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Fast Girls: Teenage Tribes and the Myth of the Slut
In a study with a feminist perspective, the author explores the archtype of high-school "slut" in American society, revealing how it is a type of urban legend that does not reflect the reality of women's lives. Reprint.
215 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
July 28, 2007
I loaned this to some guy and never got it back.
Heh, just like my virginity...
Heh, just like my virginity...
January 21, 2012
The book was very interesting, but it didn't answer the one question that I wanted answered.
Why is it that a certain type of girl (popular, everyone adores) can be one of the biggest sluts in school and no one uters a word against her. In fact she has more friends than everyone. But if another girl who has never even had sex before gets labled a slut and rumors go crazy and the poor girl's self esteem is trashed.
I hated jr high and high school because of the cruelity that abounds. It was bad when I was going to school in the 70's and early 80's.
When my daughter was in school it was worst, but it was much harder because of the technology. Even women my age can be vipers. What's wrong when women in their 40s and older can't stop with petty gossip and spreading rumors.
Sorry, I'll get off my soap box!
Why is it that a certain type of girl (popular, everyone adores) can be one of the biggest sluts in school and no one uters a word against her. In fact she has more friends than everyone. But if another girl who has never even had sex before gets labled a slut and rumors go crazy and the poor girl's self esteem is trashed.
I hated jr high and high school because of the cruelity that abounds. It was bad when I was going to school in the 70's and early 80's.
When my daughter was in school it was worst, but it was much harder because of the technology. Even women my age can be vipers. What's wrong when women in their 40s and older can't stop with petty gossip and spreading rumors.
Sorry, I'll get off my soap box!
December 17, 2007
As someone already mentioned the "research" was weak but when the writer admitted to unauthorized observation of minors in a public high school it approached unethical.
I would give this book only one star but the subject matter is so important. Hopefully someone with real sociological/psychological knowledge will take up the treatment of these young women.
It also didn't help White's book that I previously read Dead Boys Can't Dance which addresses a similar issue: suicide and sexual orientation among high school boys. The authors of Dead Boys Can't Dance have done some actual research and draw important conclusions. By comparison, Fast Girls is shallow and confused.
I would give this book only one star but the subject matter is so important. Hopefully someone with real sociological/psychological knowledge will take up the treatment of these young women.
It also didn't help White's book that I previously read Dead Boys Can't Dance which addresses a similar issue: suicide and sexual orientation among high school boys. The authors of Dead Boys Can't Dance have done some actual research and draw important conclusions. By comparison, Fast Girls is shallow and confused.
July 17, 2013
To save you some time, I'll briefly summarize:
Blahblahblah,there's a slut in every high school! Blahblah, here's what this other book has to say about it. Blahblahblah pointless interview with woman who was known as slut. Blahblah, no new or meaningful insight whatsoever.
Yawn.
To say I'm disappointed in this book would be an understatement. I had such high hopes when I started reading, and it fell terribly short of my expectations. It's basically a rehash of a bunch of writings from other people, with some interviews with women thrown in the middle, disguised as some groundbreaking new feminist text. I walked away from this with the impression that the author was envious of the women she claimed to be trying to understand.
Blahblahblah,there's a slut in every high school! Blahblah, here's what this other book has to say about it. Blahblahblah pointless interview with woman who was known as slut. Blahblah, no new or meaningful insight whatsoever.
Yawn.
To say I'm disappointed in this book would be an understatement. I had such high hopes when I started reading, and it fell terribly short of my expectations. It's basically a rehash of a bunch of writings from other people, with some interviews with women thrown in the middle, disguised as some groundbreaking new feminist text. I walked away from this with the impression that the author was envious of the women she claimed to be trying to understand.
September 9, 2007
This might help you understand what was going on with the girl who was supposedly "the school slut" at the age of 13. Think back on what other kids were saying about her. How realistic was it? Think about her home situation. Did she seem to have less money than the popular kids? Did she develop early? What was her ethnicity? If those questions are making you think, you'll get something out of this book.
August 21, 2014
The title holds out hope of better understanding of: fast girls, teenage tribes, and, the myth of the slut. Many will have some kind of connection to someone so labelled, or might be someone so labelled. Likely we became implicated in some way in high school, or were an uncomfortable witness.
