
I was flipping through a few teen magazines the other day for my Diversity Educational Program class and noticed a ridiculously large number of make-up ads. No doubt a good gloss can be a girl’s best friend, but an even bigger epidemic taking the teen community by storm is sex.
Sexually related advertisements are flooding the newspapers, magazines, televisions and radio stations. Ironically, it seems as if these advertisements are targeted toward young women more frequently than young men, as proven in an issue of CosmoGirl! where “a photo of a girl approaching a guy with a box of condoms and a can of whipped cream” (www.agapepress.com) is displayed with the caption, “Sophia’s got Chad totally whipped.” So not only is this ad condoning teen sex, but also it is degradingly implying that women should be the one to initiate such acts.
It’s bad enough that the custom of “courting” (which is where the guy actually works to get a girl’s affection) has completely disappeared from today’s society, it is much more demeaning to women that we are made out to be the ones who openly give ourselves up for the guy’s taking.
Young girls that are exposed to this falsified “reality” are mislead to believe that it’s okay to submit to guys, make the first move and give themselves away like mint. What happened to treating ourselves like the Queens we are by carrying ourselves with class, integrity and respect? Who made away with the custom of demanding respect from any man who dares step to the plate and asks for the luxury of our company?
Maybe it’s just me, but I value myself, my time and everything I have to offer. For a woman, being intimate with someone is like making the largest, most important investment of her life. Every woman should ask herself to whom am I making this investment on, is it beneficial, is he worth it and would he still appreciate and value me after he’s had his share of my “goodies?” If you answer no – even maybe – to any of these questions, run! Don’t let sex become a trend like make-up, a bad habit like skipping your eight a.m. class, or a part of your typical “relationship” like going to the movies or having dinner. A man can only do what the woman allows him to do. Having “casual” sex is the quickest way to lose a man’s respect, if you ever even had it.
No man in his right mind will marry a woman who sleeps with him despite his lack of efforts or genuine affection. Speaking charming words you like to hear and buying you nice things are not signs of genuine affection! Genuine affection is patience, understanding and consideration. If a man truly cares for a woman, he will value her words and wishes a hundred times more than he values watching Monday night football.
To my fellow Queens: to gain a man’s respect you must carry yourself with it first. So respect your body and flaunt your mind. Some women think they can keep their man by giving him sex – common misconception!
There are millions of women in this world, hundreds of which he has access to on a daily basis. Any other one of those women can very well give him the same thing, so once you start to give him more trouble than he asks for, he can easily drop you for the next Jane Doe.
To keep your man, you must fulfill him emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. Offer him something that’s rare and not easily found in today’s society: class! Be chaste and let him know that you’re the type of girl he would be proud to take home to his mother.
About the writer:
Christene Dino is a first-year business marketing major. She can be reached at [email protected].