A Very Brief Tale of a Most Unfortunate Fate

Genevieve Smith

 

The Wallstadt Boarding House was the greatest excuse of a shack that had ever marred the reputable art of architecture. An eyesore upon conception, and now an utter monolith of artless procrastination, the building huddled itself at the edges of Pointe Abbaye. Its continued tenacity to remain upright and general will to live were as improbable as its placement at the uncanny crossroad of Third Street and Third Avenue (an intersection which flummoxed generations of postal workers to no end). The building’s two stories were clearly abandoned in their rough draft form, and a well-rusted fire escape haphazardly cleaved to the exterior, connecting the two levels like the big sorts of cracks which sidle their way across antiquated china dishes (although the building was more the color of neglected pewter plates and had the insidious air to match).

In fact, the whole building looked as if it might have been dropped from a great height and then kicked an equal distance, although, this theory was quickly discounted, as Caelia reasoned that such a structure could only have arrived in a single direction – an ascent from Hell, that is – and further reasoned that even a mediocre kick was all the place needed to fall back into its constituent building supplies and make a Pompeii-style lumber yard right there on its fateful corner.

The sight was enough to call for a fresh cigarette. Caelia produced her pack of Lucky Strikes from her coat pocket and checked the address she’d scrawled on the side before she left home. Correction: before she left for home. Yes, this was indeed 3174 Third Avenue. This was certainly Pointe Abbaye, most assuredly New Jersey, indisputably America, most definitely Earth, and she was positively overdressed in a red wool coat and fine leather luggage. She had been allotted only a single bag, although, with H.J. Cave & Sons stamped to the exterior, even a humble handbag would be considered an extravagance in the present situation. She was not certain, however, at what point her luck had been left out to rot in the suns of fate.

This was the scene in the novel where the heroine would mutter to herself some husky sort of utterance, something darkly funny to cement the situation as a major turn of events yet reflect her inner gumption which would triumph over all that impedes her precarious path. The letter she’d received last night informed her that she was to board the train to Pointe Abbaye in order to meet her biological father. Wallstadt, apparently, was the dwelling of such an anonymous fellow. When Caelia opened her mouth to greet this plot twist however, all she could do was exhale an: “Oh, heavens.”

And just as the words left her mouth, ephemeral offerings into the descending twilight, a voice strangled the silence beside her.

“Paradise is just the word for it.”

She startled, dropping her cigarette and modifying her previous statement to an “oh, hell” as a man turned to face her.

“Need a light?” he asked.

“No, but perhaps a knife. Who are you?”

He took a step closer and slipped his gangly arm about her waist like an over-starched sash. “Don’t mind that ‘w’ there on the sign. I know it looks like it should be said Wall-Stat, but in actuality it really is Vallstadt with a ‘v’. Probably French or somethin’. They’re always spelling their words real funny.” His voice cascaded down the evening like a smooth swig of southern bourbon and drawled and twanged like the music of a banjo player who couldn’t tune the D strings quite right. “Only place in town where you can have a family of eight living for just a sawbuck every month.”

“And you are?” Caelia turned out of his arm, fairly certain it was a dance move she’d seen back at the Cotton Club when she and Charles had snuck out of the house that time Dad was off on business in London, Paris, or some other postcard-worthy place. After catching the two of them roller skating in the marble lobby, the cantankerous Franz had reprimanded them and told them to go chase themselves, and they did, all the way to the city in the new Cadillac to see Cab Calloway perform. She had worn a red silk dress and she remembered the way the glitter ball had reflected each ambient light from the outskirts of the room and made the whole club glow by the light of a thousand manmade fireflies.

“ ‘Sorry for being so forward there, ma’am,” the man removed his flat cap – a grand sweep whose effect only partially compensated the grime of the hat – and placed it over his heart as if he were introducing the one and only McKinney’s Cotton Pickers to the bandstand. “The name’s Thackeray James. Thackeray James, aged 20 years of Pointe Abbaye, New Jersey. Saw you standing here on yonder corner and that pretty smile of yours made me clear forget my head.”

“I can assure you, Strange Man of Uncomfortable Proximity,” Caelia said, maintaining a set distance from him as if he were a magnet of opposing force each time he encroached. “I was not smiling.” She shifted her suitcase to another hand. “And I must say, you’re the most southern New Englander I’ve ever met.”

“Naw, ma’am,” he said. “That’s what you’d call my affectation, you see. Makes me more refined and what’s the word…” He looked skyward for a moment as he took inventory of his lean-to of a vocabulary and thoughtfully stroked the stubble which made his chin look like a prickly pear cactus which never saw sunlight. He snapped his fingers. “Debonair! Real debonair. Anyways…” he continued, his intrepidness in the face of his own ridiculousness almost a tad inspiring. Like Edison and the lightbulb, if, of course, Edison had used his creative genius for generally creepy purposes. “I find that ladies take awful kindly to a southern gentleman – nearly swoon once I put my arm about their waist, whisper somethin’ ‘bout Atlanta and say that they’re prettier than magnolias in June. But, between you and me,” he leaned in. “It’s as real as you’d like it to be.”

“Well, Thack, I’m afraid my shoes have no tread for oil so refined.” By this point she’d taken a fresh cigarette and, blowing out the eager light offered by her companion, struck a match with one-handed finesse on its own box and taken a leisurely drag.

“Where are you from?” the staunch, self-appointed companion inquired.