On the cusp of dawning sexual maturity, the middle ground is likely to be occupied by girls competing via a well rounded but attractive appeal. They would expect to pair up with boys on their way to being men of the world. The pinnacle would be prom royalty; there's a large group taking that route. Then there are the sexual savants who do not pass go and another group who look like they might try something like that. Either nature or nurture or both have caused this group to manifest a freer sexuality that could look like an opportunity or rite of passage for a male; a threat to bonding for a female.
Some rather problematic behavior is founded on the perception conveyed by the term slut. Think of the suffering occasioned by the use of terms like nigger, faggot and dyke. Those terms helped spawn black pride and gay pride. Ms. White has done well to shine a light on this issue, but not much attention is given to opponents, victims or partners. The book touches on the value these girls benefit from and contribute to in tribes such as punk or motorcycle groups.
The 'slut' is written of here as a Jungian archetype and explored as such. The author has received responses from many who have reported somehow related experience. This departed from her original plan of focusing on one individual. Absent as a result is an in depth personal story that might understandably move the reader.
In depending on her subjects, there might be a need to stay on friendly ground. What is owed to a group when we consider behaving provocatively or promiscuously? Perhaps an answer might be found elsewhere.
Once past the difficult high school years, perhaps an equal share of these girls and their socially conforming peers will arrive at a place less conflicted.
Clearly a work of love, the book could be taken as a snapshot of the revolution; its not over yet.
August 25, 2016
We all remember those days, unfortunately. There were the popular kids, the jocks, the nerds---and there was the "easy" girl. What did it mean to walk down the hallway in her shoes?
This book is about girls who were saddled with this identity, not just about those who were simply called crude sexual terms as just another aspect of bullying. Sexually-charged insults are the bread and butter of teen bullying; a bullied student may be called a "lesbo" in one class, a "virgin" in the next, and a "whore" in another. (Talk about mixed messages!) I know, because I was that student--the one who you just say shitty, cruel things to all day long with no rhyme or reason.
The abuse that so many girls and young women experience in school doesn't go away with graduation. Even decades later, they may look askance at calls for sisterhood and solidarity and wonder if this is really possible.
The vision of a tribe of peaceful women who will soothe and straighten out and redeem the world denies the vengeful violence of teenage girls and neutralizes their notorious rage. It is a vision of an angel that counteracts a monster: the monstrous female we do not want to be, the female we might remember being but are shocked by, who has the capacity to track down another girl in a parking lot and overwhelm her with all the gusto of a true predator.
I knew girls who would threaten, mock, and destroy the mental health of their victims; I knew girls who would brag and laugh uproariously about killing animals. This is not the way we want to think of our fellow females, but it is part of our reality.
This book is about girls who were saddled with this identity, not just about those who were simply called crude sexual terms as just another aspect of bullying. Sexually-charged insults are the bread and butter of teen bullying; a bullied student may be called a "lesbo" in one class, a "virgin" in the next, and a "whore" in another. (Talk about mixed messages!) I know, because I was that student--the one who you just say shitty, cruel things to all day long with no rhyme or reason.
The abuse that so many girls and young women experience in school doesn't go away with graduation. Even decades later, they may look askance at calls for sisterhood and solidarity and wonder if this is really possible.
The vision of a tribe of peaceful women who will soothe and straighten out and redeem the world denies the vengeful violence of teenage girls and neutralizes their notorious rage. It is a vision of an angel that counteracts a monster: the monstrous female we do not want to be, the female we might remember being but are shocked by, who has the capacity to track down another girl in a parking lot and overwhelm her with all the gusto of a true predator.
I knew girls who would threaten, mock, and destroy the mental health of their victims; I knew girls who would brag and laugh uproariously about killing animals. This is not the way we want to think of our fellow females, but it is part of our reality.
February 6, 2016
My memory's a bit foggy on this one- I read it during my stint as a high school student. The best thing about this book is it makes you think about labels- and for me, that was helpful, having been labeled 'noob' and only fit to be friends with boys or those fellow 'noobs' from other schools. Mean Girls was disturbingly accurate about some things, likely more so than this book.
May 5, 2020
I read this thesis-turned-book many years ago, while I was completing my undergraduate degree. It explains why society throughout history has targeted specific young women as ‘loose girls’. From an early physical development to socio-economic background to simply being a headstrong or will full person, it details why some girls are marked for slut shaming. Today, as both a professional therapist, as well as a statistic I can only wish it had been explained to me as a young woman, it would have been much easier to understand and deal with. Read it for yourself as well as for your girls. Knowing why can make all the difference in the world.
