it could led him to pressuring the girl they is in a relationship with to have sex even if she isn't fully ready to do so. I think its just the way that society has been decided hundreds of years ago with the idea of women being second class citizens to men is what started the trends and the beliefs that is still being held on to today. That goes for homosexuality as well, I just think that society has double standards about the way that a girl should live their life and how a guy should live his which isn't completely fair but that just how society is.
ReplyDeleteNone of the expectations for girls and women surprised me very much as there are clear rules and expectations that both sexes are held to in our society. They are often hypocritical rules that benefit one side and not the other and they rarely make sense. In a perfect world everyone would be allowed to love who they pleased when they pleased(within reason of course) and their wouldn't be judgement. But the sad fact of the matter is , we as humans live in societies built and structured around certain criteria and the systems are very hard to change. That is not to say that things can't be changed, but moving people's preconceived notions of what is "ok" sexually is a long and hard process. No pun intended.
ReplyDelete-Cameron Bennett
In the adolescent years of young girls, religious teachings are used as expectations or goals. They're taught to follow rules on how to live their lives and how to keep the purity of that is virginity. History shows that females, especially young ones, are looked down upon and sometimes punished. Society expects them to stay commented to a god or a husband by keeping their sexuality hidden and kept in a safe until marriage. A "good girl" is considered to be someone who cherishes their innocence while a "bad girl" is someone who doesn't care and sleeps around. So-called "bad girls" are usually called names like slut, whore, tramp, or loose. I enjoy how "Queen of The Fall" touches base on different subjects for females.
ReplyDeleteAs a female I have somewhat similarities of the events that take part in the book. I am not catholic nor have I even ben to a catholic school so that type of environment would be dramatically life changing praying back to back day after growing up as a girl in this world some parents should and sometimes do have the same expectations of their daughters regardless of their beliefs. Growing up and going through hormonal changes does make your parents aware and more strict on you because they are to cautious of you losing your virginity or being involved with a boy that may lead to sexual activities. The pressure us ladies go through is unbearable at times. The conversations young boys say about us young ladies who have sex to earlier degrades us. The pressure of taking it to far with someone when we know our parents wouldn't allow it and would make us suffer the consequences or repercussions. Sometimes we have a slight change in our behavior to the point where a mother would be able to notice without you even saying anything. I believe the standards us women are given should go the same for the men as well.
ReplyDeleteUs females have a different life than males. I could take into similarities in the book. I am not catholic or even been to a catholic school but their environment in a catholic school can take over in your life. Ladies can go threw a series of serious events in their life and a male can go threw nothing. women sometime have to suffer a outcome that males don't need to. Women can change their behavior or even change there life ways as a male doesn't need to feel the need to do anything. men and women should have the equal responsibilities and level of respect as men.
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ReplyDeleteBeing a young female in this day and age having sex isn't something that the more frequent it happens the more popular that girl becomes, its the opposite. She becomes shunned and ridiculed because her tainted body. Where as boys the saying "the more the merrier" applies. we are celebrated and look up to based on the features of the female that male chooses to have sex with. And the prettier she is the more respect he will gain.
ReplyDeleteIn society today women and girls are extremely overly sexualized. Whether it is about what type of clothes they choose to wear, or any other insignificant reason, girls are judged. Often times, if a woman or girl is comfortable and confident in herself she is seen as full of herself. Likewise, is she chooses to dress in a ‘revealing’ manner she is seen as a ‘slut’ or a ‘whore’. It boggles my mind that in order for a woman to be respected in society, she needs to be modest whereas a male only gains respect if he is a ‘whore’. Teenage girls are urged to stay virgins and contrastingly, boys are pressured to lose their virginities and have sex with as many people as possible. This double standard has existed for a while, it’s almost colonial, and yet we still expect this of women. One thing I notice in our time in particular, is the ‘exposing’ of girls. This usually occurs on social media and it is when a girls nude photos are leaked by a boy, typically an ex. When this happens, the girls are scrutinized and shunned and it shocks me that the boys don’t receive anything. In fact, the boys are glorified for doing this and ‘exposing’ her. This is just another example of how society shuns girls for ‘owning’ their sexuality and trusting someone, and also how boys are never to blame.
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ReplyDeleteGirls who are catholic are suppose to be faithful to their religion. Also you are not suppose to lose your virginity. What I realize in the book is that females and males are different. Females go through way more than what males go through. However we have similarities to. Every gender goes through hormonal changes and puberty, but the earlier you have sex the more society and church people look at you as if you are not pure. Woman and men deserve the same equal point of view people look at men to look at woman.