“I’m from Carlton.” The smoky exhalation drifted forth from her lips and slowly danced itself to nothingness in partnership with the twilight.

“New Jersey?”

“Nope, Old Jersey. From the bottom of America’s hamper.” Any man who used an accent as a wingman and blew his own ruse couldn’t be too dangerous, she concluded. Not to mention, it was fairly indeterminable whether walking through the ominous door across the street and actually pursuing her destiny would be preferable to the possibility getting bumped off by a stranger on a street corner.

“That’s a pretty ritzy neighborhood, ain’t it?”

“Hmm?”

“Where you’re from.” He stooped to the ground and picked up a cigar butt from the gutter and lit it.

“Well…we have no Wallstadt boarding house, but…”

Carlton was a ritzy neighborhood, though on the surface it almost looked like a collection of movie stars got it into their heads one gin-fueled extravaganza to remodel a farming town into a patchwork of fields and neoclassical mansions. Carlton lacked the glitz and glamor of such places as Tinsel Town, but compensated for the lack in unprecedented opulence. It was a town comprised of upper-crusted misanthropes: top businessman (the few who somehow finagled themselves into success despite the present economic conditions), heirs and heiresses, two authors, and the east coast’s most beloved bootlegger, Phineas Francis Wayelin, or, as he was more fondly referred to, “Gin Phin,” and, more recently, “The Late Gin Phin.”

“How old are you?”

“I’m about four months short of turning 18.” Thackeray turned his eyes skyward and was overcome with a thoughtful look. “Save yourself the mental math,” Caelia said, as soon as fingers were employed in his figuring. “I’m 17.”

“You sure don’t act like you’re only just 17 years old.”

“Yes, well, I was raised to act older.”

“What brings you my way?”

“Bad luck, I’m afraid.”

Bad luck. Mourning. Incomplete legal documents. A shrewd stepbrother for whom jurisprudence was a cardinal virtue and whose flaming red hair seemed to be a true, outward manifestation of conflagratory temper.

“Ahh…know it well myself. You runnin’ away or somethin’?”

“No…I’m coming home.”

“So you had run away?”

“I’m returning to a place I never left.”

“I was going to say – I’m certain I’d never let a pretty face such as yours slip by without my discriminatin’ eye takin’ notice.” He stopped to ponder what she’d said. “You talk like a poem, you know that?”

“Thanks. You have your own brand of verse yourself –”

At this he removed his hat once more and bowed. “I’m mightily obliged.”

Perverse, but, anyways. If you’ll now excuse me,” she picked up her suitcase from where she’d deposited it upon the sidewalk somewhere amid their pointless conversation. It was a ponderous beast and an unpleasant compliment to her arm, which was less than sparsely muscled. “I’m obliged to meet my biological patriarch for the first time. It promises to be a momentous event, and I, the prodigal daughter, really shouldn’t be late. Goodbye, Thackery, and best of luck with the accent. Don’t take any wooden nickels.”

She tipped the brim of her cloche and promptly walked into the deserted street towards her destination. She had no sooner stepped from the curb when Thackeray was back, saying nothing this time, just bobbing along beside her.

“Sir, you’re making me long for my whistle.”

“I’m just goin’ home!” he defended himself.

She stopped and turned to him, thinking for a moment what a lovely movie poster that scene would make – the two characters standing there, the middle of the street, one whose glad rags appeared to be sourced from an actual rag bag, the other cloaked in red cashmere. The only stars in eyes that would take place, however, would be if she clocked him one right in the mandible, which not an altogether repulsive thought.

You live at Wallstadt?”

“Yes ma’am. That’s what I meant when I said earlier about the family of eight and the–”

“Oh,” Caelia muttered impatiently and continued on, no longer walking, but soldiering forth like a one-manned Light Brigade.

“You and me, we’re neighbors!”

“Wonderful. I’ll pass my Christmas fruitcakes on to you, then.”

“Your who?” the sound of leather-worn-to-parchment boots drummed the pavement beside her.

“If you wish to talk with me you’ll have to walk with me.”

“You said that you were gonna meet someone.”

“Yes, that’s why I’m here. I’m meeting my father.” At this point, she was no longer stopping to chat. She simply kept her route, leaving him to dodge around her like a great minnow.

“How –?”

“Yes, it’s quite a little three volume novel. You see, I was orphaned when I was a baby, adopted at the age of seven and a half months, was subsequently orphaned once again when my adoptive father died, only to find out that I did in fact have a biological relative by the title of father who was living a contented little life here in Pointe Abbaye.”

“Say, wait a minute,” he stopped in front of her, obstructing her path and putting his hands on his shoulders. “You said you were from Carlton, right?”

“Now you’re on the trolley, ‘ole boy.”

“Well, I’ll be dammed as the Colorado River!” he threw his hat on the ground with triumphant enthusiasm and threw his arms out as if he were employing himself as a large-scale visual aid to inform a class of sixth graders of the phenomenon of obtuse angles. “You’re just the person we’ve been waitin’ for!”

Considering this man as the courier of such news, there was a certain ominousness to his message despite his outward display of enthusiasm.

“How do you mean?”

“I mean that I’m Thackeray James Ludwin. I’m the son of Hank Ludwin!”

Hank Ludwin. Yes, that was his name alright, a name which left little room for forgetting – a name which sounded like it could fix a squeaky door hinge and fasten a bolt without the aid of a wrench.