October 22, 2023
A really fascinating book. Twenty years old, but still has a lot to say.
Most examinations of purity culture raise questions, for me, about how some of the same dynamics work out in the broader community. The evangelical phenomenon seems like a subset of cultural tropes, myths, and traditions that we have mostly let go unexamined. Fast Girls chooses to examine them through a mixture of journalism, feminist philosophy, and cultural studies, and comes up with a fascinating mix of insights. I do wish White had looked at scapegoating mechanisms, but that's a minor shortcoming.
Most examinations of purity culture raise questions, for me, about how some of the same dynamics work out in the broader community. The evangelical phenomenon seems like a subset of cultural tropes, myths, and traditions that we have mostly let go unexamined. Fast Girls chooses to examine them through a mixture of journalism, feminist philosophy, and cultural studies, and comes up with a fascinating mix of insights. I do wish White had looked at scapegoating mechanisms, but that's a minor shortcoming.
April 11, 2023
I liked the concept and think the collective of anecdotes were interesting and seemed to align a pattern that’s quite visible but otherwise it felt incredibly unorganized
January 25, 2024
This is a holy grail book!!! Found it in my early 20s 🖤
February 28, 2024
I thought it had a couple of really decent points.
Read
January 20, 2012If I were still in college, this would have been a great addition to the reading list for Psych 80D - Human Sexuality (and in fact she does cite names I remember from Psychology and Sociology classes, like Irigaray, Jung, Freud, and Foucault). I think the title is perhaps purposely provocative, because it's really a study of the way teenagers in particular attempt to create an 'other,' a target that defines what not to be and places themselves on the side of what is right. Later chapters describe the experiences of gays, people of color, trench-coat wearers etc. and the xenophobia that encompasses class, race, and sexuality in a web that is difficult to unravel.
Perhaps the 'slut' was at the core of her original study, but it is hard to pin that down to one all-encompassing theory--another topic she explores (and the fact that studying something can change it, and the inherent biases of the observer, etc., etc.)
She wants to show that there is a solidarity, a common thread between all victims of slut rumors--that they are not alone--but also concedes that the reaction of each experience affects specific women differently. She talks about them in the sense of a more all-encompassing 'they' (rather than 'some of them') so there are several parts that seem contradictory and made my head swim (e.g., "THEY have a hard time getting past the experience and it stays with them for the rest of their lives and they have a death wish" AND "THEY escape their critics to the anonymity of a bigger city, do really really well for themselves, and wish that the naysayers could see them now). She mentioned that she was inundated with the sheer number of responses and the variety of experience, but kept repeating that their experiences were cliché.
I don't judge this too harshly, though; it's sort of the same as the dissonance between "look before you leap" and "strike while the iron is hot." They're both true at different times. Some of the narrative snippets are repeated again and again as they apply to different facets of her argument, though, which isn't as forgivable, but the way its so drawn out, it would be difficult to use just their names as a reminder. Also, some of the snippets are really brief, making and difficult to say whether each individual actually proves the whole.
She seems to want there to be a happy ending, but the women she interviews range from 40+ (who were more likely to have been affected by sexism) all the way down to present-day (2002 at the time) 13-year-olds. When will this insanity end?
Caveat Emptor: there are some really awful stories, beyond being whispered at in the hall. Just tragic, really, but those parts don't last long. Overall, an interesting topic, but it took way to long to read in relation to its contents.
Perhaps the 'slut' was at the core of her original study, but it is hard to pin that down to one all-encompassing theory--another topic she explores (and the fact that studying something can change it, and the inherent biases of the observer, etc., etc.)
She wants to show that there is a solidarity, a common thread between all victims of slut rumors--that they are not alone--but also concedes that the reaction of each experience affects specific women differently. She talks about them in the sense of a more all-encompassing 'they' (rather than 'some of them') so there are several parts that seem contradictory and made my head swim (e.g., "THEY have a hard time getting past the experience and it stays with them for the rest of their lives and they have a death wish" AND "THEY escape their critics to the anonymity of a bigger city, do really really well for themselves, and wish that the naysayers could see them now). She mentioned that she was inundated with the sheer number of responses and the variety of experience, but kept repeating that their experiences were cliché.
