Stereotypes? Or Harsh Reality?

Dr. Sax, a family physician, and founder of the National Association for Single Sex Public Education, who lives in Pennsylvania, previously wrote two books about gender differences on learning, and in his new book he argues that today’s tweens and teens look “confident on the outside but have a dangerously fragile sense of self.” In the interview “Inside the Dangerous Empty Lives of Teenage Girls” published May 10, 2010 in Maclean’s magazine, with Dr. Leonard Sax he discusses what he has researched, and believes how teenage girls see their lives. In the article he discusses the statistics of teenage girls inflicting pain on themselves by cutting or burning themselves with matches, then goes into further detail about what type of girls cut and why they do it. Furthermore, he discusses the growing problem of anorexia in a girls live and why they do that to themselves. Sax then goes on to talk about girls “viewing sex as a commodity” and once again why they do that to themselves.

The statistic of “one in five girls is cutting herself and/or burning herself with matches” seems to be somewhat accurate, but in reality that number could be much higher. A lot of teenage girls have self-esteem issues and they are embarrassed as to what they are doing, which means a lot of them would certainly not fess up to cutting or burning themselves. Therefore, that statistic can not be proven to a certain degree. However, when Sax discusses the reasons for girls cutting themselves he explains that “it is not a cry for help. Most girls don’t want adults to know they are cutting which is why they cut in places [they] won’t see.” These girls are not trying to kill themselves, they just have an enormous amount of pressure put on them from having to be perfect for everyone and they spend their whole life performing and haven’t been living. Which means that most of the time it is the girls that you would never expect to cut, are actually the ones doing it. According to Dr. Sax, “when girls cut themselves, they are getting a release of endogenous opiates – they’re actually getting high” which for many is a way to hide their pain.

Eating disorders have become a more commonly known problem in today’s society for teenage girls. The majority of teenage girls are obsessed with what they eat and how slender they are that many become anorexic. Many girls want to accomplish anorexia, and according to Sax “it is not a cry for help – in fact, they don’t want grown-ups to pay attention because they don’t want someone to take that achievement, that identity, away from them.” Girls convince themselves that anorexia is a lifestyle choice for them and see nothing wrong with what they are doing. They see images of famous celebrity women in magazines that appear to be skinny and perfect, and they want to be that. What they need to realize, is that it is not a healthy lifestyle and it is not something to be taken lightly at all.

In today’s society it is starting to appear more common for teenage girls to be providing sexual favors to older boys, and although it is more common that does not make it acceptable. Teenage girls are so concerned about how they look and their social status at school that they would do almost anything to achieve it. Sax’s opinion on this is that it is “troubling that so many girls are using their sexuality in an instrumental way, in order to accomplish some other end such as raising their social status, but not as an expression of their own [feelings and desires].” The fact that this is happening seems to be appaling to most people, but facing the reality that it really is taking place is the hardest part.

Dr. Sax appears to be a very knowledgeable individual and appears toknow what he is talking about. His points may be offensive to many teenage girls but in the end, they are all true to a point. No one wants to believe it but it is a harsh reality. Teenage girls do have many problems they deal with, they just don't like to be analyzed and stereotyped because that want to believe they are none of them, while deep down they know some of it relates to them.