“That means that –” she stammered, as she not often did. “You’re –”

“Your brother. Once removed but now back in your life! Just forget all that stuff I said earlier, ‘bout you bein’ so pretty and all of that.” He slapped her on the back, giving her a sudden infusion of brotherly love. “Welcome home, sis!”

And suddenly, tarnished reality reached out and snuffed the light at the end of the tunnel – a light which had been slowly waning as soon as she left the Wayelin estate that morning, ever since the train had left early and she’d arrived late, and as soon as she’d set foot into this town which was for all intents and purposes, every shade of drawing pencil. Charles was in England, and as Thackeray continued to speak, she was suddenly aware of how very alone she was in this pinprick on a map.

“May I take your bag?” he asked. She was sure he’d said something in between, but her mind had been a vagabond of memories and had missed every word he said.

“Sure,” she handed it out to him, only minimally amused when he nearly dropped the parcel at its unexpected weight.

“What’d you stuff this thing with, bricks?”

The two walked on, in tempo this time, Caelia no longer assuming the role of maestro.

“No, she said. “Books.”

“Books!?”

“Yes, I presume you’re familiar with the medium.”

They were at the stoop of the boarding house now, and Thackeray stooped himself to place the recycled cigar back on the ground and open up her case.

“Holy Toledo, there, Caelia – you weren’t kiddin’!”

Inside, as meticulously stacked as a jigsaw puzzle was every book that had ever left its mark on Caelia. “These things are old too.”

“All first editions. I conducted a minor raid on the library before my departure, making use of the sudden leather ration which was imposed and thoroughly filling the one suitcase I was granted.”

Thackeray snapped the bag back together pulled ahead as they made their ascent. “Like I said,” he continued as he opened the door for her with all the combined gusto and dignity of a Maxim’s doorman. “Only place in town where you can have a family of nine living for just a sawbuck every month.”

November’s Storms

Taylor Worsham

 

–a dedication to the SS Edmund Fitzgerald

 

When the night falls, I stroll along
the banks of Lake Superior
on the tenth of November.

Waves crash to the shore, made so Superior could
write stories she’s created into the sand, but
nobody knows how to read them.

The gale caresses my ears with whispers
of those who are lost, twenty-nine souls
eternally ringing the bell.

The nineteenth hour strikes and it’s deafening:
the harmony of water sloshing in the lungs and
voices pleading for help bounces off the pines.

These haunting melodies keep Fitzgerald’s legacy
washing up onto the sand. Superior forever keeps
the souls reined and wanting, never giving

up her dead.

Innocence Lost: The Sexualization of Minors

Nicole Arkens

 

In today’s technology-based world, with countless advertisements and media platforms, it does not take long for one to find an example of the sexualization of minors. While sexualization has many implications and a broad meaning, throughout this paper it shall be defined as “the imposition of adult sexuality on to children and young people before they are capable of dealing with it, mentally, emotionally, or physically” (Papadopoulos, 2010, p. 23). TV shows like Toddlers and Tiaras popularize the sexualization of minors and normalize behaviors considered intolerable in the past. This problem, coined the “Lolita Effect,” has been an issue for many years but has become increasingly evident with today’s media and technology (Durham, 2008). The growing popularity of such technology and social media platforms is prevalent in children and adolescents, so it can be inferred that they are increasingly being exposed to the sexualization and objectification of other minors.

Sexualization and objectification have been found to negatively impact and affect children in various ways. Objectification is quite related to sexualization; for the purpose of this paper, it shall refer to being “made into a thing for others’ sexual use, rather than seen as a person” (American Psychological Association [APA], 2007a, p. 1). Objectification has various impacts. One such result is body surveillance, or the “constant monitoring of personal appearance,” which leads to several mental health issues (Papadopoulos, 2010, p. 28). Yet another consequence of sexualizing minors is age compression. Age compression, or “marketing products meant for an older audience towards a younger crowd,” is also featured across advertisements and various media, as well as products being sold to all ages (APA, 2007b, p. 5).

No responsible person wants our society to follow a path that leads to increased extreme sexualization or an increase in sexual violence. It is imperative to stop the damage sexualization has on our children and society. The advertising world and every media outlet needs to immediately halt the emphasis of non-existent sexual features of children. Many contributions
may be unintentional; therefore education is the only way to learn how to prevent this. Any individual concerned with the well-being of children should be interested in this study’s efforts, as its findings heavily influence children and their psychological, mental, and physical development. By growing aware of, and developing an understanding of, the sexualization and objectification of minors, society as a whole can mitigate the impacts these influences have on
children and their development.

Due to today’s technology, marketing techniques, and culture, the ongoing battle to preserve our children’s innocence against the constant standards set and examples of sexualization they are exposed to should have a greater concern. Minors’ exposure to sexualization, and the negative impacts that result, are increasing. The issue of the sexualization of minors did not just begin; history and societal acceptance has led to the current climate in which young people find themselves. With modern technology and media outlets, children’s exposure to the sexualization of minors, and sexual content in  general, has increased. Sexualization has had detrimental effects on children, ranging from psychological to physical. Not only significant to young girls, men and women of all ages and society as a whole are also affected by these phenomena. Society’s current culture markets sexualized products, such as clothing, to younger and younger customers. These minors want to look more mature to gain power, yet older customers seek to extend youth to maintain attractiveness. This age compression results in blurred age groups; young girls are seen and forced to accept themselves as sexual objects. Another attributing factor to this issue is the advancements in technology and technology’s continuous growth in popularity. As a result, children are exposed to sexualization for which they are not developmentally prepared. This exposure can lead to negative impacts on their development and relationships. Due to these consequences, society should change the current trend with proactive actions. Our culture, current technology, advertising and marketing techniques, and society can all be attributed with this issue. However, by engaging in any of the solutions outlined in several of my sources, the negative impacts of sexualization on children can be minimized.