I don't judge this too harshly, though; it's sort of the same as the dissonance between "look before you leap" and "strike while the iron is hot." They're both true at different times. Some of the narrative snippets are repeated again and again as they apply to different facets of her argument, though, which isn't as forgivable, but the way its so drawn out, it would be difficult to use just their names as a reminder. Also, some of the snippets are really brief, making and difficult to say whether each individual actually proves the whole.
She seems to want there to be a happy ending, but the women she interviews range from 40+ (who were more likely to have been affected by sexism) all the way down to present-day (2002 at the time) 13-year-olds. When will this insanity end?
Caveat Emptor: there are some really awful stories, beyond being whispered at in the hall. Just tragic, really, but those parts don't last long. Overall, an interesting topic, but it took way to long to read in relation to its contents.
December 10, 2019
A very interesting insight into the toxic environments which foster the unfounded rumors and undeserved reputations in which young women become unduly labeled.
October 8, 2008
I really didn't have any idea what this author was talking about when she repeatedly referred to the "Myth of the slut". At the end of the book she brings up the fact that the high school slut is mostly a middle class white phenomena; Latino and Black women didn't have the same stories the white women did. Yes. I find it true that middle class white people, especially women, tend to be pretty uptight about sex.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2009
I was prepared for this book to be some sort of groundbreaking revelation as to the "why" of the archetype of the "high school slut" and I was pretty disappointed by the actual text. There did not seem to be a point to this book, other than a base description of having put an ad out asking for stories and hearing some pretty awful things. All in all, I found the book to be a vague overview of things I knew before I read it. It did not seem like any new ideas were brought to the table.
February 25, 2008
Best read as a companion to Leora Tanenbaum's Slut : growing up female with a bad reputation - this title is more general than the latter, to the point of almost meandering, but gives good possible reasons for the "slut" mythology and goes deeper into sociological and gender theory, for better or for worse.
November 15, 2010
LJ user bloodrivendream says, "It is about "The Myth of the Slut." Deconstructing the archetype of the slut. The different girls that get labelled as such. Their experience. I read the book when I was about 14 and it made me want to read more non-fiction and more books with feminist focus. Probably most useful to those new to the movement but I recommend it to anyone."
July 28, 2011
This book is far inferior to Leora Tanenbaum's book on the subject, SLUT : Growing Up Female With a Bad Reputation. Tanenbaum blends many of the same statistics and conclusions with case studies that make her book more interesting, more readable, and treats her subjects with more respect and integrity.
Read
February 4, 2016Through interviews with women and girls, and citing various published works, the author examines the archetype of the school slut and discusses the settings that lead to kids labeling a girl with that role and torturing her about it. Suburban boredom, fear of loneliness or not being part of a group, and sexual abuse are among the issues discussed as roots of the problem.
June 24, 2008
Any woman who ever felt "fast" and different for being more outgoing sexually than her peers will find solace in this book. Borrowed and affirmed by many of my friends, I think this book was well written and has a great place in society balancing out so many books that say the opposite.
December 26, 2012
A book that could have been, with more primary source material. As is, there is very little foundation in the specifics of individual slut experiences, which would have made the lengthy forays into archetype more meaningful.
June 24, 2016
So shallow. A few stories about girls who had rumors about them in high school, which were not based on fact. Some of them say they were abused as kids, which the author says may or may not be true. And they're usually white. That's all she covers in over 200 pages.
September 27, 2007
Grabbing introspection on the tales of the school slut - their purpose and resonance.
January 28, 2008
Saw this around the GLBT section so I read half of it. Somewhat interesting, but I didn't feel like I learned anything new. Maybe I'll check it out again somtime.
January 19, 2018
Wasn't quite as good as I was hoping it would be.
May 30, 2008
Interesting to see how incorrect peoples' thinking can be just by viewing how some girls carry themselves.
August 18, 2008
i had hoped this would be more illuminating than it was. There's nothing we didn't really know already brought to light in this book.
December 29, 2008
This is mostly a reaffirming book but there are a few things in there I hadn't realized or had anyone point out to me before.
A must read for anyone that works with teens, male or female.
A must read for anyone that works with teens, male or female.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews