Synopsis
This book addresses the importance of the mother-daughter bond, and functions as a guide for better communication on the topic of sex.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1998-05-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 252 pages | | Height: | 9.5 in | | Width: | 6.5 in | | Thickness: | 0.8 in | | Weight: | 18.4 oz |
Publisher's Note
A protege of Carol Gilligan's, Bartle draws from her studies of mother-daughter communication to reveal the invaluable role moms play in helping girls place within a broader context the sexual information--or misinformation--they receive from peers and the media. Juxtaposing the colorful stories of twenty-three mother-daughter pairs, she underscores that our girls are in dire need of the full sweep of sexual information, from the emotional components of relationships to the powerful sway of desire. But how can a mother speak honestly without encouraging sex? This book points the way for successful communication, addressing such questions as these: When are girls most receptive to different kinds of information? What do girls know? How do mothers' own experiences color their advice? How do they discuss desire? At a time when more than 50 percent of girls having sex by age nineteen, silence is no longer a viable option. "Venus In Blue Jeans" argues passionately for open and clear communication, speaks the unspeakable, and urges mothers, and us all, to nurture fully informed young women for their most intimate relationships.
Filled with rich and timely insights, this book demystifies the subject of sex and the adolescent for today's parents and adds an important new dimension to readers' understanding of the ways in which adolescent girls are thinking and talking about sex and sexuality.
Industry Reviews
Based on a series of interviews with a diverse group of 23 teen girls and, separately, their mothers, this empathetic study deftly illuminates their fears, dreams, goals, frequent misconceptions and daily concerns as they navigate the often dangerous waters of female adolescence in the 1990s. The voices of both generations of women are honest and forthright, and nullify many myths about the mother-daughter relationship. Bartle, an Allegheny University educational psychologist, writing with Lieberman (The Real High School Handbook), reveals that while mothers may not always know everything their daughters are up to, they are very realistic about the issues and pitfalls of young womanhood, drawing on their own experiences and media portrayals of the threat of disease and violence. Their most common hopes for their daughters include "wanting the girl to enjoy good health, to develop positive self-esteem, to be well-educated, and someday have a satisfying career that would provide financial independence." They try to deliver the sex education their girls need to retain the freedom to reach these goals, with help from peers, schools, churches, girls' clubs and doctors but, most often, not from fathers. With 30 years of teaching and counseling behind her (as well as her own raising of a daughter), Bartle writes from experience, and her never-condescending voice reports and comments on her findings with authority. Her advice on opening and using the lines of dyadic communication to shape the sexual choices of young women is frank, aware of differences in lifestyle and caring. Author tour. (June)
Lopate
| See an error? Submit a change request |
All rights reserved.