Technology in media and advertising has shown an increase of sexualized content in general, and especially in children. However, the issue of sexualization of minors has a long history of societal acceptance. Research indicates how the culture evolved into what it has become today. Advertising and marketing researchers have studied sex in these fields since the 1960s. The depiction of sexualized girls was found to increase significantly over time, where girls often appear with sexualized adult women and are posed seductively or in matching clothing.

This age compression is driven by the evolving fashion industry and young girls’ desire to gain power and move up the age prestige ladder. This is not new; more than three decades ago, Unger argued that physical beauty can translate into power for girls. It could be argued that the “final frontier in the fashion world” is the sexualization of children due to younger audiences
yearning for the power promised through sexualization, objectification, and age compression (Cook & Kaiser, 2004, p. 207).

Brumberg’s 1997 study on girls’ diaries revealed a change in girls’ perceptions and goals regarding self-improvement. In earlier eras, young women focused on the improvement of their studies and etiquette. In the last 20 years, girls almost exclusively described changes to their bodies and the enhancement of their physical appearance as the focus of their self-improvement (APA, 2007a, p. 17). This echoes the increase of women viewing themselves as sexual objects, with their main goal of being desirable to men and to sexualize and objectify themselves. With today’s technology, media outlets, and other influences, children have been increasingly exposed to sexual content. Unfortunately, this content includes the sexualization of minors. Children and adolescents spend more time with entertainment media than they do with any other activity, except school and sleeping (APA, 2007a, p. 3). Technological advances also lead to sexualization that had not existed in earlier years. Sexting, social media profiles, online dating, and communication apps are all evidence to this evolution.

Sexual comments and jokes are more prevalent in modern movies and TV shows than those of the past. It is now more likely to see women sexually assaulted, exposed to violence, or used and seen as a sexual object. In addition, over the past thirty years, the sexualization of minors has also shown a significant increase (Papadopoulos, 2010, p. 7). Even in areas of our culture with seemingly no relation to sex, trends have indicated increases in sexualization and objectification. A prevalent example of this would be in the world of sports and athletic competitions. Female athletes should be given the freedom to focus on their sports and nonsexual goals, rather than worry about how their bodies are perceived and if they look desirable.

Areas that were once held innocent by society have now evolved into yet another threat for sexualization to pervade children’s lives. Corruption of characters from our past and the creation of new characters have shown that nothing is safe from sexualization. “Disney female characters today have more cleavage, fewer clothes, and are depicted as “sexier” than those of yesteryear” (APA, 2007a, p. 7). Classics like Cinderella are now depicted in lingerie online. Children’s toys and cartoons have become more sexualized. An example is the evolution from vintage dolls, to Barbie dolls, to Bratz. Dolls are no longer toys, but rather are tools for the progression of sexualization to influence our children. Halloween costumes are no longer cute or scary, but have evolved into provocative outfits that emphasize physical attributes and nonexistent sexual features. The association of sexuality in all aspects has slowly left society with the impression that it is acceptable to impose sexualization onto children by bringing “attention to sexual features they do not yet have” (Papadopoulos, 2010, p. 7).

With today’s marketing techniques of sexualized products to younger and younger customers, the problem of age compression arises. By selling young children products, such as risqué Halloween costumes, lingerie, and heels, it becomes easier to view them as sexual objects. Children, especially adolescent girls, are eager to dress like an older age group to attempt to appear more mature. For example, cosmetics have been marketed to younger audiences as the years go by. Companies advertise makeup, perfumes, and personal hygiene products, along with fashion, to their anticipated market base of preteens and teens (APA, 2007a, p. 1).

With these sexualized products now available, sex is often used as a rite of passage for minors. Teen artists exploit their sexuality to establish a more mature “edgier” version of their former selves as they become adult musicians. These transformations, like Miley Cyrus, drive home the point that being a sexual object is the way to be perceived as mature and successful in the music industry. This belief also translates across different aspects in life, such as workplace and education. Parents find it difficult to stop their children from the desire to undergo their own transformations to transition into adulthood through sexualized products (Bragg, Buckingham, Russell, & Willett, 2011, p. 284).

At the same time, adults struggle to maintain youthful appearances. This age compression results in blurred age groups, and it grows more difficult each year to determine an individual’s age. Young children are seen and led to accept themselves as sexual objects. By viewing themselves as merely things for others’ pleasure, this age compression can lower children’s self-worth. Accomplishing this phenomenon is not a difficult task, as sexualized clothing and other products are now marketed to younger patrons. Some products that were once meant for an adult-only audience are now worn proudly by minors. Once considered unthinkable, it is no longer unusual for minors to dress in sexualized clothing.