ReplyDeleteGirls who are catholic are suppose to be faithful to their religion. Also you are not suppose to lose your virginity. What I realize in the book is that females and males are different. Females go through way more than what males go through. However we have similarities to. Every gender goes through hormonal changes and puberty, but the earlier you have sex the more society and church people look at you as if you are not pure. Woman and men deserve the same equal point of view people look at men to look at woman.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to this although I'm not a Catholic, there was still expectations, like other females, to take care of children, look pretty and to be this " good girl." As women reach puberty, parents place harder restrictions due to them being more worried of girls hanging out with boys that may lead to sexual activities. Young girls will be looked down upon by society if they have sex too early. I believe that double standard of women having more rules towards how to live but boys not having that big of an expectation is unjust.
ReplyDeleteWomen have it worse than men. Men get praised for having a body count, having sex. But when women do it, it is frowned upon and they get slut shamed. Women get judged for everything BUT men also gets judged too. Men can also be victims of r*pe, and assault, but some of it goes unreported because we judge men who are abused so differently than women who are abused. They’re called wimps and losers, but in reality, they are just victims. (If that makes sense :/) It’s really weird how double standards work out. Each gender is suppressed by the other because of society’s standards. Hopefully society will change this soon.
ReplyDeleteReligious beliefs and social expectations often go hand in hand with how girls feel to act sexually and romantically. Virginity is something to be proud of, but also, usually in high school, something you want to be rid of. Girls are being pushed and pulled between two different sets of rules. And the nicknames for each are disgusting and damaging to a girl's self-esteem and self-respect. They grow up with the heavy weight of expected purity and expected attractiveness and sexiness pushing down on their shoulders and adding pressure to what should be their own personal, uninfluenced decisions. Good girls, negatively, can be called "prudes," "old maid" and "tease." Words for girls who have made more mature sexual choices are "slut," "whore," "tramp," or "ho." As a female, I feel these pressures, not even from growing up in a religious or restrictive environment.
ReplyDeleteThe role of religion and religious teachings in the adolescent years of a young girl is that they’re expected to follow the rules that they are given also there is a goal behind every rule that they are taught. Young women are expected to not lose their virginity at a young age as it is classified as a “sin” to many religions. In today’s society, young adolescents and women are viewed weak and lower than men are. They are viewed worthless at work and treated differently than men also they are paid less just because they are women. The difference between a “good girl” and a “bad girl” is that a good girl is a young adolescent who still has kept her virginity as a bad girl is viewed as someone who has lost her virginity and can be classified as a sinner. There is many derogatory terms that are given to “bad girls” who are sexually active that may offend such as “whore”, “slut”, “thot” and lastly “hoe”. Most of these terms may not even be true as you may never know if they are getting rushed into having sex by their boyfriend and wasn’t fully ready which is happening to most teen relationships. The fact that men get praised for having many “body count” or even “exposing her” and mostly for taking her virginity. Being a female in today’s society can be hard because we are all expected to live up to standards as we are also viewed differently than men and our voices don’t really matter.
ReplyDeleteBeing a Christian girl, I can relate to the life of the catholic girls. However, the whole sector of the religion isn't as strict as the Catholic portion. I also feel like the derogatory terms that people throw around like they have no meaning should be considered and disscussed. Some of these offensive terms can really hurt someone such as slut, whore, loop, and- even more currently used- thot. Also, these words are often used based on a misconception that people make about the people around them. Virginity is something sacred, and you will be looked down upon is you lose it too early. That is the case, even if you are in love with your partner.
ReplyDeleteIn the book the religious teachings were used as like rules or guidelines for young women. As far as virginity and sex, young women were expected not to participate in any of those things until they were married. A “good girl” was pure and if you were pure you had not yet explored you sexuality. A “bad girl” is a girl that is loose with it and doesn’t care about sleeping with multiple people. The subject is very sexist because boys are actually expected to lose their virginity at a young age but if a girl does is, she gets called names and talked about in a negative way but it takes a boy and a girl to do it. it’s how it was a long time ago and it is just the way it is now in society today. As far as Catholicism goes I don’t think it will ever change just because girls are expected to live by their religious guidelines but hopefully boys and girls will be seen as equal.
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