|
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bravo, indeed. The author makes a point in print here one scarcely ever sees, and that is that our society does continue to harbor a double-standard concerning the sexual activity of teenage boys vs. teenage girls. If an older woman commits statutory rape upon a teenage boy, many people do laugh or brush it off as a case of "Mrs. Robinson," a rite of passage.
Look at the way it's portrayed on television. Last season's "Boston Public" offered up several instances of teacher/student sexual relationships. The episodes in which the teacher was male, he was fired or otherwise punished by the system. In a recent rerun, two female teachers were discussing the size of male students' genitals, and talking about how they would love to bed some of them. It was played for laughs (the camera focused on the facial reactions of an older male teacher upon hearing the discussion between the two females).
Unfortunately, I think we're still a long way from punishing female sexual predators for their crimes they way male sexual predators are punished. Although Paula Poundstone has been neither exonerated nor convicted, you can see how the media and her fans have rallied around her, professing her innocence, even though they don't know the full circumstances surrounding the charges.
If Poundstone were male, she would have already been convicted by the public, and she would most certainly do time in prison.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The one thing that sticks in my mind about the LeTourneau case was Jay Leno making jokes on the Tonight Show, all of which pointed out how lucky the male student was.
"Have you heard about that student that Mary Kay LeTourneau was sleeping with? He says he wants to start seeing other teachers."
Yuk yuk. Hilarious. Why doesn't Jay make jokes about female rape victims? Because he knows which side his bread is buttered on....
|
|
|
|
|
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