As explained by Cook and Kaiser (2004), young girls are eager to buy these sexualized clothes to obtain the more mature look featured in advertisements and go up the “age prestige ladder” (p. 206). Young girls want to look more mature since they see this portrayed as an idealized value with premature sexualization in the media. At the same time, older women want to maintain a youthful appearance. This results in an indistinguishable line between women and girls. In ‘barely legal’ advertisements, one may find it hard to believe that the girls featured are above eighteen. Children are now often viewed as sexual objects even when the minors are not subjected to sexualization or objectification. When such trends permeate society, these younger viewers are led to accept the sexualization and objectification as evidenced across the media and products marketed. As stipulated by Renold and Ringrose (2011), girls are taught they are merely sexual objects meant for others’ pleasure, and this will negatively impact their mental health (p. 403). Children need to realize they have more worth than as eye candy next to a car or other products in advertisements. This was echoed in all of the research. For example, Coy and Garner (2010) discussed the impacts of sexualization and objectification used as a tool in today’s culture for women to gain prestige, power, and money (p. 659). Women view themselves as sexual objects, ignoring their value as human beings and contributors to society, in order to achieve their goals, with the methods encouraged through sexualization, objectifications, age
compression, and similar phenomena.

Sexualization should not be a means to obtain power, and girls should not fear social rejection due to a lack of self-sexualization. Just at the time when girls begin to construct identity, they are more likely to suffer losses in self-esteem. The double-sided sword of sexualization in media and the comparison to sexualized women makes girls dissatisfied with their own bodies. So while girls who objectify their bodies more have much lower self-esteem, they are also more vulnerable to the cultural messages that promise them popularity, effectiveness, and social acceptance through the right “sexy” look. Girls want the clothes that promote sexiness and desirability, so it is difficult to convince them to make less sexualizing choices. These young females sexualize themselves through consumer culture through choices on how to behave and whom to become based on media’s influences (APA, 2007a, p. 17). Again, they have the goal to obtain power and rise on the age prestige ladder.

As defined earlier, sexualization, objectification, and age compression are all phenomena that significantly influence children. It is true that children are like sponges, and they are impacted by the sexualization of minors. Being highly susceptible to these societal messages during vital developmental stages can mean a decrease in children’s mental health. As La Nauze and Rush (2006) put it, “children are – ill-equipped to deal with sexualizing pressure” (p. 35). Negative psychological impacts that result from sexualization include body dissatisfaction, poor self-esteem, depression, shame, anxiety, body surveillance, and diminished sexual health. Each helps uncover just how deeply children are hurt (APA, 2007b, p. 3). Not knowing exactly when or how one’s body will be looked at and evaluated creates anxiety about exposure; it requires regular body monitoring and a kind of chronic vigilance about whether everything is in place. Due to objectification and sexualization, consciousness can become fragmented and thought processes can become less organized because fewer resources are made available for other activities over the body surveillance that results. For children, this results in poor academic performances and inhibited abilities. Being exposed to sexualization is too much for a child to bear, and it causes overwhelming feelings that must be defended against. These defenses explain self-sexualization and risqué sexual behavior, which can lead to re-traumatization.

Interpersonal relationships and developmental processes also battle with additional hindrances due to the sexualization of minors. How young girls conceptualize femininity and sexuality is heavily impacted by the sexualization prevalent everywhere. Sexualization also complicates adolescents’ task to develop a healthy sexual identity. The societal pressures that result from sexualization, objectification, and age compression cause girls to grow up too quickly today (English, 2005). Children’s mental health should not suffer due to these cultural phenomena. Children should be granted the right to a childhood, where they can just be kids, without these outside influences to disrupt them.

The deleterious effects of these phenomena range from mental to physical. The sexualization of minors can lead to eating disorders and an increase in extreme sexualization. More extreme forms of the sexualization of children include child sexual abuse, pornography, prostitution, and trafficking. The sexualization of minors does not just damage young girls; it also negatively impacts men and women of all ages and society as a whole. Examples of this include an increase in sexual violence and teenage pregnancies. In fact, a report documented that “depictions of violence against teenage girls on TV showed it had risen by 400%” (Papadopoulos, 2010, p. 40). There are also several other negative, physical impacts that could be contributed to the sexualization of minors. Examples include women who smoke cigarettes in hopes to be thinner and the limits sexualization imposes on the effectiveness of girls’ physical movements (APA, 2007a, p. 21).

More research on sexualization of young girls, not just women in general, is needed. The evidence so far indicates that it is time society “critically examine(s) the cumulative effect of the media messages to which our children are exposed and how we can mitigate any negatives effect resulting from them” (Papadopoulos, 2010, p. 9). As of now, research specifically on minors is
virtually non-existent. In the future, this is something this audience can hope to correct. The sexualization of minors is a pressing issue that has been permitted to exist far too long.

Looking back at history and the past of advertising and marketing techniques, one can find that societal acceptance has slowly increased towards the sexualization of minors. Objectification and age compression also both slowly integrated themselves into modern society. With technological advances, children are exposed to more and more media coverage, social media outlets, and advertisements throughout their day-to-day lives. Increased exposure to such electronics result in children’s increase of exposure to the sexualization and objectification of minors. By seeing women and children sexually-exploited and shown as sexual objects, children are harmed in many ways, ranging from psychologically to physically. The ramifications not only impact children, but society as a whole. This fact is ignored by our current culture, as younger and younger customers are targeted with sexualized products and advertisements. Minors are led to believe that age compression is acceptable and that to act and accept one’s self as a sexual object is an acceptable way to gain power in society.

