Sex, lies and teenage girls

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/mar/11/sexualisation-young-girls-myth-or-reality

This article starts in an interesting way that makes you want to read more. ‘’Today's girls are reluctant victims of an intensely sexual culture - right? Wrong, says one American sociologist who claims our moral panic is based on urban myths that bear no relation to reality for most teens’’. By giving this kind of introduction, the writer has a great hook that keeps readers attention, because he is negating the opinion that we all believe, so you are interested why your opinion is wrong. The title itself is hook, because it attracts attention right away. Being an interesting topic nowadays, with development of technology and Internet, it is suitable for many kinds of readers.

In the next paragraph, the author of the article by sentences ‘‘I'm the anxious father of a seven-year-old girl who is poised to join that scariest of demographics – girls aged between eight and 13. Just to read the titles of books targeted at the parents of these so-called tweenage girls is enough to send me into a conniption – The Lolita Effect, So Sexy So Soon, Girls Gone Skank, Where Has My Little Girl Gone?’’ explains that he is personally involved with the topic, which gives us the friendly and personal closeness to him, so we can believe in his article. He has probably chosen this topic because he had been thinking about it personally earlier.

In the next paragraph, the author describes his own emotions when he reads books about his personal problem: ‘’ They all peddle the same terrifying idea, namely that my daughter is at imminent risk of falling into promiscuity, neglecting her school work and could easily wind up working for tips as a pole dancer in a sleazy bar. My dream that she'll be professor of clever studies at Oxford before I retire looks destined to be unfulfilled.’’ And there’s one more proof that he is a father of young girl himself, as many of the readers, who probably chose to read this article because they have a daughter who is a teenager. This emotional and personal closeness of author to the topic is quite important, because the reader wants to read more and the tone isn’t formal, as like as the scientist’s. Readers can understand that the author is ‘’one of them’’ and that he perfectly understands the problems of parents who have teenagers in their own house.

In the next paragraph, the author gives the article the informal form because he writes in a witty way about the problem: ‘’ If you've ever paid your toddler to pole dance in a sexually provocative manner in your living room, please get in touch – so I can pass your details to the authorities.’’ So, that’s one more characteristic of successful article – joke that makes us relaxed while reading.

Next, the writer continues to write about his daughter and there is the perfect end of the introduction to the topic.

In the next paragraph, the author is citing the scientist: "It's a drip, drip effect," argues Linda Papadopoulos, the psychologist commissioned by the Home Office in 2010 to write a review on the effects of sexualisation on young people. "It's seeped into the everyday: fake breasts, f*ck-me shoes … We are hypersexualising young girls, telling them that their desirability rests on being desired. They want to please at any cost." So, there we get some facts that are proved and we believe what we read more and more. Just author’s opinion isn’t enough to think that the article is true, but now we just want to hear what the scientists have to say.

Later, the writer writes about other parents’ experiences and quotes the parents from media. Couple of next paragraphs gives the opinion of Allison Pearson of Daily Paragraph. She gives examples of girls and boys from whole society and the negative effects of the Internet. Her sentences are proofs to what the author says earlier and she complements the arguments of scientists.

In the next paragraphs, writer even mentions David Cameron, the politician, and mixes this social fact with his personal feelings: ‘’ who could fail to agree with David Cameron when he said before the 2010 election that he would, if elected, rid Britain of overly sexy clothes and toys for children, to ensure "our children get a childhood"? How could I not want to protect my daughter's innocence?’’

In the next paragraphs, author introduces Egan, a writer who wrote a book on this topic. Here we have opinion of another writer and arguments that prove the ‘’theory’’. She also gives some statistics that are pure facts ‘’ Egan points out that from 1998 to 2008, the teenage conception rate in the UK fell by 13.3% for under-18s and by 11.7% for under-16s. Similarly, while the median age for first intercourse has dropped in the last 30 years from 17 to 16, the frequency of intercourse among adolescent girls was very low, with 47% reporting they had taken part in no sexual acts, and 5.2% saying they had engaged in oral sex. Of teenage girls who had had sex, the majority (58%) had sex with someone they had already been going out with. ‘’ The rest of the paragraphs is about mix of facts that Egan cites and personal opinions that author has as a father. And that’s a perfect mix, because there is compassion between the writer and reader and pure fasts not influenced by personal feelings of the author. So, reader can really believe what he reads.

The conclusion is also based on both, facts and opinions and blend of them. ‘’This thought is at least appealing to an anxious father. But it doesn't allay the anxiety completely. How could anything? When, for example,Diane Abbott says that we're living in a "pornified culture" that she claims has brought about a "striptease culture in British schools and society" it's hard for me not to feel that the next few years of parenthood will be more than a little bracing.’’ It leaves us with an open end that only future can tell and great impression. The target audience, the parents, is influenced to do something about this topic and the writer succeeded to have an effect on the society.

The article is generally very well written, because it contains both facts and opinions and blends of them, but also the topic that is general idea of how our society affects young girls is very interesting. The author’s style and so many quotations of other people give the impression that the author is really into the topic and that a lot of work and thinking have been behind this article, not just writing about it because he had to. So, there is a strong connection between the reader and writer, probably both parents. All Aristotle’s Appeals are represented, because the General Idea is supported by specific facts, statistics, anecdotes, quotations, scientific theories and findings, also there are some social phenomenon mentioned and the emotional contribution is sizeable. Sentences are long enough to keep attention and the mood of the article is personal. Many details are given and the reader is asked to imagine consequences and events in the future. Author keeps the reader interested by offering his own experience and some interesting new facts and anecdotes. Writer’s personality is apparent, so the reader can know that he is one concerned father and that’s very suited to the topic.