1 post tagged “judy blume”
I really should not have coffee. It keeps me up for hours. Like on Saturday, I met up with friends in Barista and had a mild milky cappuccino. But it was enough to keep all nerves fired up and I lay awake till 4 am.
To try and put myself to sleep, I decided to read a book I had borrowed from the library. It had a pink cover and a heart-shaped lock on it. Chick-lit, fluffy, light, and easy to put down. If only I had known.
The book I read was Forever by Judy Blume.
It is the story of a girl, Katherine who falls 'in love' with Micheal. The attraction is strong and they end up having sex. Thats when they decide they will be together 'forever'. However their 'forever' lasts only seven months or so. Katherine seems to follow the principle of 'out of sight, out of mind'. Within a week of being away from Micheal, she gets attracted to another guy and falls in 'love' with him.
I don't know why the book irritated the h*** out of me. I am not against pre-marital sex or pro-virginity or anything of that sort. But all throughout the book, the entire family practically persuades Katherine to have sex. But everyone right from the younger sister to the grandmother is interested in knowing whether Kath has had sex or not. "You went away on a weekend together and you are still a virgin?" Jamie, the younger sister, asks Kath. The grandmother sends a bunch of birth control pamphlets by mail. Kath wonders what her grandmother would feel if she knew Kath had taken an appointment with Planned Parenthood. 'She would be proud' muses Kath.
Why is there such an enormous pressure to 'lose it' before going to college? How is it that the parents encourage the girl to bring her boyfriends home instead of 'sitting in the car'? How is it that Katherine feels comfortable groping with her boyfriend as her parents sleep upstairs?
And finally, what is the point of this entire story? That its ok to be obsessed with sex at the age of 18? That it is essential to have sex and let your entire family know? That its ok to term infatuation as 'love' and move from one guy to another like changing t-shirts?
Reading such books at 3 am in the morning, not good for my mental health...