The issue of sexualization of minors has been palpable for years, but society increasingly promotes and condones the sexualization of minors. While the issue grows, the adverse repercussions on children and their development are subjected to more studies. This increase can be contributed in part to the technological advances being made; technology has aided an increase of sexualization in general, especially in children. The sexualization of minors permeates all levels of social discourse. Proof of this can be found everywhere, from advertising to social media to toys. Likewise, examples of sexualization can be found in products, such as clothing, marketed to children. As a result, younger generations have begun to adopt age compression to conform to society or gain power.

Exposure to sexualization and objectification, whether on one’s self or others, has negative consequences on children. These can include eating disorders, mental health issues, and body surveillance. ​A trend in technology and a growing acceptance from society has led to an increase in the sexualization of minors, which leads to objectification and age compression. All three phenomena have negative impacts on children. In order to minimize the effects of this issue, society should learn alternatives, such as self-determining actions and to place more value on non-sexual attributes. Such steps will lessen the negative impacts of sexualization exposure found in media and help our children developmentally. The sexualization of minors does not have to remain a problem for our society.

References

American Psychological Association, Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls. (2007a). Report of the APA Task Force on the sexualization of girls. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report-full.pdf

American Psychological Association, Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls. (2007b). Report of the APA Task Force on the sexualization of girls: Executive summary. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/wpo/sexualization.html

Bragg, S., Buckingham, D., Russell, R., & Willett, R. (2011). Too much, too soon? Children, sexualization, and consumer culture. Sex Education, 11(3), 279-292.
doi: 10.1080/14681811.2011.590085

Cook, D. T. & Kaiser, S. B. (2004). Betwixt and be tween: Age ambiguity and the sexualization of the female consuming subject. Journal of Consumer Culture, 4(2), 203-227. doi: 10.1177/1469540504043682

Coy, M. & Garner, M. (2010). Glamour modeling and the marketing of self-sexualization: Critical reflections. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 13(6), 657-675. doi: 10.1177/1367877910376576

Durham, M. G. (2008). The Lolita effect: The media sexualization of young girls and what we can do about it. New York, NY: The Overlook Press.

English, B. (2005). The disappearing tween years: Bombarded by sexualized cultural forces, girls are growing up faster than ever. Boston Globe: Living, 3rd edition.

La Nauze, A. & Rush, E. (2006). Corporate paedophilia: Sexualization of children in Australia. Australian Institute. Retrieved from
http://www.tai.org.au/documents/dp_fulltext/DP90.pdf

Papadopoulos, L. (2010). Sexualization of young people review. National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence. Retrieved from
http://www.ncdsv.org/images/Sexualisation-of-young-people-review_2-2010.pdf

Renold, E. & Ringrose, J. (2011). Schizoid subjectives? Re-theorizing teen girls’ sexual cultures in an era of ‘sexualization’. Journal of Sociology, 47(4), 389-409. doi:10.1177/1440783311420792

Apprehensively in Love

Jessica Orazietti

 

For most of my life, I held strong beliefs, which formed the basis of my morality. I was taught that being kind is the most important thing, family is prioritized, and you should always do right by the people you love. In essence, these are all good thoughts; however, it’s clear to me now that they are beliefs rooted in naiveté. Life isn’t as simple as a set of rules; you can be a good person and fail to uphold these standards. Lewis Carroll (1985) wrote, “I can’t go back to yesterday – because I was a different person then” (p. 18). We are all constantly evolving, everything in our lives affecting us, changing the way we think, changing the way we act, and ultimately changing who we are. Mental growth and maturity is a funny thing to me – it’s not something that can really be quantified, or even noticed as it’s happening, but it’s something you see one day and wonder how you could have possibly gotten through life with such innocence. There was inexperience present in the way I thought about life and love before; it was a beautiful, albeit incorrect notion, bordering on magical thinking. I thought that love was unquestionable and unconditional. I assumed that if you did something to hurt the person you loved, then the feeling was not real. In my mind, it was something so strong and present, that I blinded myself to important truths about human behaviour that I was typically apt to see.

I still remember in crushingly vivid detail, the day this fantasy began to crumble before me. My brother picked me up and I could immediately tell there was something on his mind. He stammered on his words over and over again, my anxiety increasing exponentially as the moments grew longer. Finally, the anticipation got to be too much and I yelled at him to simply say what he was trying to say. A moment, I immediately wished I could take back, because not only did this revelation end my relationship, but it was also the catalyst that launched me into a change in reality. After hearing what he had to say, the immediate truth I chose to believe was that the guy I had spent several years with did not love me, nor did he ever. He wasn’t the man I knew; he was an actor with the role of a lifetime and the regret and remorse he showed for months afterward was his commitment to the character. The truth was though, I knew all along who he really was. I saw it in the way he interacted with the people around him, constantly looking for attention, trying to be the funny guy, the tough guy, the anything but regular guy. I could see how easily he got hurt – his back always up against the wall – constantly feeling like the last call. I knew how he grew up, but even if I didn’t, his pain was etched all over him: in the way he spoke, in the way he behaved, in the way he drank. Pain, over pain, over pain, tattooed all over his body, his attempts at hiding it only making it more transparent. So how couldn’t I see it; how couldn’t I know? I saw it everyday: his efforts to shy away from it, covering it up, any way he could, vice upon vice, his pain only becoming bigger. He buried it, compacted the hole, waiting for the day it would explode. He was a ticking time bomb, self destructing, and revelling in it. It wasn’t about me; it was never about me.

That day clarity made me realize that one of the largest obstacles we are to overcome is our susceptibility to be wounded. This fear, bound with our implicit memory of past experiences, affects the way in which we interact. Insecurities and a need to feel important will often lead us to do things we know we shouldn’t. We hurt the ones we love, for fleeting moments of satisfaction and a boost to the ego. In his novel, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, Dr. Gabor Mate (2012) explained, “the attempt to escape from pain, is what creates more pain” (p. 13). By this, I think he means that it’s as if we are in a constant cycle with no way out, whatever we choose to protect ourselves with, only creating more destruction. This can be said regarding love too – for aren’t we all in an internal struggle between, wanting to be loved and cherished and pushing others away, in an attempt to avoid the possibility of being hurt? Since this truth has become so clear to me, I see it everywhere. I see it in my neighbour, burying herself in work, desisting a social life, after her divorce last year. I see it in my brother with the succession of meaningless short-term relationships that came after she gave the ring back. I see it in myself, refusing to let my new guy in, pushing him away and telling myself that he doesn’t mean as much to me as he actually does. I continue to push – even though he hasn’t done anything but show me how gentle a man can be – knowing full well if I go too far, if I keep it up, he’ll be gone for good. Like bombs going off in a battlefield, each person racing to be the one to set them off, as if it’ll make it less painful if we are the ones to control our impending demise. If only we stopped and had hope that maybe the bomb wouldn’t go off. Maybe then we could heal, and find a way out, to somewhere better – somewhere great. But that reality is never in sight, it’s never a possibility, because we never jump all the way in. We hold back, never truly experiencing real elation, or complete love, because of fear. In his novel, The Adventures of Augie March, Saul Bellow (2006) said it well “everybody knows there is no fineness or accuracy of suppression, if you hold down one thing, you must hold down the adjoining” (p. 25). If we think about this, we know it’s best to feel all the things, than nothing at all, for we cannot pick and choose which emotions we want to experience. Shouldn’t the possibility of great and true love be worth the risk?

I believe that though love does ebb and flow, it is in fact a very strong force, that does not dictate our actions alone, but that is simply another one of many factors that does. Hurt, impacts us in such profound ways, that our natural survival system makes us want to flee vulnerability. Mate (2012) explained that, “the automatic repression of painful emotion is a helpless child’s prime defense mechanism and can enable the child to endure trauma that would otherwise be catastrophic” (p. 65). Naturally, we are beings that operate first and foremost by protecting ourselves from emotional anguish– a defence so innate, that even a child will do so, without provocation or instruction. Because of this, unconscious emotions start dictating our actions and reactions, regardless of intention, and regardless of love. A lot of the time we end up hurting the ones we love most of all, taking their apparent solidified positions in our lives for granted. Pain and unaddressed emotions can sometimes cause us to be unkind; and momentary satisfaction, when contested with guilt and possible backlash, often wins. When confused, or set alone, these things make love seem capricious and cheap. A cynical light can be shone, obliterating the child-like dream of this feeling that we have always yearned for. The truth is though, love is great, rather it could be, but like many things in this world, we mess it up, and make it something that could be ugly. We cheat and hurt each other and hurt ourselves, all in an attempt to feel what – not bad? Love is strong yes, possibly one of the strongest things a person can feel, but pain, pain is stronger, and the fear of experiencing it, well that is love’s biggest contender.

References

Dr. Mate, G. (2012) In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. Toronto, ON: Vintage Canada.

Carroll, L. (1985) Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland. New York, NY: MacMillan Publishers.

Bellow, S. (2006) The Adventures of Augie March. New York, NY: Viking Press.

Casual Killing

Jessica Orazietti

 

Death itself is an event that we as humans cannot know. It is something that is a huge part of our living existence, though it is an unworldly, mysterious thing that we cannot even begin to construct in our imagination. In their book, Physician Assisted Suicide: Expanding the Debate, Battin et al. (1998) explained that religion and other spiritual narratives are able to explain death in a more literal sense, as a continuation of life, providing comfort to those confronting the reality of its inevitability. Though regardless of what a person believes, death is still something that plagues us with questions (p. 13). A terminally ill diagnosis is something that can bring on these questions, as well as conflicting emotions felt by the individual diagnosed and their friends and family. When left with the prospect of the serious physical and emotional pain that comes with a situation such as this, in addition to the psychological turmoil of watching loved ones deal with their grief, some people choose to end their lives in a way that they believe will provide them with dignity and control. Assisted suicide is one option that some people now have available to them in Canada, as a way to go about achieving this, though with it’s legalization, comes many ethical and moral implications that must be evaluated.

At Sault Area Hospital, medically assisted death is a legally practiced procedure. An interview with an anonymous nurse, who is employed there, brought the reality of the situation to light. When questioned about her thought’s on the topic she stated that she isn’t sure how she feels about it, but “it’s a much more difficult process than just making the decision; there’s a psychological evaluation involved, a concrete terminal diagnosis must be made and the individual has to be of sound mind up until the very moment that they receive the end of life drugs” (personal communication, October 28, 2017). The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario’s (2017) Policy Statement on Medical Assistance in Dying, concurs with this account, outlining a precise process for this procedure. The first step involves the initial inquiry the patient makes to the physician, followed by a criteria evaluation and a secondary request, in front of two independent witnesses. The patient is then reminded that they can rescind the request at any time and a second physician ensures that the “eligibility criteria” have been met. A “ten-day period of reflection” then takes place, before the medication can be administered. Finally, the pharmacist is notified and the physician ensures the individual still has the “capacity” to consent. After which, they provide one more opportunity to withdrawal the request, prior to administration. (p. 7) The Centre for Effective Practice (2016), outlines capacity as the patient being “able to understand the information relevant to deciding to consent, or to refusing to consent, to MAID” and “to consider and appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences of consenting or not consenting to MAID?” (p. 4). Now, although the person is faced with making the decision time and time again, is re-addressing it and a measly ten-day reflection, sufficient enough? This is the biggest decision a person can make; they are quite literally confronting the absolute unknown and consenting to the end. Further, when will someone ever have the “capacity” to truly understand the consequence of such a decision?

When discussing Bioethics, Boyle, J. et al. (2008), wrote that putting physicians in the position to legally provide medically assisted death, might raise concerns regarding coercion, abuse, or the risk of error. The authors believe that self-determination is something that should always be recognized; however, it shouldn’t be something that is necessarily prioritized, when there are so many other ramifications at play. With assisted suicide, death, rather than treatment, is the primary objective, but should death really be something that is considered a medical procedure? (p. 73). At the end of the day, the legalization of killing someone in a medical setting is really what we’re talking about. When explicitly stating what it is, is something that would make the majority uncomfortable, should it really be something that is practiced? It probably shouldn’t be an option, especially when considering the old and the poor may become susceptible to pressures from either the people caring for them, or from healthcare organizations, that feel it would be too difficult and too expensive to continue with care.

In the physician’s case, though the prospect of completely removing one’s self from the equation, in order to respect the autonomy of a patient is honourable, it doesn’t seem like a possibility, when they are in fact killing someone. The moral implications placed upon a physician must be evaluated as well. Bill C 14 of the Canadian Royal Assent (2016) amends the Criminal Code to protect physicians from offences of “culpable homicide and aiding suicide” (para. 1), but there isn’t a safeguard in place to protect them against judgements of conscience that come with the knowledge that they assisted someone in, or facilitated, their death. Sometimes actions should be judged based on intention, but when the action is so absolute, it cannot be overlooked; there should be no justification for purposefully ending a life. In The Cambridge Textbook of Bioethics, Boyle, J. et al. (2008), stated that, with the argument that assisted suicide can be a way to relieve the terminally ill from their suffering, comes the counterargument that, though compassion is important, there is no way to ensure that this will be limited to “truly voluntary patients” and it may bring about an “increasingly casual attitude toward private killing.” (p. 17). As true as the intentions may be, killing and suicide should never be something that becomes so common, and accepted, that it is no longer serious.

Mentioned many times, is an argument based on the belief that this procedure is the ultimate way to give individuals autonomy, in a situation that is, for the most part, out of their control. Respect for the freedom and individuality of a person, outweighing everything in the ethical decision making process, is a belief that needs to be looked at a little more closely. In discussing end of life perspectives, Battin et al. (1998), made a good point when they wrote “a person dying loses their autonomy and their existence becomes their relationships with others” (p. 18). If one is to think about this, and try and put themselves in the position of knowing death is imminent, then yes, life probably would, more so than ever before, become about interpersonal connections – has everything been said; does everyone know their importance? Things are no longer about self – autonomy isn’t necessarily something with which people are primarily concerned. The decision is ultimately more outwardly influenced, and granting such a request isn’t really then achieving the goal it has set out to. Much of the time the motivation for an early end, has much to do with protecting loved one’s from having harmful memories, which of course, is something that is wonderful to do; however, probably shouldn’t be a primary force in a decision to die.

As grand as a notion is – to be so compassionate as to allow for someone to die in a peaceful way, where they are in control, sacrificing personal discomfort to help them do so – in a society such as ours, disingenuous motives are assumed. As much as many of us would like to it to be, people are not always virtuous and concerns about malevolent, or misguided intentions are valid in this regard. The killing of another human being, regardless of the reasoning, should not be something that becomes regularized. The lack of knowledge and comprehension about death and what truly happens confounds our ability to make true decisions about how we should pass. Leaving our conscious world should be something that is natural, especially being that we have the means to provide comfort and alleviate suffering in an individual approaching death.

References

Battin, M. Rodes, R. Silvers, A. (1998) Physician Assisted Suicide: Expanding the Debate. New York, NY. Routledge.

Boyle, J., Dickens, B., and Ganzini, L. (2008). Cambridge Textbook of Bioethics. Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from: http://www.dphu.org/uploads/attachements/books/books_5318_0.pdf#page=89

Centre for Effective Practice (2016) Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID): Ontario. Retrieved from: https://thewellhealth.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/20161118_MAID_Final_Fillable.pdf

Parliament of Canada, Royal Assent (2016). Bill C 14. Statutes of Canada 2016. Retrieved from: http://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/bill/C-14/royal-assent

The College Physicians and Surgeons and Ontario (2017) Policy System # 4 – 16 Medical Assistance in Dying. Retrieved from: http://www.cpso.on.ca/CPSO/media/documents/Policies/Policy-Items/medical-assistance-in-dying.pdf?ext=.pdf